There’s a lot that goes into picking the right healthcare course. Healthcare courses are invaluable to anyone wanting to enter or excel in a medical or healthcare career. However, they are challenging and take up a lot of time and effort, so you want to ensure that the course you choose is a good fit for you. Simply looking through the options can feel overwhelming. With so many choices, each with unique pros and cons, there’s one obvious question: “Which healthcare course should I take?”
To make things a bit easier, we’ve put together this brief healthcare career guide to some of the courses in our Healthcare/Medical program. This post reviews what they cover, and who they’re best for. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know so you can pick the best course for achieving your goals!
Nursing
Nursing is a solid choice for anyone looking to enter the medical field, but also serves as an excellent long-term career in its own right. There are two main reasons for this:
- The rising demand for nurses
- The wide range of resources available to would-be RNs.
If you look at the numbers, you may notice that we always seem to be short on nurses. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ projections state that we’ll need over 200,000 new nurses every year through 2031. For people interested in pursuing nursing, this means one very important thing: job security. No matter where you go, you’re practically guaranteed to find a hospital looking to onboard new nurses.
This brings us to the second reason we mentioned. Because nurses are so in demand right now, institutions of higher education across the country are developing resources for new nurses to join the profession and for old nurses to return, and we at Clayton State University Continuing and Professional Education (CSU CaPE) are no different.
We offer a stellar nursing program from start to finish, but for now, we’d like to focus specifically on our RN ReEntry course. The medical industry changes quickly, so leaving for even a small amount of time means you’ll be returning to new practices, new concepts, and most importantly, new technology. Our RN ReEntry course is designed to teach you everything you need to know to hit the ground running when you return to the workforce, no matter how long you’ve been away.
Phlebotomy
Much like nursing, phlebotomy serves as both an excellent entryway to the wider healthcare industry and as a long-term career. Our phlebotomy technician certificate program equips you with basic foundational skills to enter the field, such as taking blood samples and controlling infections.
Worth noting, though: if you can’t stand the sight of blood or have a phobia of needles, we’d recommend seeking out another field. Phlebotomists deal with both extensively, so having an aversion to them will make your career much more difficult than it needs to be. If you don’t have these aversions, though, phlebotomy makes for an excellent career path that we highly recommend.
Technical Certifications
Of course, not everyone wants to take a hands-on role in the healthcare industry. There are plenty of more technical roles that are equally important, so if that sounds like something you’d enjoy, this section is for you!
Here are a couple of CaPE healthcare certification courses for these technical roles.
Pharmacy Technician Certification
Pharmacy technicians take a much more hands-off approach to healthcare. Rather than treat patients directly, they work under a pharmacist to fill prescriptions and keep track of patient records.
When taking our course, you’ll learn everything there is to know about being a pharmacy tech, equipping you with the tools you need for a career in pharmacy. We recommend pharmacy technician courses and careers to people who are organized, work well with others, and have previous experience in data entry.
Medical Coding Specialist Certification
If you want a less patient-facing healthcare career, medical coding may be just the thing you need. Medical coding specialists work in hospitals and doctors offices, keeping track of patient records and submitting them to insurance providers.
Though you may occasionally interact with patients, the bulk of your work will be done with the aforementioned providers. Our course teaches you the foundational skills to enter the medical coding field, so if it seems like an appealing career, don’t hesitate to sign up!
Clinical Medical Assistant Certificate Program
Finally, there’s our Clinical Medical Assistant Certificate Program. Rather than extensively focusing on a single field, this program teaches you a variety of skills that you can use to assist people throughout the healthcare industry.
These essential skills include things like:
- procedures for administering medications
- taking vital signs
- assisting with surgical procedures
- and assisting with exams
We recommend this course for anyone who wants to take on a more general role in the healthcare field, or for those who haven’t yet decided what they want to specialize in yet. Either way, this course ensures that you’ll have a lucrative and fulfilling career ahead of you.
If you’d like to learn more about Clayton State CaPE’s program for healthcare professionals, visit our website or contact our Healthcare Coordinator, Louise Bryant, at 678 466-5120 today!