Hospital

Hospital jobs are always in high demand. Hospitals are staffed with many different kinds of people and professions. Not all hospital positions involve the direct care of patients; in fact, many hospital jobs are non-clinical in nature. These non-clinical hospital jobs can be of an administrative, financial, executive, or custodial nature. Working in a large hospital is like working in a small community with many other co-workers. Hospitals are large public places where many visitors go to get medical care of all types. Hospital workers contribute to the health of both the economy and of the population. There are over 4.7 million jobs in the United States and the entire health care sector comprising of 1/6th of the entire country’s gross domestic product. Overall the health care sector is composed of over 14.7 million jobs. As the rest of the American economy in recession, hospital employment is experiencing either growth or stability. In February 2010, as the rest of the economy shed 34,000 jobs, hospital employment grew by 1,500 new jobs. In the 12 month period between February 2009 and February 2010, hospital employment grew by 0.7% with 32,700 new jobs added in that period. When compared to the overall growth of the entire Hospital employment is generally considered a recession proof job because people are always going to need medical care. Unfortunately, some of the nation’s largest cities had to close down a few hospitals within the last two years. However, the bigger picture shows hospital employment to be a promising choice of career.

There are many different types of hospital jobs available. The type of job depends on an individual’s qualifications, education, and experience. Not all jobs in hospitals are related to the direct care of the patients. Hospital jobs can be divided into two different types: clinical and non-clinical. Clinical jobs involve the health care specific training that include getting a Doctorate in medicine, nursing degree, or a trade school degree. Non-clinical jobs generally involve the administration, maintenance, and other services provided in the facility.

Clinical Hospital Positions

•Doctor – Doctors must undergo several years of training and an advanced degree in medicine before certified to practice. The doctor position is a highly professionalized position, training takes approximately 8 years, which includes the earning of a Bachelors, Doctorate, residency training, and certification. Hospital doctors can be specialized in several different aspects of medical practice. Hospital doctors provide critical care to patients. They have authority over nurses. Doctors have high paying salaries that reflect the level of training and responsibilities to which they are held.

•Nurses – Nurses must get their certification to practice medicine as a nurse. Nursing school takes approximately four years plus on-the-job training at a teaching hospital. Nurses have a more direct relationship with patients than doctors do. Nurses have a position that is subordinate to doctors. They execute many of the tests and administration of medications that patients need. Nurses work many hours. The nature of the work a nurse does is specific to the ward in which she or he works.

•Surgeon – Surgeons are medical doctors that are specialized in performing operations.

•Medical assistants – Medical assistants make sure that the doctor has the proper tools and medications to carry out care of patients. Medical assistants do not have to go through as many years of training that nurses do. Often these hospital workers have trade school degrees that could be completed in two years after receiving their high school diploma or GED.

•Therapists – The training and education necessary to become a medical therapist varies depending on what type of therapy in which the therapist is specialized. Physical therapists generally have four year degrees and their job focuses on the patient’s rehabilitation from injury or surgery.

•Pharmacists – The training necessary to become a pharmacist requires a four year degree in pharmacological science. After the degree is earned, a certification test must be taken and passed. Pharmacists are knowledgeable of medical drugs and fill prescriptions for patients. They instruct patients on how to take prescription drugs safely and properly.

•Dietitian – Dietitians are qualified to give patients nutritional information in order to ensure a patient’s optimal health. Dietitians can be certified to practice in four to five years.

Non-Clinical Hospital Positions
•Case manager / Social Worker – These hospital workers give critical help to those who may have had to visit the hospital as a result of physical or sexual abuse. Social workers and case managers also deal with the unfortunate circumstances of orphaned children who died in the hospitals. Social workers deal with all social issues that surround interpersonal relations that may involve the breaking of laws.

•Accountants – Accountants contribute to the financial health of the hospital itself. They make sure that all employees are paid properly and make sure that all administrative expenses are taken care of.

•Human Resources & Recruiting

•Executives – CEO, CFO, CIO.

•Information Technology – With the growing dependence on computers for administrative and archival purposes, IT professionals are increasingly necessary for the proper conduction of a hospital. Medical records are increasingly being stored electronically. These professionals are in charge of keeping electronic information safe and secure.

•Administrative Assistants

All hospital positions require a high degree of people and communication skills. An average size hospital has hundreds of employees and patients are coming in and out every hour. The hospital atmosphere can easily be regarded as controlled chaos. Hospital jobs are generally more secure than corporate jobs because the need for urgent medical care is constant. Hospitals are generally not the most progressive places to work. Other than new technologies being adopted, hospitals as an institution are unlikely to change very much for the duration of a career. For some people, hospital politics are a turnoff from the workplace environment. However, all jobs involve a certain degree of politics. Another drawback of choosing a hospital as a place of work is that patients entering could be contagious. Therefore, there is a greater risk of infection for hospital workers. Overall, hospitals are great places to work and contribute much to the benefit of entire communities and economies.

Hospital

An aspect of the current economic crisis that is not commonly reported is the national trend of hospital closures. In the last decade many of the number of hospitals in the City of New York that have been slated to close, are currently downsizing, or are restructuring increased at an alarming rate. Most hospitals that are undergoing rapid negative changes are located near parts of the city where the rate of poverty is higher. Availability of rapid response emergency health care is not available to these people, the consequences of hospital closure could be staggering. This is not, however, a new trend since 1985 the location of hospitals that are in weak financial positions are more likely to be located in poorer areas. State grants to these hospitals is not seeming to work, and the problem is further exacerbated by the State of New York’s large fiscal deficit of $8.2 billion dollars. In addition to the state’s desperate fiscal climate, the political climate is not much better with Democrats and Republicans at a gridlock. The chances of state fiscal intervention is very unlikely, increasing the chances of hospital closures.

The most recent hospital to be in danger of closing is St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Manhattan. New York Governor David Patterson attempted to arrange a partnership agreement between St. Vincents and Mount Sinai Medical Center of Queens. Due to the failure of this agreement coming to fruition, the fate of the Greenwich Village hospital hangs in the balance. St. Vincent’s hospital is running a deficit of about $7 million to $10 million dollars a month despite the taking out of $20 million worth of emergency loans from private banks.

Citywide, the public New York City hospitals are cutting 3,900 jobs. The hospital job cuts are the worst job cuts in the health care sector in 20 years. The job cuts will reduce the cities health care to 35,000 jobs in NYC’s public hospitals. Hospitals across the board are running deficits, necessitating job cuts, restructuring, and even closures. As of March 2009, 2 Queens hospitals closed, St. John’s Queens Hospital and Mary Immaculate Hospital, cutting 2,500 jobs from that borough. The two hospitals in Queens are located in neighborhoods heavily populated by minorities, whose poverty rates are historically high. In addition to further disadvantaging the already disadvantaged, hospital closures damage the quality of care in other hospitals. This would cause overcrowding in emergency rooms, maternity wards, and other critical wards of hospitals citywide. For example in June 2009 Brooklyn hospitals struggled to give rapid service to mothers giving birth in the maternity ward due to closures of hospitals. In one hospital in Brooklyn, Maimonides Medical Center 74 babies were born in 48 hours setting a record for the hospital. In the first five months of 2009, over 3,000 babies were born at Brooklyn’s Borough Park hospital alone, a 16% increase since 2007. The overcrowded conditions did not, for the most part, jeopardize the welfare of newborns and mother’s giving birth but many were inconvenienced. This is simply a warning sign of a trend that could be of serious concern if not addressed properly.

What is the State of New York to do when schools, hospitals, and even some of the state’s prisons are closing? This is causing political backlashes that is reflexive of frustrated citizens that are effected by public facility closures. New York Republicans of Upstate New York are angry with closures of prisons as corrections are vital to the economy of that region of the state. New York City’s mainly Democratic inhabitants are very disappointed on the closure of several of New York’s public schools. Public health is an issue the affects all New York Citizens and closures of hospitals must be avoided at all costs. Most of New York State’s federal stimulus money went to New York State’s larger than average Medicaid program. The money went to running the program, sacrificing some hospitals in the process. The stimulus dollars were not enough to cover the overall health care crisis within the state due to the financial black hole of the state’s deficit. New York has a larger Medicaid burden than most other states because it is the third most populous state and a major gateway for entering immigrants who are poorer than most Americans. The State’s vital network of hospitals is on the verge of collapse with New York City at its epicenter. Recovery for New York State is not on the horizon, maybe a political see change in New York’s Gubernatorial Election is likely. However, that does not mean that a solution to the State’s problems are near.