Hello, dear readers, if any of you are left. I don't like long absences, but sometimes I have no choice. Sometimes, there is just no time for me to blog. Why? Because I've been busy as a beaver at work, every day. When the economy goes down, it seems, my work hours go up. That's because I have the modern-day equivalent of a "goose that lays golden eggs." That's right- I have a RECESSION-PROOF JOB!
There has been a lot of press about the so-called RECESSION-PROOF JOBS these days. The truth is that there is probably only one job that is entirely "recession-proof," and that's the job that Barack Obama just got. But still, there are jobs that are more recession-proof than others. Based on my experience, I think that many of those jobs are in HEALTH CARE. Let's examine some of those jobs, or professions, and examine why I think they are recession-proof.
1. DOCTORS: why on Earth would a high-paid person like a doctor have a job that could be considered recession-proof? Easy. Because the job of a doctor is to heal the sick and to keep the healthy, well...healthy. That job seems to get busier when there is a recession. I'm not entirely sure why; but I can speculate that more people are stressed out, working more hours, and abusing themselves more with their favorite "self-medications:" tobacco, alcohol, and recreational drugs. I certainly see more depression, alcoholism, insomnia, lung disease, and related illnesses during recession. My colleagues in surgery, pediatrics, and even dermatology have the same experience. It's only human; when we are worried about our finances and our job security, we tend to put our health on hold. And that's why society needs doctors even more during a recession.
2. NURSES: Any doctor in his right mind will tell you that a doctor without a nurse is like a pilot without an airplane, or something like that. I'm all but worthless without my nurses. Who do you think starts the I.V.s, schedules the appointments, gives the immunizations, refills the meds, takes out the stitches, and bandages all the wounds in a busy clinic or hospital? That's right, it's the nurses. We doctors have to do a lot of heavy-duty "thinking," "diagnosing," and sometimes "operating," but to be honest the nurses do most of the hands-on work with patients. And as the shortage of doctors grows, nurses are increasingly doing more of the work that doctors used to do. Some of the nurses at my clinic, for example, have their own entire practices full of patients they treat themselves. And the best part is that some of them make as much money as the doctors do. And what about this "doctor shortage?" Well, it's bad. But it's a minor problem compared to the shortage of nurses. If every person in the state of Kansas instantly became a nurse, we'd still need about 20,000 more of them. Imagine how many awesome, unfilled jobs in nursing there must be!
3. PHYSICIANS ASSISTANTS: Despite the misleading name, "P.A.s" do much more than assist doctors. Most of them evaluate and treat at least some patients themselves. They do assist in the operating room, but these days most of them can do some operations and medical procedures themselves. Like nurse practitioners, they may even have their own independent medical practices. They are in high demand, and they get paid well.
4. PHARMACISTS: When the economy is bad, people get sick more often, and abuse themselves more- so guess what? That means they take more drugs! And I'm not just talking about illegal drugs. Every year there are more people on more medications, and new medications coming onto the market constantly. Thus, the demand for pharmacists is tremendous. These are not just the people who count pills; increasingly, they do research, monitor patients on dangerous drugs, evaluate drugs for interactions and side effects, and counsel patients in numerous ways about the risks and benefits of medications. They also counsel doctors. They know more about medications than we do, and doctors beg them for guidance on a daily basis.
5. NURSE ASSISTANTS AND NUSE'S AIDES: The variety of degrees and jobs in nursing has gotten so complex that honestly I can't even give you an accurate list of all the various job titles. Suffice it to say that you can get a nursing or nurse assistant degree in 1, 2, 3, or 4 years, depending on how far you want to go. Bottom line: you can be trained to do a high-demand, kick-ass job in a short amount of time, and you'll have job offers coming at you faster than you can handle. Many of these jobs are at the lower levels, where there is minimal schooling involved. And even the lowest-level nurse's aide can get more training, and work up the nursing hierarchy. There is no limit to where nursing (or nurse assisting) can take you!
6. NUTRITIONISTS AND DIETITIANS: You might think a dietitian is someone who sits down with you and tells you to eat healthy foods. But that's only a small part of what these people do. Many serious health conditions require extremely complex nutritional planning and execution, and nutritionists and dietitians are relied on heavily, in all hospitals and in most clinics. Some people can't eat at all, and are fed for years through tubes and I.V. lines. Who makes sure those folks are getting enough of the hundreds of nutrients we need to survive? Who has the skill to design diets to protect your liver, your bones, your blood vessels, your brain, your newly transplanted organ, or your failing kidney? You guessed it: a dietitian. Or a nutritionist. It's as challenging and rewarding a job as any in health care.
IN SUMMARY:
If you are interested in health, worried about your current job, looking for your career path in life, or just need a midlife change of occupation, consider looking into heath care. Most people make the erroneous assumption that you need a ton of schooling, perfect grades, and an early start to get a good-paying job in this field. But that's no longer true. Even high-ranking medical schools that train tomorrow's heart surgeons are seeing a surge in older applicants and applicants who have worked in other careers for years, or even decades. Believe it or not, they LIKE those applicants. Real-world experience makes better health care workers, even if the experience is not health-related. And if you're in school or just starting school, so much the better. The world of health care is your oyster. And take it from me, a lowly primary care doctor: helping people to heal and stay healthy is a uniquely wonderful experience. My colleagues in nursing, pharmacy, nutrition, and related fields will tell you the same thing.
