5 Health C areer Pathways

1. 5 Health Career Pathways Divided into 5 areas

2. Therapeutic • Provide service to the client over time • Careers include medical assisting, nursing, home health care, respiratory care, rehabilitation and pharmacy. • Amount of required education varies. It depends on what YOU choose. • Skills required include: data collection, treatment planning, implementing procedures, and client status evaluation.

3. Diagnostic • These people create a “picture” of the health status of a client at one point in time. • As an example, if a client has blood drawn, the results reflect the status of their health only at that time. • Careers include: areas of cardiology, imaging, and radiology. • Skills needed would include : Preparation, procedure, planning, evaluation and reporting.

4. Health Informatics • This career path you will be responsible for recording the clients valuable health care information. • Careers include medical records and unit coordination • Skills include: analysis, abstracting and coding, informatics systems, documentation, and operations.

5. Support Services Careers • This work asks staff to create a safe and healthful environment for the client and other health care workers. • Careers include biomedical engineer, and central supply employee • Skills include: knowledge of aseptic procedure, understanding of an aesthetically pleasing environment.

6. Biotechnology Research and Development • Highly scientific! • Careers include: Geneticist, Microbiologist, Toxicologist, Bioinformatics scientist • Skills include a strong aptitude and love for science, • The merging of computer technology and biology has created many of these types of work. • These people may work in food, agriculture, pollution control, and pharmaceuticals. • They may work in government agencies, labs, water treatment plants, hospitals and education.

7. Quiz – 10 Points • Get out a sheet of paper from your spiral. • Put your name, date and block on the top right hand corner. • Write down the health care pathways. Number them and give yourself room to add at least one occupation from each one for each of the pathways that you recall. • Hand in your quiz upon completion.

8. The 11 Health Care Skill Standards • They exist to insure that the workforce has the knowledge and skills to perform their job to the highest level effectively.

9. Academic foundation • Know the subject matter proficiently. • Use the knowledge in their role. • This includes reading, writing, mathematics, knowledge of life sciences, using health care terminology, and being aware of the history of health care.

10. Communication • Know various methods of giving and receiving information. Both orally and in written form.

11. Systems • How their role fits into the department. Organization, and overall health care environment. • Able to identify how key systems affect services that they perform and the quality of care that they provide.

12. Legal responsibilities • Will understand the legal responsibilities, limitations and implications of their actions within the health care delivery system. • Perform duties according to regulations, policies, laws, and legislated rights of clients.

13. Ethics • Will understand acceptable ethical practices with respect to cultural, social, and ethnic differences within the health care environment. • Will perform duties according to established ethical guidelines, supporting sensitive and quality health care delivery.

14. Safety practices • Will understand the existing and potential hazards to clients, coworkers and themselves • Will prevent injury or illness through safe work practices and will follow health and safety policies and procedures. • Hidden Places Where Germs Hide in School • http://www.nasn.org/Default.aspx?tabid=597>

15. Employability skills • Will understand how their employability skills enhance their employment opportunities and job satisfaction. • Will demonstrate skills that support and maintain job functions AND will upgrade these skills as needed.

16. Teamwork • Will understand the roles and responsibilities of individual members as a part of a health care team, including their ability to promote the delivery of quality health care. • Will interact effectively and sensitively with all members of the health care team.

17. Health maintenance practices • Will understand the fundamentals of wellness and the process of preventing disease. • Will practice preventative health behaviors among clients.

18. Technical skills • Will apply technical skills required for all career specialties. • Will demonstrate skills and knowledge as appropriate.

19. Information technology skills • Will use information technology applications requires within all career specialties. • Will demonstrate the use of information technology as appropriate to health care applications.