3 Emerging Jobs within the Growing Healthcare Industry

Healthcare jobs are constantly growing, even despite a weak economy.

As job outlooks become desperate, both experienced professionals and recent graduates are hoping to break into the healthcare industry where jobs are consistently becoming available. The need for healthcare workers will continue to rise, mostly due to advancements in technology and baby boomers who are heading towards retirement and will need special care.

If the healthcare industry is something that intrigues you, here are three jobs that many colleges and universities are pushing their students to pursue over the coming years.

Nurse Clinical Specialists

There are three typical paths to registered nursing, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook. The first two are receiving either an associate degree or a bachelor's degree. The third is to receive your master's degree to become a clinical nurse specialist, where you focus on one area and provide direct patient care. With nursing maintaining its status as the largest healthcare occupation, more and more nursing students are being directed to receive their master's degree and work to become a specialist.

Speech Pathology

Speech-language pathologists, or speech therapists, work with those with speech, language, cognitive-communication, voice, or fluency disorders. Many speech pathologists work with the elderly, meaning that there will be a huge need for workers as the baby boomers head into retirement. The position requires a master's degree, completion of a national examination and clinical experience.

Perianesthesia Nurses

When patients undergo surgery or other procedures that require anesthesia, a perianesthesia nurse provides both preoperative and postoperative care. With the nursing field growing faster than any other occupation, this affects perianesthesia nurses as well, especially for those with professional certification and experience. To become a perianesthesia nurse, one must have completed a nursing program and complete the Nursing Certification given by the American Board of Perianesthesia.

There have also been a boost of male nurses in the industry, but men still hold just a fraction of nursing jobs. Popular areas for male nurses to pursue include crucial care, emergency and trauma nursing, and flight nursing.