by Ashe Hope

Created on: November 22, 2008   Last Updated: February 03, 2012

A career in healthcare can be described as overworked, understaffed, stressed out and exhausting. Yet, when it comes to making a career choice, it still ranks high. It has job security, higher wages and rewarding moments. But the number one reason why it commands so many is because of the diversity that prevails in it. Diversity is the current trend in healthcare.

In yester years the players on the healthcare field were very few. There was the physician, accompanied by a nurse, followed by a Laboratory and X Ray technician. Add a pharmacist and a few orderlies, as they were then called, and that about summed it up. Not so, any more. In today's world, the various aspects healthcare are so many that the list may be endless.

To start with, the image of the physician has changed. No longer is it the tall, gray haired, bespectacled man with a slight stoop. The gender gap closed long back. Today's picture of physicians shows multi cultural men and women from all over the world. They are seen holding palm pilots in their hand, dictating their notes, which is being instantly transmitted to some country across the world. Technology has become an integrated part of the practice of medicine. What used to be a small office room is now on the global platform. Bio engineers are in great demand, as the science of engineering and medicine are merging together. Computer technology is an integral part of medical science. The innovation of less invasive procedures is keeping the researchers and educators busy. Many senior physicians are going back to the classroom, to be trained in the latest methods in surgery.

All of these fields have opened up many choices of ancillary medical jobs. Schools train students in various techniques. Medical assistant, Certified Nursing assistant, Pharmacy technicians, Dietitians, Sonograms and Cardiac technicians are all in great demand. So are therapists of every kind, like Physical therapists, Occupational therapists, Psychotherapists, and so on. A dental hygienist, or a dental assistant is of great help to a dentist. Radiology, once known as X Ray has gone ahead by leaps and bounds into MRI, CAT and PET scans. Laboratory science has branched into many divisions. DNA, has created jobs, not just in the Clinical world and Forensic science, but it has also helped many TV writers make a living!

Another trend, noticeably taking center stage, is making the patient be his or her own technician. We had gas stations attendants pump our gas, and waiters who waited on us at restaurants. If self-serve gas stations and fast food restaurants could replace them, the healthcare industry did not want to lag behind! Rapidly descending upon the patients is a multitude of gadgets, called POCT (Point of care testing). These devices can check blood sugar, cholesterol and so on. Patients test their own blood and call their doctors for their prescriptions! With the FDA releasing many medicines from the confines of being a prescribed drug, and the accessibility of the Internet for medical information, even calling the physician may become a thing of the past!

The advancement of all these new trends in healthcare is accompanied by another aspect, which probably had been on the back burner for many years. The finances of medicine are wearing new looks. Health insurance is such a hot topic, that it is one of the main issues in a presidential campaign. The rules and regulations that govern this industry have offered employment to many non-clinical people. Not far behind, are the lawyers, justly required some times, and unjustly used other times.

The spawn of the healthcare industry is manifold, and continues to grow. The trend in the healthcare industry is anything but stagnant.

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