Did you know that you can work in the healthcare sector without getting a medical degree and license?
The healthcare sector is a stable industry that foresees strong demand and opportunities. The best part is that you don’t have to treat patients to pursue a career in this field.
If you want to stay in the industry, you can pursue non-clinical healthcare jobs. The healthcare industry is currently 18 million employees strong, including non physician jobs. That number is only set to grow.
Like diagnosing and treating patients, non clinical healthcare jobs are vital. Are you wondering what non medical careers in healthcare you can do? Read on to know your options.
1. Healthcare Administrator
If the doctors treat the patients, who do you think ensures the provision of quality care? To ensure smooth operation, the organization needs a leader with administrative skills. For this job, a healthcare administrator takes the role.
Although they seldom meet patients, the administrators can give quality care. They set goals, create policies, and ensure regulatory compliance in a medical facility. A healthcare administrator supervises a specific department or the whole facility.
As an administrator, you create work schedules and manage and train staff. They run the facility to improve patients’ experience. If you’re a natural-born leader, working as a healthcare administrator may be a good fit for you.
2. Medical Administrative Assistant
A non-medical employee is in charge of greeting everyone who enters their facility. They are the medical administrative assistants or secretaries of the organization. Their role is to provide quality customer service to patients and visitors.
A medical secretary accommodates the patients and ensures they feel welcome. However, they spend a lot of their time doing office tasks. As an assistant, you schedule appointments, prepare reports, and process billing.
Work inside a healthcare facility is endless, which is why medical secretaries are in demand.
To become a medical secretary, you need a bachelor’s degree in medical administration. You learn and remember the different terminologies used in the healthcare industry. Further, administrative skills and excellent customer service are some qualities they need.
3. Healthcare Manager
In any industry, people often interchange an administrator and a manager. However, when you go in-depth with these professions, they have many differences. For example, as a healthcare administrator, you manage the medical staff and share management work.
When you’re a healthcare manager, you have a broader role within the medical facility. You check and oversee the day-to-day operations of the organization. You supervise the facility and ensure the staff delivers efficient and quality care.
As a manager, you deal with organizational finances, business concerns, and issues. You enhance the operation within the facility and provide an action plan in times of crisis. If you have management and organizational skills, this non-clinical healthcare job is for you.
4. Medical Coder
Are you fluent in coding systems? One of the promising non-clinical healthcare jobs is a medical coder. The job outlook for medical coders is looking positive, so you won’t have to worry about finding job opportunities.
Certifications and technical skills are also vital to become a medical coder. It assures your employer that you can input accurate data into health records.
Medical coders do also serve as translators of the healthcare sector. The coder turns the doctors’ notes and patients’ medical records into codes for billing and data management purposes.
You review the clinical statements formulated during the consultation and treatment process. Next, you make codes for each of the services performed. Then, the billing professionals used these codes in preparing the billing statement.
5. Health Information Technician
As doctors record every test, diagnosis, and prescription, they need a staff to manage them. Apart from coders, health information technicians work on patients’ medical records. However, they ensure that electronic health records are accurate and secure.
In addition, they analyze the data on patient results. With this, some health information technicians work as medical coders, too. They have coding skills used to design provided services.
To become a HIT, you need an associate degree in health information or a postsecondary certificate. You must have a basic knowledge of medical physiology, anatomy, and terminology, too. Health information technicians must also abide by regulations on healthcare privacy and electronic health records.
6. Patient Advocate
When staying in a medical facility, patients tend to feel overwhelmed. This is where patient advocates step in. This career is one of the healthcare jobs that is non clinical yet has direct contact with patients.
A patient advocate bridges the gap between patients and medical professionals. They explain the medical terminologies and procedures to the concerned patient. This allows patients to understand their treatment options and plans.
The advocates also communicate their patients’ concerns to their physicians and nurses. They ensure they feel heard and not neglected by giving support. Any person with a kind heart and who wants to be in the healthcare industry can work as a patient advocate.
If you’re a student in need of support, check out this link: https://www.ultimatemedical.edu
7. Nurse Paralegal
Nurse paralegals work under the supervision of a lawyer. They conduct legal research, communicate with patients, and prepare case proceeding statements. Further, they weigh malpractice cases and work with insurers and the government.
To become a nurse consultant, you must hold a current RN license and a paralegal certificate. Further, organizations look for nurse paralegals with an associate degree in paralegal studies. All these are essential to ensure you know the legal issues in the healthcare industry.
Non Clinical Healthcare Jobs to Pursue
Some think the healthcare industry exclusively entails diagnoses, treatments, and prescribing medicine. Healthcare is a vast industry with endless job opportunities that don’t include working in a clinic. These are only a few of many non clinical healthcare jobs to consider.
Non medical careers in healthcare range from administrative tasks to volunteer work. If you’ve always wanted to work in healthcare but couldn’t picture yourself in a clinic, this is your chance. Check out our other blog posts to learn more about working in the healthcare industry.
