Medical Jobs
Although many industries are suffering throughout the nation, medical jobs continue to be in abundance. In many areas, this is the only area of employment that continues to create new jobs while other businesses are constantly laying off workers. Because of the necessity of the services this sector supplies, this area of the job market never seems to have a shortage of available positions. What it does have, however, is a shortage of workers.
One of the major problems this sector is facing is finding people to fill all of the jobs in medicine that are currently vacant. Because of this, existing staff members often have to work longer shifts and are constantly being offered the opportunity for overtime. Job security and plenty of chances to earn extra money make this the perfect field for someone who wants to get ahead in this time of economic strife.
The shortage of professionals for jobs in healthcare isn’t expected to end any time soon. With the population growing and the elderly making up a larger portion of it, there always seems to be a need for new workers. To make matters worse, many of the baby-boomers who currently hold jobs in this industry will be retiring in the next few years. Add to this the fact that, for many positions, schools are unable to train enough new workers to put a dent into the staffing shortage and you have a hiring managers worst nightmare.
The lack of people to fill healthcare jobs is particularly significant for certain positions such as nursing and general surgeons. According to the Washington Post, only 972 new general surgeons were certified in America during 2008. That is only 18 more professional that became qualified than were certified in 1980, when only 945 received the go-ahead to begin practicing medicine. This is extremely troubling when one considers the growth rate of the U.S.’s population.
The Post went on to say that in 1994 there were 7.1 general surgeons in America for every 100,000. Now there are only five for every 100,000 citizens.
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