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Healthcare is the single largest employer in the United States, with over 13.5 million workers across 545,000 establishments. These health centers can range from smaller private clinics employing fewer than 5 people, to busy hospitals that offer numerous and varied job opportunities. Healthcare is a comprehensive term that includes physicians, nurses, dentists, and other medical practitioners, not to mention medical transcribers, medical technicians, and other administrative or support career fields. - Find Schools offering Healthcare field education.

Healthcare Professionals: Education and Training
Physicians are responsible for diagnosing ailments and prescribing medication or other forms of treatment. They are the most educated of all healthcare professionals, and an individual considering this highly specialized field, can expect to put in many years of education; 4 years of pre-med school followed by another 4 years of medical school. Post education, they are required to complete a residency program which takes the form of on-the-job training in a hospital and can last between 3-8 years. New physicians will not directly begin private practice; rather they will have to initially work in a hospital or a large private clinic. Those intending to join the nursing profession also must complete training, but in many cases, a 2-year associates degree will suffice. Coursework typically focuses on various aspects of nursing practices, microbiology, anatomy, and physiology.

Career Prospects in the Healthcare Sector
With rapid advances in medical care and longer life expectancies, healthcare professionals (and especially physicians) can expect extremely favorable demand in the coming years. The highest pay packages are reported by anesthesiologists, whose median earnings in 2004 were $321,686. For nurses, the median earnings were $52,330, with the highest earning nurses drawing up to $74,760. As demand for more medical personnel continues to rise in the wake of retiring baby boomers, one can expect salaries to increase across the board.

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Source: US Department of Labor

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