Health Care Workers Have Plenty Of Options
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Lawmakers may still be debating the health care law, but health care providers are already preparing for the newly insured.
At a time when many job seekers are hoping for an offer, people in the health care industry are able to pick and choose.
CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker reports.
Nurse practitioner Joi Sawyer has been working at the Stony Health clinic since October. It only took her two months to find the job after posting her resume.
"I got a call every other week from a different organization to talk to me about if I would be a good fit for the job," Sawyer said
Nurse practitioners like Sawyer are in high demand because the health care industry is expected to explode under health care reform.
"There will be more patients and an influx in the health care system. As a result, more jobs," said Mike DeLuca, a jobs specialist with Manpower.
Where exactly will we find those jobs? At the top the list is home health care because more people will have coverage.
"People want to stay home and be with their families so we're seeing a huge increase-- 50 percent--for home health aides," said DeLuca
The newly insured are expected to visit clinics more often, so the demand for nurse practitioners and physician assistants is expected to increase 39 percent.
Dental assistants and dental hygienists will jump 36 percent. The move to preventive care and a focus on wellness means more technical jobs, such as x-ray and MRI technicians and the people who read them.
Demand for other fields, like physical and occupational therapists and medical assistants will increase as well.
And that demand will be there, regardless if Congress repeals the health care law—due in large part to the aging baby boomers.
Health providers looking for workers are paying an average of $96,000 for physician assistants, $79,000 for occupational therapists. Medical technicians can make $48,000 and home health care aides $24,000.
For more information on where to find health care jobs:
