Despite constant news of healthcare booming in today’s recovering economy, you probably want to think twice before investing in a healthcare career.
Before pursuing a career in healthcare, it’s wise to invest some time exploring a few of the negative aspects to this field. Although healthcare is a thriving industry, and very fulfilling to many individuals, you need to deliberately evaluate your personality and preferences before dedicating your time and attention to a career in healthcare.
Consider the top three reasons many choose to avoid working in this field:
1. Crazy Hours, Relatively Little Pay
The healthcare field is extremely demanding on its workers, from a labor and delivery nurse to a surgeon. Patients primarily require healthcare after an unexpected event. Sickness, heart attacks, and childbirth typically arrive unannounced. Thus, healthcare workers must respond to the demanding, versatile needs of patients.
While some thrive on a hectic schedule, most cannot deal with the intensity of working, for example, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., four days in a row. When you add in long hours and requirements to work on-call with less-than-glamorous pay, you realize the necessity of thinking twice about the time and commitment required to work in the healthcare field. Although doctors are typically heralded as some of the top earners in society, many positions in the healthcare industry yield meager pay. Nurses’ earnings, for example, typically begin to rise only after years of dedicated service.
2. Physically And Emotionally Draining
The healthcare field is not for the faint of heart. Consider for a moment the uniform of most healthcare workers: it almost always includes tennis shoes. Most healthcare workers are on their feet all day long, usually for long, back-to-back shifts.
Additionally, most hospitals and doctor’s offices require that their workers be extremely adaptable, as the business of caring for people creates many diversified situations. If you prefer scheduled, predictable days, a career in healthcare might not be the right choice for you.
Aside from physical stress, working in healthcare usually elicits a great deal of emotional strain. Patients are not always going to be smiling and courteous; after all, if given the choice, they’d rather not spend their time in a hospital or doctor’s office. Additionally, patients are typically in contact with healthcare workers at some of the worst moments in their lives. They’re usually rebounding from receiving unexpected, oftentimes painful, news about themselves or a beloved family member.
3. No Privacy, No Routine
The healthcare field is not for the introvert. If you prefer to work undisturbed, isolated in an office, with planned coffee breaks and lunch hours, you might want to reconsider choosing a career in healthcare. Healthcare is largely customer service-based, and involves constant interaction with other people. From caring for patients to seamlessly cooperating with co-workers all day long, healthcare requires around-the-clock intercommunication.
Additionally, if you are a slow, methodical thinker, preferring complete, uninterrupted silence to work, you might not enjoy a career in healthcare. Healthcare requires making quick, accurate decisions, often in front of an audience of coworkers and the patient’s family. Oftentimes, the decisions you make will evoke a negative reaction from family members, as they feel helpless while watching others make life-impacting decisions directly affecting the one they love.
Healthcare also requires experience in the art of human psychology and compassion; you must be able to read others, gauge their reactions, and act accordingly. Some patients require time to grasp recently delivered, often striking, news about their personal well-being. Rushing in to change bedsheets or prepare for a procedure, although necessary, may raise barriers or wreak emotional outbursts.
Working in the healthcare industry is well-suited to some, but a poor fit for others. If you’re thinking about establishing a career in healthcare, do your research first. Just as you would do with any commitment, take a look at the pros and cons before jumping in head-first. You might just find that the healthcare field is not as glorious as it seems.
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