Conventional wisdom has always said that if you want a profession where there are plenty of open jobs you should be an undertaker, a teacher or a nurse. While the first two of those are certainly not debatable it is the latter that offers the most opportunity for people wanting to invest in a career. Unfortunately while health care offers steady jobs with good pay and benefits, not everyone has the ability to go to college right out of high school or get involved in nursing. For those folks there are number of health care positions that can be acquired with simple training and lead to a better career down the road.



Certified nursing assistant

A certified nursing assistant (CNA), sometimes called a nurse's aide, provides direct patient care and meets patient needs including feeding, cleaning, taking vital signs and insuring comfort. There are a number of jobs available for CNA's beyond the hospital. Home health agencies, hospices and private facilities also utilize CNA's in their daily work. Some high schools and most community colleges offer training and certified nursing assistant programs that last anywhere from six months to a year. Once a person is certified they are free to accept the job of their choice. Many hospitals will contract with the CNA and pay their way through college if they would like to go further and become a licensed vocational nurse or registered nurse as long as they continue to work for the hospital.

Monitor technician

Monitor technicians work 12 hour shifts three days a week and have the ability to work overtime if they want to make more money. Their job consists mainly of watching the monitoring station for either an intensive care unit or telemetry unit in a hospital setting. They need to have specific knowledge about the monitor in question, understand heart rhythms and signs of distress and be able to document on a consistent basis. Many vocational schools and some hospitals offer three to six month programs to train people as monitor techs. One advantage monitor techs have over other health-care professionals is the ability to maintain a set schedule. This is also a good open-door career to expose people to medical professions if they are looking for a future career.

Input coordinator

Almost every nurse's station on every floor in a hospital has an input coordinator, also known as a unit clerk. Their job is to list doctor's orders into the computer and send communications throughout the hospital and to doctor's offices. The input coordinator orders medications from the pharmacy and makes sure operating rooms or testing sites are aware of the arrival of a patient. Training to be a unit clerk can be found at most vocational or technical schools and take three to six month to complete. Input coordinators typically work eight hour shifts and can manage a shift schedule to their liking.

For all of the people who wanted to be a nurse when they grew up there is still a chance for them to meet their dream by starting in one of these open-door professions and moving up a ladder of health care.