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Healthcare Careers and Accredited Degree Programs

Healthcare is already America’s largest employer, but an aging population means it will grow even further. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022), healthcare accounts for five of the 20 fastest-growing occupations between 2021 and 2031. With many reputable schools now offering healthcare degrees online, it has never been easier to get started—and there are more options than ever before. 

HealthcareDegree.com has done the research, gathering key data points to help you compare and contrast all the options, including on-campus and online degrees in healthcare administration, physical health, mental health, and laboratory sciences. From in-depth school profiles to at-a-glance fact sheets and career roadmaps, we have anticipated the questions you might have and put the answers in a distilled format that’s easy to digest. 

On HealthcareDegree.com, you will be able to find a healthcare degree program that’s your perfect match.

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Administration

Healthcare administrators run the business side of healthcare. That’s no small feat. Over $4.1 trillion in spending flowed through the market in 2020. The mounting technological, regulatory, and financial challenges in the healthcare industry have drastically increased the need for healthcare managers and leaders. 

This is a profession that’s grown over 3,200 percent since 1975. It’s not done yet, either: the BLS (2022) projects that jobs in healthcare management and administration will swell 28 percent nationally between 2021 and 2031. Healthcare administration degree programs provide a unique blend of business acumen and healthcare knowledge, allowing graduates can make healthcare delivery more efficient and effective. 

Physical Health

The retirement of the Baby Boomer generation is creating one of the most significant demographic shifts in American history. As the population ages, the need for physical healthcare grows in tandem. The aging population does not only need medical doctors; it needs the specialized expertise of physician associates (assistants), nurse practitioners, and speech-language pathologists, among others, which make up some of the fastest-growing occupations in the country. 

Mental Health

The state of mental health has reached crisis levels in the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, half of all Americans will be diagnosed with a mental illness or disorder at some point in their lifetime. Depression is the third most common cause of hospitalization among middle-aged adults and roughly 47,000 Americans commit suicide every year. Mental health professionals fight this epidemic with awareness, compassion, prevention, and treatment. Degree programs stress both social awareness and scientific knowledge. Given the wide scope of mental health and a renewed focus on integrative care, careers in this field range from substance abuse counselors and behavioral analysts to licensed psychiatrists. 

Lab & Biomedical

If healthcare had a physical brain, it would be located in the lab. Patient-facing care providers rely on the hard-nosed science performed in labs to inform their diagnoses and treatment plans. Pharmaceutical and biomedical advances similarly depend on the closed-door research at laboratories to change the scope of what is possible. This is science in its purest form, and degree programs in this field stress the core fundamentals that lay at the foundation of medicine. At the same time, they explore the rapid innovations in technology that are transforming healthcare as we know it. From automation and 3D printing to robotics and nanotech, the future is here—and it’s in the lab. 

Nursing

From registered nurses to advanced practice RNs (APRNs) such as nurse practitioners, the gamut of nursing professions is expected to grow substantially in the coming years. In fact, the BLS (2022) projects that openings for RNs will swell 6 percent between 2021 and 2031, adding 195,400 fresh openings nationwide. During the same period, positions for NPs are projected to increase a staggering 46 percent, with the expected addition of 114,900 jobs. Opportunities for nurse anesthetists and nurse midwives are anticipated to grow 12 and 7 percent, respectively, in that same decade.

Check out the range of nursing professions at all degree levels, including how to join these professions, the certification and licensure procedures, and the salary ranges.


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Healthcare speaks its own language. It’s natural to have questions and the HealthcareDegree.com FAQ section is here to help. From term definitions to career roadmaps and job title comparisons, we provide the answers you need in plain English and walk through them step-by-step.  

Q. How Does an RN Become a Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM)?
Q. What is Healthcare Administration?
Q. How Does an RN Become a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP)?
Q. Are There Accelerated BSN Programs?
Q. What is the SLP Certification of Clinical Competence (ASHA CCC-SLP)?
View All FAQs

The HD Blog

Healthcare is changing all the time. Our blog helps you keep pace. Here you will find posts that are relevant from the time you first apply to a degree program all the way through graduation. We feature interviews with professors and program alumni, briefs on key healthcare laws and policies, professional advocacy issues, and other resources. If you’re going to pursue a career in healthcare, you have got to catch up with the conversation. Get a head start by checking out our blog. 

View The Blog