Which Healthcare Career is Right for You?

There are countless reasons to pursue a career in healthcare, ranging from your personal goals to the joy of helping others. Here are three reasons you might consider a healthcare profession:

Finding the right career for your unique set of skills takes time and careful consideration. Some careers require a healthcare bachelor's degree, while some may only require an associate degree or undergraduate certificate.

To help you find the healthcare career that's right for you, take a look at the following career areas to see if one of them might be a good fit: healthcare administration, healthcare management and medical billing and coding.

Healthcare administration sometimes gets overlooked by those who want a career working directly with patients. Despite taking place in the background, healthcare administration is a vital role.

Healthcare administrators ensure that hospitals, doctor's offices and other healthcare facilities stay running at an optimal and efficient pace. By doing this, administrators make sure patients always receive the best possible care in a timely manner.

At DeVry, we offer a Bachelor’s in Healthcare Administration program specifically designed to help people like you gain the skills needed to pursue roles in healthcare administration including but not limited to:

Healthcare management has the potential to be a rewarding career for well-organized, driven and qualified individuals. People in this career note that the advantages are similar to those found in healthcare administration, but it's important to understand the difference between the two positions.

The primary difference between administration and management is the level of direct interaction with the care providers and facility operations. Administrators tend to work further in the background than management.

Healthcare management professionals keep an eye on the day-to-day management of healthcare providers. Some common responsibilities include controlling budgets, ensuring proper staffing and improving organizational efficiency. If you're a naturally organized individual who is eager to meet the qualifications of this exciting field, then healthcare management could be an excellent fit for you.

If you feel like healthcare management is a natural fit for you, here are some of the jobs that you might pursue in the field:

Medical billers and coders work to ensure that proper payment is processed in a timely manner and according to state and federal regulations. By facilitating timely reimbursement, medical billers and coders ensure that the proper financial resources are available to the facility. Analysis of proper coded records lead to efficiency and efficacy of treatment.

This career field is an essential part of any care provider facility or insurance agency. Medical billers and coders are responsible for applying proper codes to each service provided to a patient. They also submit claims to insurance companies (or review submitted claims if they work for an insurance group) to ensure that patients are charged the proper amount for services rendered.

This career field is responsible for more than just billing. The proper coding of procedures helps doctors and healthcare administrators develop more efficient processes based on analysis of how frequently procedures are performed, their efficacy and other factors. Efficiency analysis leads to more effective treatments for patients and to changes that increase the overall value that a care facility brings to its patients.

To pursue roles in this area of healthcare, consider earning an Undergraduate Certificate in Medical Billing and Coding. At DeVry, our programs can help you prepare to earn industry-recognized certifications such as the CPC (Certified Professional Coder), CCA (Certified Coding Associate) and a CCS (Certified Coding Specialist).

With our Undergraduate Certificate in Medical Billing and Coding, graduates can consider roles including but not limited to: