3 States with the Most Demand for Healthcare Professionals

The healthcare industry added more than a quarter million jobs during July, August, and September. Where is demand the greatest?

The healthcare workforce, like virtually every other industry, was greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, seeing staggering job losses as the virus—and the economic fallout associated with it—swept the nation. However, due to the ongoing pandemic, healthcare professionals are obviously essential in a way that most other workers currently are not, and hiring remains steady, with the healthcare industry adding back more than 250,000 jobs during July, August, and September.

Where is the demand for healthcare professionals the greatest, though? We analyzed data from our jobs website to determine what states currently have the highest inventory of openings. Here are the top three states where healthcare professionals are needed most.

1. California

Number of Openings in California: 6,665

Noteworthy Openings in California:

Click Here to Search Healthcare Jobs in California →

2. Texas

Number of Openings in Texas: 2,726

Noteworthy Openings in Texas:

Click Here to Search Healthcare Jobs in Texas →

3. Pennsylvania

Number of Openings in Pennsylvania: 2,368

Noteworthy Openings in Pennsylvania:

Click Here to Search Healthcare Jobs in Pennsylvania →

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

3 States with the Most Demand for Physicians

Physicians are essential in a way that most other professions currently are not. But where is demand greatest? Here are the top 3 states.

The physician workforce, like virtually every other industry, was greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, seeing staggering job losses as the virus—and the economic fallout associated with it—swept the nation. However, due to the ongoing pandemic, physicians are obviously essential in a way that most other professions currently are not, and hiring remains steady, with the healthcare industry adding back more than 250,000 jobs during July, August, and September.

Where is the demand for physicians the greatest, though? We analyzed data from our jobs website to determine what states currently have the highest inventory of openings. Here are the top three states where physicians are needed most.

1. California

Average Annual Physician Salary in California: $203,320

Noteworthy Openings in California:

Click Here to Search Physician Jobs in California →

2. Pennsylvania

Average Annual Physician Salary in Pennsylvania: $201,220

Noteworthy Openings in Pennsylvania:

Click Here to Search Physician Jobs in Pennsylvania →

3. New York

Average Annual Physician Salary in New York: $194,070

Noteworthy Openings in New York:

Click Here to Search Physician Jobs in New York →

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

3 States with the Most Demand for Advanced Practitioners

With healthcare hiring rebounding, where is the demand for NPs, PAs, and CRNAs the greatest? Here are the top three states for these advanced practitioners.

The healthcare workforce, like nearly every other industry, was greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, seeing staggering job losses as the virus, and the economic fallout associated with it, swept across the nation. However, advanced practitioners are essential in a way that most other professions are not at the moment, and hiring remains steady, with the healthcare industry adding back more than 250,000 jobs during July, August, and September.

Where is the demand for NPs, PAs, and CRNAs the greatest, though? We analyzed data from our jobs website to determine what states currently have the highest inventory of openings. Here are the top three states where NPs, PAs, and CRNAs are needed most.

States with the Most Demand for Nurse Practitioners

1. New York

Average Annual Nurse Practitioner Salary in New York: $122,550

Noteworthy Openings in New York:

Click Here to Search Nurse Practitioner Jobs in New York →

2. California

Average Annual Nurse Practitioner Salary in California: $138,660

Noteworthy Openings in California:

Click Here to Search Nurse Practitioner Jobs in California →

3. Connecticut

Average Annual Nurse Practitioner Salary in Connecticut: $115,140

Noteworthy Openings in Connecticut:

Click Here to Search Nurse Practitioner Jobs in Connecticut →

States with the Most Demand for Physician Assistants

1. Pennsylvania

Average Annual Physician Assistant Salary in Pennsylvania: $102,620

Noteworthy Openings in Pennsylvania:

Click Here to Search Physician Assistant Jobs in Pennsylvania →

2. Connecticut

Average Annual Physician Assistant Salary in Connecticut: $137,060

Noteworthy Openings in Connecticut:

Click Here to Search Physician Assistant Jobs in Connecticut →

3. New York

Average Annual Physician Assistant Salary in New York: $123,080

Noteworthy Openings in New York:

Click Here to Search Physician Assistant Jobs in New York →

States with the Most Demand for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists

1. Texas

Average Annual CRNA Salary in Texas: $167,020

Noteworthy Openings in Texas:

Click Here to Search CRNA Jobs in Texas →

2. Florida

Average Annual CRNA Salary in Florida: $160,030

Noteworthy Openings in Florida:

Click Here to Search CRNA Jobs in Florida →

3. Virginia

Average Annual CRNA Salary in Virginia: $180,120

Noteworthy Openings in Virginia:

Click Here to Search CRNA Jobs in Virginia →

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

3 States with the Most Demand for Nurses

Healthcare added back more than a quarter million jobs over the past three months. Here are the top three states where demand for nurses is the greatest.

The nursing workforce, like virtually every other industry, was greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, seeing staggering job losses as the virus—and the economic fallout associated with it—swept the nation. However, nurses are essential in a way that most other professions are not at the moment, and hiring remains steady, with the healthcare industry adding back more than 250,000 jobs during July, August, and September.

Where is the demand for nurses the greatest, though? We analyzed data from our jobs website to determine what states currently have the highest inventory of openings. Here are the top three states where nurses are needed most.

1. California

Average Annual Registered Nurse Salary in California: $113,240

Noteworthy Openings in California:

Click Here to Search Registered Nurse Jobs in California →

2. Texas

Average Annual Registered Nurse Salary in Texas: $74,540

Noteworthy Openings in Texas:

Click Here to Search Registered Nurse Jobs in Texas →

3. Virginia

Average Annual Registered Nurse Salary in Virginia: $71,870

Noteworthy Openings in Virginia:

Click Here to Search Registered Nurse Jobs in Virginia →

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

Return to School Shines Spotlight on Oft-Forgotten Nurses

Given the ongoing COVID crisis, school nurses are more important than ever before, as they look after the health and well-being of students and staff alike.

Nurses are synonymous with hospitals, public health clinics, and physicians’ offices. We expect to see nurses dressed in scrubs whenever we go in for medical tests. But there is one group of nurses that is often forgotten: school nurses. They are forgotten no more now that the nation is returning to school in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

School nurses are more important than ever before. That is not to say they were unimportant prior to coronavirus, but rather to say that their responsibilities are so much greater as they look after the health and well-being of students and staff alike.

Meeting Students at the Door

Today’s school nurses work with other staff members to meet students as they arrive for school. Students are temperature check and asked about symptoms. These daily meetings are commonplace in school districts across the country. But once classes start, the nurse’s job isn’t done. Indeed, it has just begun.

School nursing jobs exist to provide adequate medical care in the event a student falls ill or is injured on campus. So nurses return to their offices following coronavirus screening only to be greeted by the rest of their daily work.

Students enter the nurse’s office throughout the day to receive their prescription medications. Others come in complaining of headaches, stomach aches, and a variety of other problems. It is the school nurse’s job to comfort and diagnose simultaneously. When necessary, it is her job to contact parents and request a sick child be picked up.

Communicating About Coronavirus

Communicating with parents is a normal part of the school nurse’s job, especially when kids are sick. However, coronavirus has taken that aspect of the nurse’s job to the next level.

In many school districts, nurses began communicating with parents long before the doors were opened. They sent out letters informing parents of the school’s safety procedures and protocols. They spoke to nervous parents over the phone and answered online inquires via social media.

School nurses were often present at school board meetings in the weeks leading up to reopening. They were there to answer questions and alleviate the concerns of parents fearful about sending their children back. Nurses even spent time discussing things with staff members, reassuring them that everything was under control.

A Long History of Care

It is unfortunate that school nurses are often forgotten by the general public. Forgetting about them is understandable given the many pressures we face day-to-day, but it is still unfortunate that they do not get the recognition they are due. For more than 100 years, skilled nurses have been on the front lines of school safety.

According to the New York Times, school nursing in this country started way back in 1902 in the Big Apple. It was nurse Lina Rogers who took the plunge, going to work on New York’s lower East side. She became the very first public health nurse and the first school nurse in the country. She was responsible for providing services to four separate schools serving 10,000 students.

A big part of her job was to educate parents about common diseases and infections. Along with Rogers, New York’s schools had 24 additional nurses serving 100 schools by spring of the following year. Other cities learned from New York’s example and began hiring their own nurses.

In New York City today, there are some 10,000 students who take prescription medication daily. Nurses handle that for the most part. But they also handle everything from stomachaches to runny noses. And now, they are also heading up coronavirus screening. What more could we possibly ask of them?

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

How Healthcare Workers with Children Are Coping During the Pandemic

Parenting is hard. Parenting as a healthcare worker during a pandemic is even harder. These 7 strategies can help your family cope with coronavirus.

by Deborah Swanson

Juggling healthcare work with parenting was already a challenge in the best of times, and the pandemic has made everything 10 times harder. Now providers worry about bringing the virus home to their kids while simultaneously managing unprecedented situations at work. If you’re a healthcare worker with kids, here are seven suggestions for coping with the ongoing pandemic.

Consider Your Risk Factors

Not every healthcare worker is exposed equally to coronavirus. Likewise, not every healthcare worker is equally vulnerable or has a family member who’s equally vulnerable to the disease. If your line of work doesn’t bring you into contact with infectious patients that much, and no one in your family is high risk, you might be able to continue seeing your family as long as you wear proper protective gear at work, wash your hands often and clean yourself as soon as you get home. However, if you’re working directly with COVID patients, or your spouse and/or your kids are at a higher risk, it’s worth taking extra precautions and considering how much exposure you and your family are comfortable with.

Get Partners and Family Members Involved

If you’re raising your kids with a partner, both of you should talk about your comfort levels and exactly what risks you’ll be running at work. If you decide to self-isolate from your family (more on how to do this below), your partner will also have to take on more housework and childcare, so that’s a conversation that you need to have together. You might also want to turn to parents or in-laws for child assistance if they live nearby, but, again, you need to evaluate the risk factors. Grandparents are likely to be older and thus at a higher risk, and if you see your kids at home and then your spouse drops them off at grandma’s, the kids could transmit the infection even if they don’t have symptoms. If your spouse can’t watch the kids in your stead—maybe you both work in healthcare—it might be wise to temporarily have your kids stay with another relative.

Consider Self-Quarantining

If you don’t have people in the area that your kids can stay with, and you know you’ll be exposed to infectious patients, it might be best to self-isolate from the others in your household. This means sleeping in a separate room, using a separate bathroom and avoiding common areas such as the kitchen and living room. Your partner can bring meals to you and then take the dishes away. In some hotspots, hotels and other rentals are also offering rooms for free or cheap to healthcare workers who are exposing themselves to the virus and don’t feel comfortable staying at home. While it’s tough to be separated from their families, for many, it’s worth the peace of mind so they don’t have to fret about whether or not they have infected their partner or children.

Talk with Your Kids About COVID-19

In addition to talking with your partner, you should also talk with your kids about the coronavirus pandemic and what it means. Obviously, you want to go into an appropriate amount of detail for their age range. A good first step can be asking them what they know and what questions they have about coronavirus. Talk to them about how the virus spreads and what they can personally do to help keep themselves safe (i.e., washing their hands). Try to limit their exposure to the news. There’s no need to worry them unduly. If you will be isolating from them or otherwise changing your routine because of your healthcare job, explain to them why you’re doing what you’re doing.

Take Advantage of Technology

Whether or not you choose to self-isolate from your family, technology will play a big role in keeping you connected to both your nuclear and extended family, as well as friends and other loved ones scattered around the world. You might need to help older relatives figure out call technology so they can chat with the grandkids, and you can show your kids how to use their devices to keep in touch with their friends virtually. It’s not the same as being together in person, but these virtual connections can make you and your kids feel less alone as social distancing wears on.

Follow Best Sanitation Practices

Your hospital has probably put out guidelines explaining best sanitation practices for your department when it comes to reducing coronavirus transmission. Be sure to follow these guidelines, which includes donning proper PPE, washing your hands regularly and wearing a mask at all times. Some healthcare workers are also taking additional steps, such as changing at work and bringing home their worn cotton scrubs in a sealed bag. Many also leave their shoes at the door of their house (which you should be doing anyway), disrobe as soon as they get inside and wash all their clothes on the hottest possible cycle while they take a shower. Don’t forget to disinfect any devices, like your cell phone or pager, as well to help keep your family safe.

Have an Emergency Plan in Place

Regardless of what you decide to do, you need to have a game plan in place in case you, your partner or one of your kids start exhibiting symptoms that are in line with coronavirus. You should know which doctors to call, where to get tested and what you will do if the test comes back either positive or negative. You might also find it helpful to keep a “go bag” packed in case you need to suddenly self-isolate or head to the hospital. Hopefully, you’ll never have to put the plan into action, but laying it all out ahead of time will greatly reduce your stress and panic if worst comes to worst.

Parenting is hard, parenting during a pandemic is harder and parenting as a healthcare worker during a pandemic might be the hardest of all. Follow these seven strategies to help your family cope with coronavirus.

Deborah Swanson is a Coordinator for the Real Caregivers Program at allheart.com, a site dedicated to celebrating medical professionals and their journeys. When she isn’t interviewing caregivers and writing about them, she’s gardening.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

6 Ways Healthcare Is Adapting to Handle Future Crises

From relying less on federal leadership to making government funding more flexible, discover what the healthcare world might look like post-coronavirus.

by Deborah Swanson

The coronavirus pandemic has upended the world, and it’s affected the healthcare system in a big way. At this point, it doesn’t seem like we’ll ever go back to the way things were before the pandemic, and both individuals and agencies are already planning for the new future. The coronavirus exposed tons of weaknesses in the healthcare system. As a result, many healthcare organizations are thinking hard about how they can better prepare for the next crisis.

Here are six strategies that the healthcare industry might implement, from relying more heavily on regional (vs. federal) leadership to making government funding more flexible. Discover what the healthcare world might look like post-coronavirus:

Leadership Will Emerge on a Regional Level

This trend has already shown itself just in the past few months. Given the conflicting messages from federal leaders and the high variability of the virus across different geographic areas, leadership has emerged on a state and even county level. Governors have worked together across state lines, while mayors have directed their cities’ reopening plans independent of other officials. While this patchwork of leadership can be hard to follow, it does allow for a more tailored approach. This regional-specific approach is necessary because the virus has hit some places harder than others. Expect to see regional and local leaders continue to take charge.

New Types of Care Centers Might Emerge

The pandemic has highlighted hospitals’ vulnerabilities and how both patients and healthcare workers might benefit from alternative care delivery centers. Unless coronavirus patients cannot breathe on their own, they’ve been told to stay away from hospitals and clinics, leaving many very sick people laid up at home. There’s simply nowhere else for sick people to go, and many hospitals are full. Skilled nursing facilities dedicated to coronavirus patients who don’t need the ICU (but would benefit from experts in stretch scrubs) could cut down on infectious transmissions and speed recoveries for moderately acute patients.

Telehealth Is Here to Stay

While some healthcare systems have been quietly implementing telehealth for years, it wasn’t the norm everywhere, and insurance didn’t always cover it. But coronavirus changed everything when care systems across the world eliminated all but the most essential in-person visits. While some of these measures (and the accompanying insurance coverage) were only temporary fixes, the coronavirus will likely turn telehealth services into a fixture of the healthcare landscape. Whether it’s an infectious disease or a natural disaster that causes people to relocate, telehealth connects patients to their providers from a safe distance. Expect telehealth to become more sophisticated as healthcare systems build on their last-minute coronavirus fixes.

Some Workers Might Stay Remote

Some healthcare interactions, like surgeries, simply have to take place in person. But you might see more and more healthcare employees working remotely if they don’t have to be in the clinic physically. This shift is especially true for administrative roles. Even providers might shift more of their patient load to telehealth appointments and only don their cotton scrubs or nursing shoes in-person a few days per week. While the world is changing daily, it’s safe to say that this trend isn’t going anywhere for the time being.

Information Sharing Will Be Widespread

Healthcare is traditionally a slow-moving, siloed industry. Not all that long ago, records were kept on physical papers that had to be faxed back and forth between offices. While hospitals were slowly getting on the digital bandwagon, the coronavirus has kicked these changes into overdrive. Healthcare teams are collaborating across state lines and even national borders to find a vaccine for COVID-19. Meanwhile, digital records are becoming the norm, allowing patients and providers to access them from different locations. And once a vaccine becomes available, this information sharing will need to increase, so offices across state lines can confirm that their patients have indeed received the shots.

Government Funding Might Become More Flexible

Speaking of siloes, it’s hard to find an area in healthcare that’s more separated and confusing than government funding. Right now, every program and department have their own financial regulatory rules. As a result, some states and grant recipients must puzzle their way through a labyrinth of regulations. However, the coronavirus pandemic is slowly but surely forcing agencies to develop ways to work together and streamline their processes. In fact, the federal government has already created a disaster response toolkit that advises states on managing Medicaid and other services during crises like pandemics and natural disasters. While this change will be slow-moving, we will likely see more cohesion as everyone tries to navigate the post-pandemic environment.

The healthcare industry is already feeling the pandemic’s effects, and changes will continue to come as healthcare evolves. Look out for these six changes as the healthcare industry tries to navigate the new normal.

Deborah Swanson is a Coordinator for the Real Caregivers Program at allheart.com, a site dedicated to celebrating medical professionals and their journeys. When she isn’t interviewing caregivers and writing about them, she’s gardening.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

How to Cope When You Hate Your Job

Working in healthcare is just plain hard. So, how do you cope if and when your passion for it seems gone? Here are some things to try.

Even without the added pressure of a pandemic, working in healthcare is just plain hard. On any given day, it can be mentally, emotionally, or physically exhausting—on its worst day, a combination of all three—and the reasons you found yourself wanting to work in the field may be long forgotten, replaced with resentment and regret. So, how do you cope, when you no longer love your job? Here are five ideas to try.

Identify What You Dislike

You cannot fix a problem, unless you know what the problem is. It’s easy to say, “I hate my job,” but, surely, you don’t hate everything about it. Take a hard look at what is plaguing you. What is it that is burning you out? Is it the volume of your workload? An ornery coworker? The things you see in your specialty? Talk it through with yourself, a friend or partner, or a mental health professional, so you can truly identify where the problem lies and develop a plan to remedy the problem. It might be an easier fix than you think.

Remind Yourself Why You Chose Your Job

The power of positive thinking doesn’t fix everything, but it can certainly help. When you are feeling particularly down about your job, it might do you some good to remember why you chose your career path. If you were motivated to go into healthcare to help people, as most are, you are still helping people, even on your bad days. It’s easy to lose sight of the good, when buried beneath the bad—dig out by remembering the real, tangible, positive impact your career makes on lives every day.

Find a Battle Buddy

The buddy system might be something you haven’t thought about since grade school, but it is something that the U.S. military has used for years to increase morale, improve safety, promote problem-solving, and even prevent suicide. Battle buddies, as they are known in the military, can be beneficial in healthcare, as well. If you don’t already have a coworker you can vent to and with, make it your mission to find one. Talk things through on a regular basis, as a way to decompress and let go of negative feelings, and to also bond with your battle buddy, and allow them to do the same.

Give Yourself Something to Look Forward To

Though you may work long hours, you are not always on the clock. Make sure you spend your time outside of work mentally clocked out, as well. Fill your schedule with things you enjoy, be they socially distant time with friends and family, any number of hobbies, or even just a day in bed with your favorite TV show on the big screen. Or, better yet, reward yourself by planning a vacation. Either way, give yourself something to look forward to outside of work to get you through the day. Even if it’s something small, it may be the boost you need to make the hours tick by a little bit faster.

Look for a New Job

If all else fails, know that the role you are currently in is not the only one of its kind on the planet. Luckily, if you’re reading this article, you’re already on a healthcare job board. Take a look and see what else is out there. Who knows, you might end up in a job you just plain love.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

What Are the Most In-Demand Physician Specialties in 2020?

Every year various media outlets take a look at a wealth of past data in an attempt to predict the most in-demand medical specialties for the coming year. Predictions for 2020 began appearing in late 2019. The question now is whether or not those predictions are proving accurate in the midst of the coronavirus crisis.

Backer’s ASC Review reported on the annual Doximity physician employment report in early January. That report covered the top 10 most in-demand physician job specialties along with their average salaries based on an examination of data from 2017 through 2019.

It will be interesting to note if the Doximity report proves accurate. We will not know until sometime next year when final 2020 numbers are released. In the meantime, it is worth looking at the top 10 specialties Doximity zeroed in on.

1. Family Medicine

Few are surprised that family medicine tops the list. The medical sector has been clamoring for more family medicine doctors for years. Family medicine is the one area that consistently suffers most from profound shortages. Perhaps salary has something to do with it?

The annual salary for family medicine doctors is $242,350. Only one other specialty on the top 10 list reported a lower salary: pediatrics. Your typical pediatrician makes slightly less.

2. Internal Medicine

While internal medicine came in number two in terms of demand, it is number three when it comes to annual salary among the top 10 specialties. It is no surprise that demand for internal medicine remains high. Internists are your all-purpose doctors that can serve as family practitioners, GPs, and hospitalists.

3. Emergency Medicine

The third most in-demand physician specialty is emergency medicine. It is somewhat surprising that it follows internal medicine rather than taking the number two spot. After all, America’s emergency departments have been overwhelmed for quite some time. Perhaps the demand for emergency medicine has dropped somewhat thanks to years of Medicaid expansion.

4. Psychiatry

Fourth on the top 10 list is psychiatry. This is another big surprise. Psychiatry tends to be highly specialized – even more so than most other specialties – for obvious reasons. But the fact that psychiatry ranks so high on the list suggests that the demand for psychiatric services is increasing. What does that say about America’s mental health?

5. Obstetrics and Gynecology

Obstetrics and gynecology is not a specialty that gets a lot of play in the media. However, OB/GYN’s are enough in demand to make the 2020 top 10 list. They make an average of $335,000 annually and are more likely than some other specialties to own private practices.

6. Neurology

Number six on the top 10 list is neurology. This could be due to a number of reasons, including the fact that neurology is not one of those specialties that is frequently talked about in medical school. Neurologists do make good money, with an annual average salary of $303,000. They are often employed by large hospitals and hospital groups.

7. Radiology

Radiology is a physician specialty we expected to find much higher on the list. Nonetheless, it takes the number seven spot behind neurology. A typical radiologist can earn more than $428,000 annually working for a hospital or clinic.

8. Anesthesiology

Despite being one of the higher-paying physician specialties, anesthesiology is only number eight on the top 10 list. Being that anesthesiologists are generally employed by hospitals, a reduction in elective surgeries could explain why anesthesiology does not exhibit a higher demand.

9. Pediatrics

Given the demands on family medicine, it is surprising that pediatrics comes in at number nine. Making the top five would have seemed more normal. Nonetheless, it is what it is. Your average pediatrician makes about $223,000 annually employed in a group practice, hospital, or private practice.

10. Cardiology

The specialty with the highest annual salary also takes the lowest spot on the list. The number 10 spot goes to cardiology. Earning in excess of $453,000 annually, cardiologists are among the most well-known specialists in modern medicine. The prevalence of heart disease has seen to that.

A careful review of the top 10 list reveals some surprises, but nothing terribly unexpected. All 10 of the specialties making the list deserve to be on it. Perhaps a few positions could have been switched here and there, but the cumulative choices are quite expected.

Now it remains to be seen if the coronavirus crisis has had any measurable impact on physician demand in each of the specialties. We will not know until 2020 numbers are released in 2021. For now, it is enough to know that there still aren’t enough physicians to meet current demand. Now is a great time to start a career as a physician regardless of your chosen specialty.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

 

10 Healthcare Roles Top Riskiest List

In what may come as a surprise to very few, the top ten riskiest jobs in terms of possible COVID-19 exposure are patient-facing roles in healthcare.

In what may come as a surprise to very few, of the 100 riskiest occupations in terms of exposure to COVID-19, the top ten riskiest jobs are patient-facing roles in healthcare.

Though no federal or U.S. state governments have released occupational data as it pertains to COVID-19 deaths, we were able to use the COVID-19 Occupational Risk Score to rank which roles may make people more susceptible to contracting the virus. The COVID-19 Occupational Risk Score, which was developed by Visual Capitalist and the World Economic Forum, scores occupations based on data from the U.S. Labor Department’s O*NET Database. Data points examined to determine risk include how often one is exposed to diseases and infections in their job, one’s proximity to other human beings while at work on a daily basis, whether or not there is regular direct contact with the general population, and more.

Of the ten jobs ranked as being of the highest risk during the pandemic, the riskiest job, with a near-maximum risk score of 99.7, went to Dental Hygienists. Trailing closely behind, the second riskiest job, as identified by the analysis, was Respiratory Therapy Technicians, with a risk score of 95.0. Registered Nurses—who have often been seen by many as the face of healthcare’s frontlines—ranked as the seventh riskiest position, with a risk score of 86.1.

Here are the top ten riskiest positions, as well as their COVID-19 Risk Scores:

  1. Dental Hygienists, 99.7
  2. Respiratory Therapy Technicians, 95.0
  3. Dental Assistants, 92.5
  4. Dentists, General, 92.1
  5. Orderlies (Patient Care Assistants), 90.2
  6. Family and General Practitioners, 90.1
  7. Registered Nurses, 86.1
  8. Respiratory Therapists, 84.2
  9. Radiologic Technicians, 84.1
  10. Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses, 82.1

Not in the top ten? If you want to find out if and where your position ranked, click here to see the top 100 riskiest jobs.

Do you feel the rankings are accurate? Tell us in the comments below.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.