Despite their differences, health care occupations have notable similarities.
-First, they are constantly evolving in response to changes in technology, health
policy, health care economics, and culture.
-Second, the importance of ethical standards of practice is common to all health
care oc- cupations.
-Third, in addition to being essential for the delivery of health care services, the
health care workforce is important at the societal and community levels.
Health care occupations account for a large portion of employed persons in the United
States
In 2018, about 13 million people, or 8.5% of all civilians employed in
nonagricultural occupations in the United States, were providing health care.
The BLS has two major categories of health care workers:
a) Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations
(b) Healthcare Support Occupations.
85% of health care employment
Was in occupations that typically require some education beyond high school for
entry.
Occupations that typically require training and a certificate or license beyond high
school but not a college degree
Made up nearly one-third of health care employment in May 2014.
Pharmacy technicians and home health aides
Were the largest health care occupations for which workers typically need a high
school di- ploma or less education for entry.
, Among health care occupations
Nursing is the largest, with about 3 million nurses employed in the United States
in 2018
In the United States, including Puerto Rico,
There were 154 fully accredited allopathic medical schools in 2019
The standard medical school program lasts another four years and is termed
"undergraduate" medi- cal education
Because in medical training, the postmedical degree (residency experience) is
considered Graduate Medical Education
The ratio of full-time faculty to students is much higher than any other branch of
education. In medical education, the number of faculty actually exceeds the
number of students by a ratio of close to 1.77:1
This is one of the reasons medical education is so expensive
The specialties with the highest number of newly accredited programs
Internal medicine, family medicine, and interventional radiology.
Medical Practice
Includes discussions of licensing, employment status, practice type, and practice
setting.
In the United States, medical licenses are granted by
the states.
Licensure Requires
-Education: have received an education, including a degree of Doctor of Medicine
(MD) or Doctor of Osteopathy (DO) or equivalent degree in accordance with the
commissioner's regulations;