8.7 Chapter Conclusion
Katie Baker
Summary
In this chapter, we explored various careers, from administrative and executive roles to those with direct patient-facing responsibilities. The education requirements for these positions range from a high school diploma to advanced degrees in healthcare administration, business, or finance. Additionally, many certification programs are available for entry-level positions and for advancing to graduate-level roles.
We began with Alma, who was considering a career change but was concerned about balancing her full-time job and family. Many of these careers offer flexible options, such as night classes and online education, providing access to training programs that would have otherwise been difficult to schedule. During Alma’s meeting with the career counselor, she may have explored careers such as patient advocate, coding and billing specialist, or patient services representative. If she chooses an entry-level position, she might even find a job that provides tuition assistance for employees seeking to earn advanced degrees and rise in their organization.
Hopefully, this chapter has introduced you to new career options and sparked your interest in pursuing a career that suits you well. Many community colleges provide resources about careers their graduates have entered after completing certification or degree programs. Visiting college websites or reaching out to career counseling departments can help you learn more about the job opportunities available to graduates. Another valuable resource is the National Bureau of Labor Statistics, which tracks employment trends and salary averages for various careers.
Review Questions
- Compare and contrast a medical coder and a medical biller in your own words. What are the similarities and differences between the two?
- Differentiate between a clinical director and an office manager in your own words. How would you distinguish between these two positions?
- In your own words, describe health information technology (HIT) and health information management (HIM). What are the similarities and differences between the two?
- Who would a chief nurse report to, the CEO or the president?
- How do the job descriptions of the CEO and the president differ?
- What stands out to you about the educational requirements of each job mentioned in the chapter? How do the educational requirements for administrative jobs compare to those for direct-facing positions?
- When considering a career pathway, which options have the most room for advancement, and how does that advancement typically occur?
- Define a superbill and explain how it is used.
- How are a patient navigator and a patient advocate similar? How are they different?
- Which jobs in this chapter can be done with an associate degree or certificate, and which require a bachelor’s degree or higher?