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Health Care: Could It Be Your Second Career?

The need is great and the opportunities many, but there are challenges

By Joyce Wiswell

WHAT COMES FIRST?

In what is becoming a classic chicken-and-egg situation, Michigan desperately needs health-care workers, but schools across the state are turning applicants away because of a lack of room.

"There is such a backlog of people who want to get into school for health care and can't," says Anne Rosewarne, president of the Michigan Health Council in Okemos. "For example, nursing schools in Michigan had 4,000 students turned away last year."

Rosewarne calls the situation "a great conundrum." This state's colleges and universities are striving to keep up with demand, she says, but obstacles remain. One stumbling block is finding enough qualified instructors.

That's because many can make more money working in their chosen fields than teaching.

"There is a disincentive for a hospital worker to become a faculty member, [as] they may take a pay cut of a third," Rosewarne says.

"There is also a shortage of classroom space, lab space and places to do clinical rotations."

Colleges and universities are responding to the situation. Beaumont Hospital and Oakland University have teamed up to open a medical school at the university in 2010; most students will then complete their residencies at either Beaumont's Royal Oak or Troy hospital. In Grand Rapids, Michigan State University is adding the Secchia Center, a new medical school scheduled to be completed in summer 2010. (The East Lansing campus will continue to offer medicine as well.)

Other Michigan universities considering adding medical schools include Western Michigan University and Central Michigan University. Two existing medical schools, Wayne State University School of Medicine and Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, are expanding class sizes to meet demand.

So what should someone on a waiting list do?

"I recommend that people take some prep courses and work someplace in the industry, maybe as a nurse's aide, to get an idea of what is going on. Then they can keep applying," Rosewarne says.

Hilda Ferrarer liked her teaching job in Los Angeles, but in her heart, she knew she was meant for a different calling. So Ferrarer returned to university, completing four years at Michigan State Medical School, followed by a threeyear residency. The 35-year-old doctor has relocated to metro Detroit and practices family medicine at Beaumont Hospital in Troy. She says all the extra schooling - and student loans - were worth it.

"You realize when you're doing something you love that the sacrifice makes it worthwhile," says Ferrarer. "It's true enjoyment to get up and go to work, and to know you're making a difference."

Ferrarer is far from alone. As Michigan's largest job provider - surpassing even the automotive industry - health care attracts a lot of people already in the workplace. The field includes some 200 disciplines, and as the population ages and the concept of universal health care gains hold, the demand for qualified workers only will increase, says Anne Rosewarne, president of the Michigan Health Council in Okemos.

Consider the numbers: A shortage of more than 18,000 nurses in Michigan by 2015 is expected, according to the Michigan Nurses Association, and by 2020, a shortfall of as many as 6,000 physicians, says State University of New York and the Michigan State Medical Society.

The state also will require 5,500 dental assistants, 5,000 pharmacy technicians and 3,000 medical assistants by 2015 (see sidebar).

Back to school

Many health-care careers have some prerequisites: an aptitude for math and science, good communication and interpersonal skills, and being a caring person who likes to help others. Don't fret if you're not patient-oriented; not all jobs require hands-on care, and every doctor's office, nursing home and hospital needs people to keep the computers running, do the billing, and balance the books.

Virtually any hands-on field will require education beyond a high school or a non-health-related college degree. And you might have to complete several courses in basic science before applying for a specific discipline. Consider Michigan's 13 schools that offer dental hygienist degrees.

"You can't just enter a dental hygienist school," says Jane Halaris, an adjunct faculty member at the University of Detroit Mercy, which offers a certificate in dental hygienistry that leads to a bachelor's degree. "First you need a good [foundation] in science."

That means applicants must complete approximately 30 credits in science before being admitted, she says.

"It may be an unwritten policy, but it doesn't happen anymore that you go right from high school [to a dental hygienist program]," notes Halaris, past president of the Michigan Dental Hygienists' Association and former chair of the Michigan State Board of Dentistry. "Here at Mercy, the average student age is 24."

As for nursing, Rosewarne says she's seen a number of engineers from the auto industry "very successfully" switch to nursing with minimal extra schooling.

"A number of colleges have a one-year nursing completer course for those with an undergrad degree," Rosewarne says. "It's very intense and has very high clinical exposure."

The classroom conundrum

The catch-22 is that Michigan needs more health-care professionals but doesn't have nearly enough classrooms for them, Rosewarne says (see sidebar).That means a career switch to health care can take dedication and patience.

No matter which field sounds enticing, you'll need to do some research first. Rosewarne advises going to the college nearest you and taking an assessment test to see if you're suited to a health-care career.

"You have to have certain qualities, like being caring and a good communicator, and there's the intellectual component for all the science classes," she says.

Halaris notes that the required classes can be challenging. "To all of a sudden be thrust into a science-based discipline requires a different learning style," she says. "The science of medicine is very complex."

One big positive: The health-care industry has room for all ages, and Rosewarne says many employers value the older worker.

"They are more settled in life, more experienced," Rosewarne says. "Health care is particularly responsive to second- career people. But it takes rolling up your sleeves and being persistent."