1. Physician Assistant - $87,900
It isn’t too surprising to learn that the fastest growing annual salary careers are in the healthcare sector. Physician assistants provide an extension of the services a doctor provides. They are supervised by a physician, but work independently. The degree of independency depends on the agreement. This field has experienced an 8.9% increase in the median annual salary.

2. Physical Therapist - $71,000
Physical therapists, or PTs, work with a wide variety of patients who are experiencing pain or a loss of mobility. They also help prevent injury and work to strengthen particular areas of muscular weakness. This kind of rehabilitation is very common after an injury such as a broken limb or after a car accident, and those who practice it have also seen an increase in their median annual salary of 8.9%.

3. Registered Nurse - $58,000
According to the BLS, registered nurses (RNs) make up the largest healthcare profession with over 2.6 million jobs in the United States. The majority of RN jobs are in hospitals treating patients. RNs generally hold a four-year degree and specialize in a particular area of medicine, such as surgery. This profession has also seen an 8.9% increase in median salary since 2006.

4. Marriage and Family Therapist - $48,900
Maybe it’s an increase in financial stress, or the fact that the divorce rate is at 50% in the U.S., but this profession is doing quite well, experiencing an 8.1% salary increase since 2006. Marriage and family therapists assess clients and help them set and achieve goals for their lives.

5. Medical Case Manager - $45,700
Medical case managers, sometimes called case managers or nurse case managers, are healthcare professionals who oversee the treatment and care of patients. These professionals often come from a nursing background, and help to advocate for the patient as well as educate them. This career has seen an 8.1% increase in annual salary in the past six years.

6. Mental Health Counselor - $40,500
As awareness of mental health issues increase, so too does the demand for the professionals able to treat those issues. Those that do have seen an 8.1% increase in their annual salary. These trained professionals counsel families, individuals and couples through a variety of life issues.

7. Clinical Research Associate (CRA) - $78,600
As the name suggests, CRAs assist in the design, execution and implementation of clinical trials. According to the Michener Institute, which offers a 16-month certification in this field, CRAs may also assist in conveying findings to the research community. This field has experienced a 7.5% growth in annual salary.

8. Project Manager, Environmental - $57,200
Another job title that has seen a 7.5% spike in salary is the environmental project manager. This growing field oversees bidding on projects, organizing timelines and ensuring the work is completed with minimal risk.

9. Research Associate, Biotechnology - $53,400
A research associate works in a university or in another research setting assisting with projects led by senior advisors. In particular, those working in the biotechnology sector, the study of using living organisms to create or enhance products (such as genetically modified food), have enjoyed a 7.5% increase in median salary.

10. Biomedical Engineer - $73,900
Engineers are often in high demand, and those who specialize in the biomedical field may have noticed the 7.1% spike in salary. Biomedical engineers work on projects that integrate engineering with healthcare. Examples are pacemakers or artificial hearts.

11. Electrical Engineer - $71,900
Another engineering field that has seen a 7.1% increase in salary is electrical engineering. These practitioners design new and improved circuits, according to the BLS.

12. Project Manager, Architecture - $51,300
Architectural project managers, like their environmental counterparts, are responsible for overseeing projects from inception to completion. On average, they have also seen a 7.1% jump in annual salary.

13. Software Developer - $72,500
Software developers (or software engineers) design, create, evaluate and troubleshoot computer software. The median annual salary for this field has jumped 6.3% since 2006.

14. Senior Software Engineer - $85,800
Senior software engineers will also perform the duties of a software engineer, but in addition they will delegate such tasks to a team to reach a common goal. The median annual salary for this title has also increased by 6.3%.

15. Web Developer - $54,800
This new media career has also seen a 6.3% growth in salary. Instead of software, these developers are focused on creating and maintaining websites. This may include elements of graphic design as well as coding the functionality of the site.

The Bottom Line
It may still be tough to get a job, but these careers are experiencing growth, and continued to do so through the last major recession. In these fields, pay has gone up by an average of 7.43% in the last six years, so you may want to check into them if you’re considering a career change.

Salary data is provided by PayScale.com. Hourly rates listed are for workers with five-to-eight years of experience and include any bonuses, commissions or profit-sharing.

Copyright (c) 2011 Investopedia US. All rights reserved. Investopedia.com is a division of ValueClick, Inc.

Catherine Andrade, a MassHealth nurse case manager at Fallon Community Health Plan in Worcester, knew the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. She just had a hard time putting the nutrition and exercise pieces together in her own busy life, until she took part last year in a “Taking Steps to Good Health” employee wellness challenge at work.
Ms. Andrade not only improved her own shape and risk-factor profile, losing close to 20 pounds and lowering her cholesterol and triglycerides, she most likely contributed to a better bottom line for her employer, too.

A recent national survey by the Principal Financial Group, based in Des Moines, Iowa, found that employers who invested in wellness programs showed medical costs improve by an average of $3.27 for every dollar spent on wellness; absenteeism costs improved by an average of $2.73.

“I feel more energetic,” Ms. Andrade said after completing the program.

She also said that when she caught a cold this winter, it only lasted for three days.

“I could only attribute that to my exercise program,” she said.

Fallon has a fitness room for its employees at Chestnut Place, which features treadmills, elliptical machines, stationary bicycles and weights. The health plan offers exercise classes on-site and has partnered with Worcester Fitness to provide coaching and additional workout facilities, according to Linda St. John, the plan’s vice president of human resources.

Ms. St. John said, “If you take care of people, then your return on investment is really going to take care of itself.”

Besides working to keep its own employees healthy, Fallon offers wellness programs to its employer groups.

Karen A. Gagliastre, manager of health promotion, said the health plan offers a range of smoking cessation programs, screenings and workshops on hypertension, skin cancer, body mass index and stress management, among other topics.

“It’s really a way to raise awareness, to improve their employees’ health,” Ms. Gagliastre said.

Interest in wellness programs from employer groups is growing as businesses seek to rein in health care costs. She said, “They want to see other ways of keeping employees healthy.”

Unum, a Chatanooga, Tenn.-based insurance carrier with an office in Worcester, also offers an on-site fitness center and health resource center staffed by a nurse to its 600 local employees. About 180 employees are enrolled in the program, which costs $4 per biweekly pay period.

“There’s definitely a correlation with lower medical (cost) trends,” said Michael Booth, manager of health promotion and wellness programs at Unum.

Besides helping employees manage chronic conditions with support from the health resource center, Mr. Booth said the fitness room combats the sedentary lifestyle that’s a part of corporate work.

“There’s no question that people who are physically active are going to have lower risk factors,” he said.

Patrick McIntyre, business director for the Department of Occupational Medicine at Reliant Medical Group in Worcester, said managing risk factors and keeping employees healthy is becoming even more important now that a growing number of workers are age 55 and older.

“The impact of a ‘chronologically gifted’ workforce shouldn’t be underestimated,” Mr. McIntyre said. “Those folks bring a certain level of health and lifestyle challenges to employers. You have to handle it differently than an under-35 workforce.”

Reliant offers medical screenings, nutrition education, flu clinics and other preventive services to employers.

Mr. McIntyre said that Reliant’s occupational medicine perspective helps in understanding how employers can better manage their costs as well as the health and safety of their workforce.

And, while in the down economy employers were reluctant to spend money on prevention programs, interest is coming back.

“Ultimately, a healthy, productive workforce has lower costs,” Mr. McIntyre said.

By Susan Spencer TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

“ADA encourages all Americans to take time during National Nutrition Month to look at their eating patterns and begin to make the small improvements that, over time, add up to significant health benefits,” says registered dietitian and ADA President Judith C. Rodriguez.

National Nutrition Month

National Nutrition Month is an annual campaign sponsored by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics to promote nutrition awareness and education. It originated in 1973 as “National Nutrition Week” and expanded to the month-long observance in 1980 in response to growing public interest in nutrition. The theme changes each year, but it always focuses on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits.

Eat Right with Color

This year’s theme, “Eat Right with Color,” provides an easy way to focus on improving eating habits — simply include plenty of color on your plate!

“Adding a splash of colorful seasonal foods to your plate makes for more than just a festive meal. A rainbow of foods creates a palette of nutrients, each with a different bundle of potential benefits for a healthful eating plan,” says registered dietitian and ADA Spokesperson Karen Ansel, who offers up this quick fruit and vegetable color guide.

For more tips visit the National Nutrition Month section. Plenty of resources are available, including recipes, interactive games, nutrition education resources and the NNM blog. Learn ways to promote the event in your own community and check out the NNM catalog for gifts and promotional items.

Registered Dietitian Day

In addition to National Nutrition Month, Registered Dietitian Day is also celebrated in March. It takes place this year on March 9. Registered Dietitian Day was created to increase the awareness of RDs as the food and nutrition experts and to recognize their commitment to helping people enjoy healthy lives.

Visit the Registered Dietitian Day section for ways to commemorate the occasion as well as to learn more about what Registered Dietitians do and reasons consulting an RD can benefit you.

eatright.org

CMSA members and case management professionals will meet in the District of Columbia, April 10, 2012, where they will receive important updates on legislative and policy related to case management and concering national issues in health care and reform.  They will learn how to develop interaction at the National level and how to apply this knowledge to the local level for greater impact.  They will also spend time with members of Congress, representatives from federal agencies, CMSA leaders, and other experts.

For more information about registering for this Public Policy Summit and to find out how to get involved, go to www.cmsa.org/publicpolicy

I’ve  put together a collection of some of the most egregious examples of the types of things that can kill your chances before you even get to the interview.  

1) That email address you made in college

bikinigurl4520@xxxxxxxxx.com
party_boy_fl@xxxxxxx.com
superprincess88@xxxxxxx.com
pspsyopsprof_74@xxxxxx.com

These are all actual email addresses that I’ve seen on a resume.  Most people outside of their work email have a personal email account.  They’re free and easy to set up, and most of us hold on to them for years.

On a resume, though, this is can be a turn off to a prospective employer.  If you have a unique, cutsey, or difficult email, it’s time to look into making a new email account.  Remember, they’re FREE and EASY TO SETUP.  You don’t have to abandon your old email, but consider something easy and professional for your resume.

NOTE: As a quick note, since many email addresses are taken already, many people use their birth year as a part of the email address, (johnsmith80@xxxxxx.com) which is a bad idea from a security standpoint.

2) Manage your social Media

Increasingly, hiring manager look for candidates online (facebook, linkedin, twitter, flickr, tumblr) to get a feel for the candidate.  This is legal, and hiring managers can learn a lot about you by searching for this public information.

FACEBOOK: It’s not bad to have your profile out, just be aware of what is publicly available.  If you have bikini pictures, drunk pictures from school, or anything political, religious, or controversial, consider adjusting your privacy settings and creating GROUPS to manage who can see what content.

LINKEDIN: So I’ve reviewed your resume.  It looks great.  Your experience is fantastic, no gaps in your hire dates, and I’m pretty impressed.  A quick check of your LinkedIn, though, shows different descriptions and dates.  This is just as bad as submitting two different resumes for yourself with two different sets of information; they’ll know you’re lying about something.  Make sure your LinkedIn matches your resume.

Even though you’re a medical professional, a LinkedIn can help you get a job if an employer can verify more information about you.  It’s also a good idea to be able to network with others in  your industry, look at group info, check up on companies hiring, and GET RECOMMENDATIONS.  You can ask colleagues, professors, and managers to write a recommendation for you; all of these things improve your standings.

OTHER: There are so many public sites where you can share information or interests.  Be aware of what is open and available.  GOOGLE YOUR NAME to see what comes up.  If it’s anything you don’t want your interviewer to see, lock it down or delete it.

3) Kill Mistakes on your Resume

Most people hate writing resumes.  This leads to rushing or sloppiness.  Medical field resumes are especially vulnerable because some people include all of their rotations and residencies, so there is a lot of information (sometimes 10 pages worth).  This is also a lot of room for errors, typos, misspellings, bad grammar, and things that you shouldn’t include in a resume.

When you’re done with your resume, have your smartest friend read it and give you feedback.  If you’re really smart but your resume is riddled with errors, you don’t look smart.

4) One Size Does Not Fit All

Job hunting can be tedious, and most people take their resume and cover letter, and submit it willy nilly.  Each job is a little bit different, so your resume should reflect these differences.

You don’t have to re-write it every time for every job, but may be have different resume versions.  One for clinical large hospital, one for small hospital, one for retail chain, one for PBM / Mail order.  Each of these companies would look for different skills and qualifications.  Make some adjustments and have a few variants of your resume and cover letter ready to go.

5) What do they hear when they call you?

If you’ve made it to the point that a hiring manager actually calls you, what are they likely to hear.  If your’e at work and can’t answer the phone, what does your message sound like?

Many people don’t have a message and an automated messages lists your telephone number.  ”You’ve reached three two one, four seven six………” You should have a good quality message listing at least your first name.  Be aware of background music or barking dogs that sound unprofessional.

Also, don’t list your work number as a good place to call, or if you have roommates who are likely to be unprofessional, don’t list your house phone.

6) Details details details

Be sure that the city and state of every entry of your resume is present, even if it seems apparent.

Format all of your dates the same way throughout your resume.  Don’t use 6/11/2010 in one area and “June 3, 2007″ somewhere else.

Family members cannot be references.

If listing the contact information for a reference, list their full name, company or relationship, and the best way and time to contact that person.

—

The job market can be a tough place right now; there’s no need to make it more difficult.  Check for these and any other details that might kill your interview before you get it.

www.cmsa.org/vote

Voting in CMSA’s National Election is the easiest way to take part in the activities of your professional organization.  Visit www.cmsa.org/vote to read each candidate’s information, weigh your decision, and cast your online vote for the Board candidate of your choice.  There’s only one new position on which to vote this year.

The online voting system is a convenient way to submit your ballot, however, if you prefer to receive a faxed copy of the candidate information and ballot, please call Randall Can Den Berghe, CMSA’s Nomination Liaison at (501) 673-1129.  Your ballot must be submitted online, faxed, or mailed to CMSA postmarked by midnight CST, March 12.

NORWOOD, Mass., Jan. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Infusion therapy is delivered through intravenous (IV) catheters across all healthcare settings. If you’ve been on the receiving end of an IV catheter, you know you want an expert who can get it right the first time. Nurses who specialize in infusion therapy, and in particular, credentialed nurses (Certified Registered Nurse Infusion—CRNI®), are an integral part of the healthcare team that provides the correct dose of medication and keeps patients safe from catheter-related bloodstream infections.

Eliminating healthcare-associated infections and reducing healthcare costs are priorities for all healthcare organizations. Skilled infusion nurses keep patients safe and comfortable, saving their employers money at the same time. Thus the need for expert infusion therapy nurses is greater than ever.

On January 25, infusion nurses and other healthcare professionals will observe National IV Nurse Day. In 1980, the U.S. House of Representatives designated this day each year to honor and recognize the accomplishments of the nation’s infusion nurse specialists, as well as the Infusion Nurses Society (INS). INS CEO Mary Alexander, MA, RN, CRNI®, CAE, FAAN, stated that “infusion nurses deliver the highest level of patient care due to their knowledge and expertise. IV Nurse Day gives us an opportunity to recognize the significant contributions that infusion nurses make in their patients’ lives.”

This year’s theme, “A Vital Role in Quality Healthcare—IV Nurses,” celebrates the importance of the infusion nurse’s involvement on the healthcare team. IV Nurse Day promotes the advancement of the specialty and simultaneously recognizes nearly more than 30 years of continuing education, advocacy, and professional development offered by the infusion nursing community.

The Infusion Nurses Society (INS) is a professional association dedicated to enhancing infusion practices that will improve patient outcomes. Recognized as the global authority in infusion therapy, INS is dedicated to exceeding the public’s expectations of excellence by setting the standard for infusion care.

CONTACT Dorothy LohmannInfusion Nurses Society781-440-9408 x339dorothy.lohmann@ins1.org

SOURCE Infusion Nurses Society

The bill is part of a national push to address a nationwide shortage in skilled nurses.

Some fear the new requirements would discourage some from getting into the field making the problem worse.

According to federal statistics only about a third of all registered nurses have bachelor’s degrees. Health officials would like to boost that amount to 80 percent by 2020. A local state lawmaker is re-introducing a bill in the New York State Assembly is designed to help meet that ambitious goal.

“The data is clear that patients are better served, and we have better outcomes for patients, when we have a bachelor’s level nurse,” said New York State Assemblyman Joe Morelle, D-Irondequoit.

It’s called “BSN in 10″ an initiative, sponsored by Morelle, that would require new registered nurses to get a four year degree 10 years from the time they are licensed if they want to continue working in New York State.

“Many, many people now are getting their bachelor’s degree to become a registered nurse; anyway this really just formalizes it,” Morelle said.

Morelle says the state’s population is aging, and there are too few nurses trained to care for them. With hundreds of thousands of nurses expected to retire in the coming years the shortage is expected to get worse. Some fear adding educational requirements will push prospective nurses into another field.

“I don’t think it would increase the shortage, in fact, I think increasing an elevating the profession as it should be appropriately raised will encourage more people to join both men and women,” Morelle said.

Currently, most registered nurses have two-year associate’s degrees offered through popular nursing programs at Monroe Community College and FLCC. Morelle expects those two year programs to continue to thrive as students incorporate them into a two plus two program they would complete at schools like St. John Fisher or at the University of Rochester School of Nursing.

“You get your clinical hours as well as you’re getting your academic requirements. Then you can get licensed and then you can focus on over the next 10 years getting your bachelor’s degree,” Morelle said.

The bill cleared the assembly’s higher education committee. Morelle hopes to get it through the full assembly sometime in the 2012 legislative session.

“In my view it’s not a question of if this is going to happen it’s a question of when.”

The bill is co-sponsored in the New York State State Senate by Republican Jim Alesi. If passed, New York would become the first state to enact such a measure. Any nurse currently licensed or currently in an academic program to become licensed would not be impacted by this proposal.

With the help of an innovative program offered by the hospital, Ms. Roney says she’s learned how to handle an occupational hazard she wasn’t prepared for: compassion fatigue.

The Barnes-Jewish program is one of a growing number of efforts by hospitals and nursing groups to help combat the constant assault on nurse’s psyches. In addition to meditation and stress-reduction workshops, such programs include discussions about difficult patient situations, support groups, and staff retreats focused on the emotional aspects of care giving.

Compassion fatigue is a combination of secondary traumatic stress from witnessing the suffering of others and burnout. It can lead nurses to feel sadness and despair that impair their health and well-being. Hospitals are tackling the problem amid a worsening shortage of nurses and concerns that patients may suffer. Compassion fatigue can reduce nurses’ empathy and lead them to dread or even avoid certain patients, raising the risk of substandard care.

Nurses who avoid patients “don’t form the relationship necessary to truly understand the patient, identify their problems early, and adapt therapies to their needs,” says Patricia Potter, a nurse researcher and director of research for patient-care services at Barnes-Jewish. Nurses can also become rude and cynical, which can discourage patients from asking them for help, she says, adding less observant nurses may be more error-prone.

Compassion fatigue has been linked to decreased productivity, more sick days and higher turnover among cancer-care providers. A 2008 study led by the University of Nevada, Reno’s nursing school found that about 12% of registered nurses in the U.S. weren’t working. Of those, more than 27% cited burnout or stressful work environments. High turnover and the subsequent increased workload on remaining nurses can result in higher death rates and reduced patient safety, studies show.

“Recognizing, managing and relieving these issues are critical for nurses and their employers,” as well as for patients, says Holly Carpenter, a senior staff specialist at the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health of the American Nurses Association in Silver Spring, Md.

Compassion fatigue was identified as a special problem for nurses in the early 1990s. The ANA’s Healthy Nurse program sponsored its first workshop on the issue at its annual conference last year, with another planned for this year, and it offers special resources on its website. The New York State Nurses Association conducted its first compassion-fatigue workshop at a hospital last year and is urging hospitals and nursing schools in the state to offer such programs.

Concerned about turnover in the oncology unit and evidence of stress among nurses, three Barnes-Jewish nurse managers approached Dr. Potter and the head of the hospital’s patient and family counseling program, Theresa Deshields, for help in 2009. The problem was especially acute for those caring daily for very ill patients whose survival was in doubt. The nurses seemed susceptible to emotional and physical stress and as a result, sometimes disengaged from their patients.

A survey of 150 staffers found that compassion-fatigue symptoms were high enough to warrant intervention.

The hospital turned to Eric Gentry, a Sarasota, Fla., psychotherapist who specializes in teaching stress-management techniques to disaster responders and emergency physicians. A pilot program he created for 14 nurses was promising enough for the hospital to fund development of the compassion fatigue course, now open to all staffers at the hospital, from physicians to housekeepers.

The course includes a checklist of symptoms to watch out for, and offers “antidotes” to compassion fatigue, such as creating a support network. Participants are taught the importance of focusing on “intentionality”—the caring intention that brought them to the health care field in the first place—while accepting their own limits in doing only the best they can on any given day.

The course also teaches physical, stress-relieving exercises. Dr. Gentry says that in anxious or stressful environments, people often react by keeping their bodies tightly clenched all day in anticipation of danger. Relaxing the pelvic floor—the area under and around the pelvis—has been shown to release tension and help control anxiety, he says.

“Being a caregiver is difficult and full of challenges, and that isn’t going to change,” says Dr. Potter. But nurses, she says, can be taught to “self-regulate their stress and restore the energy they need to provide the best patient care.”

Ms. Roney, the cancer-unit nurse, says she first learned about the course after asking a supervisor if there was any way to help with low morale on her unit, including her own. She found herself discouraged when patients or families weren’t satisfied with her care or had a negative outlook.

A particularly draining experience came when a patient in his 40s demanded to know how she felt about caring for cancer patients and if she liked her job. She said she loved it and tried to keep the conversation positive, but he declared, “Well, I’m dying,” despite a likelihood that treatment could extend his life.

“Trying to be compassionate with someone like that is much more difficult” than with some other patients who remain upbeat, even while undergoing chemotherapy, she says.

Jamie Bugg, a 32-year-old nurse at the oncology center, says some of the training felt awkward, such as a session in which participants team up and look into each other’s eyes silently for a minute, and then say positive things about what they observed about each other during the exercise.

Still, Ms. Bugg says she hopes all of her colleagues take the compassion-fatigue course.

“There is a daily toll when you see so many sad aspects of things and people at the end of life, knowing how sick they are and knowing this could be their last holiday,” she says. “We need better ways of coping than internalizing everything.”

“We’re very excited about this expansion,” says Tyler Schuster, the company’s Senior Director.  ”We’re literally knocking down the walls in this office to make room for our additional staff.”

In addition to hiring new Recruiters, the company also has undergone an internal restructuring which will allow HCS recruiters and sales professionals to be more efficient and effective.  Schuster has added three new managers within his operation, each with a focus area.  The newly devised teams will have a much clearer focus which the company says will allow it to respond much more quickly and effectively to client requests.