Though no sign of the end of the coronavirus “new normal” seems to be in sight, the overall adaptation to life in 2020 has seemed to level off a bit. One constant throughout the first 6-8 months of orders related to the virus has been online education, and online healthcare programs are becoming more readily available, more respected, and more sought out by both youth looking to enter the workforce for the first time, and adults who have decided to make a career change, or further bolster their resumes.
A silver lining of the new normal is the ability to learn from home and, in most cases, on your own schedule. Here are some online healthcare programs for people looking to get educated while adapting to the coronavirus changes.
Degrees
If you’re just starting off in the healthcare education sector, a bachelor’s degree is required for most jobs, and a master’s is sure to put you on a fast track to promotion, if it’s not also required. For people who want to make a lateral move from another career, finding flexible options for your education can make it much easier to manage stress, something that you’ll definitely have to get used to working in the healthcare field.
Online healthcare programs are nothing new, but thanks to emerging technology (some created quickly out of necessity due to COVID-19), they are becoming more and more interactive, and thus also losing some of the negative stigma that online education once held.
Here are some degrees that can be accomplished online, and around busy schedules.
Registered Nursing
There are a few paths to becoming a RN, but the two most common ones are: attaining a bachelor of science in nursing degree, or an associate degree in nursing with clinical experience and a passing of the NCLEX exam. Both the associate’s and bachelor’s programs can be achieved online, and even some accredited clinical work can be achieved online, with some thanks to the stay-at-home world we now live in.
Dietician/Nutritionist
Dieticians and Nutritionists can come from a variety of backgrounds, including food service, dietetics, personal training, sports science, and healthcare fields. In order to focus your career strictly on being a dietitian, however, a master’s degree in the field provides the necessary training to achieve licensing from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and these degrees are available online.
Health Informatics
As big data in healthcare continues to evolve and add more and more value to the patient experience, it is also becoming a more profitable career. For people who are involved in data outside of the healthcare realm, certifications can be sought out online to make the jump into health informatics much easier. Just as online healthcare education is becoming more of a norm than an option, so too, are the processes surrounding medical records and the sharing of that information between hospitals.
Occupational Therapy
Occupational therapy is the process of treating injured or disabled patients via a means of everyday therapeutic activities to help them either recover, or maintain function needed for day-to-day activities and work. To become an occupational therapist, one must get at least a master’s degree, many of which are offered online.
In addition to degrees, there are many free courses offered online simply to help improve yourself as a caregiver. Some of these courses are more geared towards a given type of care, while others, such as courses in cultural awareness, simply exist to help you grow as an individual who deals with people from all walks of life on a daily basis.