Careers in healthcare

Frankie Healthcare is one of the biggest sectors in the UK.

Emma-Louise In NHS England alone, there are over 1.3 million workers, but more are needed. There is currently a shortage of more than 100,000 staff, which is expected to reach almost 250,000 by 2030, so healthcare workers are in demand.

Frankie Places we might think of when we think about healthcare include hospitals, GP surgeries, pharmacies, and care homes, amongst many others.

Emma-Louise Healthcare roles are hugely varied. Job roles include nurses who earn a median salary of around £38,000 per year.

Frankie Or medical practitioners, such as doctors and GPs, who earn just over £69,000.

Emma-Louise A radiologist,

Frankie that's someone who does all the various scans,

Emma-Louise or even a podiatrist,

Frankie and that's someone who specialises in feet and lower legs.

Emma-Louise Some of these roles are more common than others.

Frankie Yes, as you can see, as of 2020, there were just under 650,000 nurses and around 250,000 doctors, while there are approximately 33,000 radiologists and just under 6,000 podiatrists.

Emma-Louise This shows the variety of job roles that are needed within the sector and the fact that there are loads of ways to work in healthcare. It's worth bearing this in mind when thinking which career might be right for you.

Frankie Let's look at the job growth, that is how many more jobs will be available. In nursing, a 3% in projected growth will amount to just over 19,000 more jobs by 2025. The NHS has a shortage of nurses, with a report in 2019 showing the most significant shortages are in mental health, learning disability, primary, and community nursing. So, there is a strong need for more trained nurses to join the workforce.

Emma-Louise There's also a 3% projected job growth in radiology, equating to just over 900 more jobs by 2025.

Frankie Let's look at some of the different roles in healthcare and how different jobs have various focuses when giving care to people.

Emma-Louise A doctor is part of a multidisciplinary team, which can include midwives, pharmacists, and social workers.

Frankie What's important here is, where all the roles mentioned deal in medical care, a social worker and care worker deal with what's known as social care.

Emma-Louise You might know of a social worker as someone who assesses a child's living situation, but the role can also include assisting patients to live more independently. A care worker could also help vulnerable people to manage their daily activities and to live as independently as possible.

Frankie So, it might be helping someone to do their shopping or helping them get their prescribed medicine. Jobs like these are hugely important and on the rise.

Emma-Louise We can see that the 2% projected growth in jobs as care workers and home carers will amount to over 13,000 more jobs by 2025. And, similarly, the 3% predicted growth in occupational therapist roles in the same period could result in the creation of over 1,000 jobs. And there are also lots of opportunities in the sector that don't directly involve giving care.

Frankie Jobs like hospital porter, receptionist and chef, for example.

Emma-Louise Depending on what type of care you want to get into, or how much studying you want to do, there are different routes you can take to get into healthcare.

Frankie In medical roles, you'll almost certainly need some form of graduate degree in that field. For instance, to become a dentist, following GCSEs and A-levels or equivalent, you would need to complete a five-year degree in dentistry approved by the General Dental Council, followed by one to two years of postgraduate training.

Emma-Louise Seven years of higher education?

Frankie That's right. But, if you're looking for something that combines theory with practical learning, you could consider degree apprenticeships as one way to get into roles such as a social worker, a nurse, or a paramedic.

Emma-Louise For social care roles, there are also a number of routes in which don't necessarily require higher education, like a college course, an apprenticeship, volunteering, or applying directly to the care provider. This shows that, if you're passionate about healthcare, you have many ways to get into it and doesn't always mean lots of time spent studying.

Frankie Let's get some insight from professionals working in healthcare. Paul is a senior social worker. "I love the combination of practical and emotional aspects of the job. Although there are situations that we can't always change for the better, our role is to try and to not give up. The core aspect of social work is the relationship with our clients… the way we relate to people who are often feeling uncared for can make a real difference."

Emma-Louise Shantel is a senior lecturer in social work. She says: "Social workers are very proud of the profession and are driven by the reason they join the profession in the first place – to make a difference. As society is driven to change, we will hopefully see greater diversity in leadership and management roles." If you want to work in healthcare, note there is an abundance of job roles available to you.

Frankie Specific subsectors with above average estimated growth to think about include jobs in manufacturing of pharmaceutical products, where there's a projected growth of 12% by 2025.

Emma-Louise Or child day-care activities where there's a 7% growth in that same period. One thing is for certain and that is, if you want to work in healthcare, there are lots of job roles to consider.