Career '89The Daily Tar HeelMonday, October 9, 19897
Health care fields present open job market
By SARA TOWNSEND
Staff Writer
The prognosis looks excellent for
careers in the health professions,
according to Marian Holmes, place
ment counselor for health sciences
with the University Career Planning
and Placement Services.
Health professions are some of
America's fastest growing careers, and
because there are shortages in many
fields, employers are offering higher
salaries, better benefits and flexible
hours to attract graduates, Holmes
said.
"Americans are becoming more
and more conscious of maintaining
and protecting their health. And this
increased awareness translates into
increased demand for health care
facilities and personnel."
Students training in health care
fields can expect to be wooed by re
cruiters. Forecasts from the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics show con
tinued growth for all jobs associated
with the health care industry, espe
cially business and administration
positions, she said.
Like the rest of the nation, North
Carolina is experiencing a drop in
the pool of available health care work
ers, said Kate McDonald, associate
director of the statewide Area Health
Educations Centers Program that
monitors shortages in the health pro
fession. While there is a surplus of health
care in some areas of the state, such
as the Triangle, most counties in this
state are under-served, she said.
"We're seeing signs that rural areas
, are losing primary care physicians."
North Carolina ranks 28th among
the states in the population-physician
ratio, according to statistics from the
UNC Health Services Research Cen
ter. In 1988, the ratio was 637 to 1 in
North Carolina, compared to 476 to
1 nationally.
"We're seeing a diminishing sup
ply of workers in all the health fields
as well as a decline in the numbers
now enrolled in health care training
programs," McDonald said. "People
entering many health professions
today have a grea situation walking
in; they can choo; . when and where
they want to work. '
Students interested in health ca
reers should talk to their advisers about
the variety"" of health professions.
"Don't just think medicine or nurs
ing; there are so many options now,"
she said. "Health careers are espe
cially rewarding and challenging
because they combine high-tech and
high-touch environments."
Most students who are interested
in health careers want to be doctors,
said Tony Hilger, director of the
Health Professions Advising Office.
"Pre-med advising is by far our big
gest business."
In a survey of career interests
given to entering freshman this fall,
Hilger said 850 of the 2,930 stu
dents who completed the question
naire said they were interested in
health careers. Of those interested
in the health care field, more than
half said they planned to pursue ca
reers in medicine.
"But we know from experience
that only about 150 of those saying
they were interested in being doc
tors when they are freshman actu
ally end up applying to medical
school," he said. "What I think hap
pens is that a fair number of those
students hit a wall say, they get a
C in a chemistry course and de
cide they will never make it as a
doctor.
"This is the point where students
don't come in here for advice, and
they should." Too many students
don't realize that average freshman
grades will not keep them out of
medical school, Hilger said. Admis
sions committees look more closely
at grades in the junior and senior
years.
"I'm afraid many people give up
on medicine who don't have to," he
said. "Lots of students come in here
with perfectly acceptable CPAs and
erroneous ideas about how high their
GPAs need to be to get in."
One third-year medical student
agreed. "Don't worry so much about
grades or your MCAT scores. And
make sure you take lots of humani
ties and social science courses," said
Doug Esposito, who is working a
clerkship in pediatrics at North Caro
lina Memorial Hospital. . "
The role of the physician is chang
ing, he said. "If you're going into it
for the prestige, don't People don't
look at doctors as heroes anymore;
they're more skeptical and more
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involved in their own health care."
People shouldn't go into medicine
for the money, he added. "If you to
tal up the costs of medical school
and the years of residency, you cer
tainly aren't going to get rich quick.
There's always going to be money to
make in medicine, but it's certainly
not the easiest way to make it."
Students interested in a career in
medicine need to learn about the many
other health professions as well, Hilger
said. With one-quarter to one-third
of the applications rejected, "it's good
to have a Plan B."
A recent decline in the number of
dental school applicants makes it a
great time to go into dentistry, Hilger
said. "Dentists are making as much
money as ever. It's still one of two or
three top-paying jobs."
The allied health professions of
fer scores of occupations ranging from
"high-tech" to "high-touch" and edu
cational levels from on-the-job train
ing to advanced degrees, according
to Robert Thorpe, associate profes
sor in the medical allied health pro
fessions department at the UNC
School of Medicine.
Allied health includes careers in
cytotechnology, medical technology,
occupational therapy, physical ther
apy, radiological science, rehabilita
tion counseling and speech and hear
ing sciences. More than 90 employ
ers from hospitals and health agen
cies attended an allied health profes
sions career fair last March at
Carmichael Auditorium. "We had to
turn away companies because we had
no room left," Thorpe said.
"For allied health majors, there is
no such thing as unemployment Stu
dents have four or five openings they
can walk into without even looking.
See HEALTH, page 8
FIRST WACHOVIA CORPORATION is pleased
to announce that the following graduates
of The University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill have become associated with
our organization this year:
BANKING OPERATIONS GROUP
Elizabeth Steelman
Sara Turner
Sara Qoolsby
Qeri Hampton
Bob Faber
CASH MANAGEMENT GROUP
Suzanne Wilbur (MBA)
CORPORATE BANKING GROUP
Willa Stancill
Catherine Zalewski
Alyson Young
Rick Carroll
John Robbins
Scott Bond (MBA)
Anne Hoopes
CORPORATE FINANCE
Haywood Edmundson(MBA)
CORPORATE TRUST
Laurence Leinbach
REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS
Mike Zuravel (MBA)
RETAIL BANKING GROUP
Paige Parker
Farad Ali
Bryan Craver
Keith Evans
LisaDodson
Angela Smith
Anna Shedden
Patricia Melton
William Nesbitt
SALES FINANCE GROUP
Bryan Maynor
Scott Lewis
Jason Frizzell
Eric Talley
Charles Chambers
Lynn Muhl
Jeff Sims
Mary Ward
David Williams
TRUST OPERATIONS GROUP
Julia Minnemeyer
First Wachovia enjoys its association with the
University and anticipates an outstanding 1989-90
recruiting season on the campus. Please plan to
meet our representatives at the October 10-11 Job
Fair, Great Hall, Student Union.
k' . - ' Tfc '