11 Benefits of Working in a Hospital
So you’ve decided that you want to work in a healthcare career, but aren’t sure what type of healthcare career setting you should choose. There are plenty of options ranging from hospitals, to healthcare facilities, to doctor’s offices, or clinics. To help make your choice a little bit easier, we have compiled a list of the benefits of working in a hospital for you to consider.
Benefits of Working In A Hospital
1. Making a Difference
Fewer healthcare professionals in the healthcare industry have the benefit of making a difference more than those who work in a hospital. That’s not to say that those who don’t work in a hospital don’t make a difference, it is just a different kind of difference. Traditionally, those who visit a hospital to receive care are going to the hospital to seek further aid than they would receive in an urgent care clinic or doctor’s office.
A patient who might visit an urgent care clinic or a doctor’s office might be ailing from a simple fix, such as a common cold or flu. But those patients who visit a hospital are seeking remedies for more complex solutions and emergency care.
This means that those healthcare professionals who are working in a hospital get to care and treat patients who need the extra attention.
2. Job Stability
The healthcare industry is one of the most stable industries in the professional workforce. As we mentioned in our blog post, Job Security: A thing of the Past, Except for in Healthcare, we highlight how the healthcare industry is growing more than any other industry. And with this industry growth, job stability continues to rise for those who are working in a hospital.
In addition, as other occupations seek ways to cut cost and reduce payroll expenses by adding additional technology solutions to replace traditional workers, the healthcare industry is relatively immune. The healthcare industry is relatively immune due to the fact that the most important asset in the healthcare industry is the workers who actually provide the care. There will always be a need for healthcare professionals to interact with and provide care to ailing patients - technology can’t do that.
The healthcare industry is skill-oriented, and not numbers-driven. So there will always be a need for healthcare professionals who have the desired skills to improve patient care outcomes and improve the lives of patients by working in a hospital thus creating additional job stability.
As baby boomers age and phase out of the workforce, they will require care in numbers that wasn’t seen before, so the need for qualified professionals will only rise.
3. Flexible Work Options
One of the great benefits of working in a hospital is that hospitals are open 24/7, as patients need care all hours of the day. This means that there are plenty of flexible work options available for those who need to have a unique schedule.
More professionals are looking for ways to set their own work schedule to best suit their professional and personal lives, and working in a hospital is one great way to accommodate those needs. More healthcare professionals are seeking ways of working non-traditional hours instead of working the typical 9 to 5 shift. Those healthcare professionals who work in a doctor’s office will typically work a standard shift every day, whereas those professionals working in a hospital can rotate their schedule with greater optional flexibility.
As more healthcare facilities and hospitals are looking to attract more qualified talent to fill vacant positions, healthcare executives are providing flexible work options and rotating schedules for those who are working in a hospital. This means that healthcare professionals can work different schedules on different weeks, days, or only so many days a week such as flex time.
For those healthcare professionals who want to accommodate their schedule around their personal life such as a parenting routine, working in a hospital is a great option.
4. Good Pay
The average salary for those who are working in a hospital is roughly $48,013. In contrast, the average worker salary for US workers is $44,564 in other industries. This means that those healthcare professionals working in a hospital have the ability to earn $3,449 more than those who don’t.
In addition, as those healthcare professionals who work in a hospital typically require greater qualifications than those who work in a doctor’s office, the average pay is greater as well. One of the better benefits of working in a hospital as well, is the fact that those who are just entering the workforce typically earn higher wages than those who are starting at entry level positions elsewhere.
For more information on the typical pay for positions you might be considering in a hospital, feel free to check out our Salary Trends page, where we have all the compensation and job trend employment projection data you could possibly want.
5. Great Benefits
Another great thing about working in a hospital is that there are typically great benefits available to employees. As mentioned previously, hospitals are looking to fill qualified talent for a growing number of vacant positions. In order to fill these vacant positions faster and attract the best talent available, hospitals are providing more encompassing benefits than other professional industries.
Some of the typical benefits given to those who are working in a hospital include:
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These are just a few of the benefits that might be provided for those healthcare professionals working in a hospital.
6. Part of a Team
One benefit of working in a hospital that many don’t consider is the aspect of a team-based approach. In plenty of professions, it feels like everyone is out for themselves and it can be difficult feeling the pressures of a job all on one set of shoulders. The great thing about working in a hospital is that there are others who are all working towards the same goal as you, so you’re not alone.
So many of the daily tasks in a hospital require input from different individuals, so you’re not left feeling like you have to do all the work or that you are the only one who can solve all the problems and tasks that might arise.
In addition, working as part of a team in a hospital is a great support system. You will be working with others who are typically dealing with the same things you are professionally, so you can have a support system to fall back on when things get tough. In other industries, that support system isn’t always there.
7. Variance In Your Day
One benefit that many people are looking for in their professional life is a daily variance in professional tasks. While some people would rather have the same responsibilities every single day with little change, plenty of individuals are seeking opportunities that make each day exciting and new.
Working in a hospital provides those opportunities, as no two patients are exactly the same. This means that no two days will ever be the same while working in a hospital.
Working in a hospital means that you will be encountering different patients on a different day. Each one will have a different background and will require unique care for their different ailments.
Working in a hospital means that every day there are plenty of new challenges that arise, as hospitals are a non-stop environment with constant evolutions.
In addition, the other healthcare professionals you interact with on a daily basis will be constantly in flux as well. There are so many other professionals who are working in a hospital, just like you - which means that there are plenty of new faces to meet and interact with on a daily basis.
8. Great Working Conditions
One of the best benefits that job seekers should consider, is that working in a hospital means there are great working conditions. In order to provide the best care available, hospitals need to be as clean as can be to prevent future illness and avoid health concerns. This means that you don’t have to worry about whether or not you’re working in a sanitary environment, or have any health risk concerns.
On top of this, the healthcare industry is one of the wealthiest industries in today’s economic marketplace. In order to remain competitive, hospitals need to continually bring in newer technology and expand to accommodate future healthcare needs as facilities grow. This means that employees get to use new equipment at a more frequent rate than other industries.
You won’t be stuck using equipment or technology that is several models old, as hospitals continually seek new ways to improve patient care and increase number of patients treated with fewer restrictions.
9. Dynamic Learning Environment
One thing about working in a hospital is that it is a constantly changing environment where you can develop new skills on the go. With today’s employers constantly seeking employees who have a greater number of skills than ever, working in a hospital is a great work environment to develop future skills that might be needed elsewhere.
This means that a hospital is a dynamic learning environment for you to continually improve your existing skills, and learn new skills that can be useful elsewhere.
10. Additional Career Opportunities Available
In a hospital, there are hundreds of available career paths and opportunities that become available through promotion and natural turnover ratios. This means that there are plenty of ways that hospital workers can explore different careers or move upward through the ranks with ease.
In other industries, additional career opportunities are hard to come by, and many have to seek opportunities elsewhere for a sideways career move or upward promotion. In contrast, hospitals are more willing to hire from within than seek outside talent due to understanding company culture and reduced training expenses associated with a new hire.
With some of the skills that you’ve learned while on the job, as we mentioned earlier, you will be able to explore different career opportunities with ease.
11. Room For All Levels of Professional Experience
Another great benefit of working in a hospital is that there are plenty of opportunities for all ranges of professional work experience. There are plenty of jobs available for those who have a high school degree, to those who have a PhD. In other words, there are plenty of great jobs available for virtually every background imaginable.
Other industries don’t have nearly the same flexibility as hospitals offer. Plenty of other industries require strict education or professional work experience backgrounds to be considered for professions, but the healthcare industry creates plenty of opportunities with those who have no experience.
From there, you can use that entry level experience to continually progress upward through the ranks and receive additional career growth opportunities given to hospital employees through competitive benefits packages - all from starting at an entry level position.
Summary
There are plenty of benefits to working in a hospital as opposed to other locations in the healthcare industry. Some of the best benefits include career growth opportunities, competitive benefits and compensation packages, and a dynamic ever-changing environment.
