SUBMITTED NEWS RELEASE
The University of Nevada School of Medicine and the High Sierra Area Health Education Center are pleased to release a new manual entitled “Health Care Careers in Nevada 2011-2012.”
This first edition of the manual contains a wide range of current information on nearly 70 health care occupations in Nevada, including an overview of job requirements, Nevada employment outlook, and average salary data in Nevada for each occupation. The guide also provides a detailed inventory of educational certificate and degree programs in Nevada for each health care occupation.
“Health Care Careers in Nevada is primarily targeted to middle school and high school students in Nevada interested in exploring careers in medicine, nursing, and other health care fields. It will also be of interest to those interested in learning more about numerous health care education opportunities available to Nevada residents” says Andrea Gibbins, Executive Director of the High Sierra Area Health Education Center.
In stark contrast to nearly every industry sector in Nevada, the health services sector – hospitals, clinics, medical and dental practices, nursing homes, pharmacies, and other medical providers – has been an economic mainstay, and has provided stability and even growth during the deepest recession in the state’s history since the Great Depression. Since the beginning of the recession in 2007, Nevada employers have shed nearly 175,000 jobs. By comparison, employment in the health services sector has grown by 7.4 percent.
Currently, 90,000 Nevadans are employed in the health services sector. Nearly eight percent of all jobs in Nevada are in hospitals, clinics, and other health care settings. Moreover, workers in health services jobs have an average annual wage of $49,247 – a figure exceeding the state average of $42,746 by 16.6 percent.
John Packham, director of health policy research at the School of Medicine notes: “Health care careers in Nevada continue to represent well-paying, recession-resistant employment for thousands of Nevadans poised to enter the state’s workforce – opportunities that will only increase with the growing demand for health care over the next two decades. Our hope is that Health Care Careers in Nevada can assist anyone interested in exploring such opportunities.”
Hard copies of this manual are being distributed to all public K-12 school districts in Nevada as part of an outreach effort by the medical school.
For additional information on health care careers in Nevada and to access the interactive version of the Health Care Careers in Nevada 2011-2012 manual, visit wwwhighsierraahec.org.
