Considering a career in medicine or caretaking? It may be time to start looking at assisted living and long term care facilities for your next job. With a growing population of seniors, ongoing breakthroughs in life extension and end-of-life care, and increasing standards of medical and personal care, it’s never been a better time to enter the field. Whether you’re in for a long-term career, or simply looking for the next step in your path, you stand to gain immensely from time in an assisted living job.
Training
Whether you’re already in the medical field or caretaking field or looking for your first job in the industry, working in an assisted living facility can be an excellent opportunity to develop the skills you’ll need moving forward. Often, even low-level entry jobs at an assisted living facility will allow you to receive basic healthcare training free of charge.
You may be able to pick up basic CPR skills and certification or more advanced basic medical and caretaking certifications through in-house training programs. You’ll also be working alongside more experienced personnel, giving your additional learning opportunities.
Growing field
With the assisted living and long term care facility industries promising to grow in response to an aging population, you won’t have to worry about finding or keeping an assisted living job. Seniors remain a high priority for care across the country, so facilities and caretakers will be maintained to meet any rise in demand.
This is in strong contrast with other segments of healthcare, which have seen faster growth but may be on unstable territory depending on future adjustments to regulations, government programs, etc.
Hands-on experience
In addition to the general training you can acquire through a job in an assisted living facility, you’ll also receive an abundance of hands-on experience. In many care facilities, you’ll be expected to learn a variety of skills and apply them on a regular basis, giving you first-hand experience in any number of skillsets. From there, you’ll be well-equipped to proceed into a more specialized career should you desire.
Networking
Working in assisted living facilities often provides you with great opportunities to network. You’ll interact with people from a wide variety of specialties on a regular basis. You’ll also find that the majority of assisted living jobs associate you with a larger hospital system or other medical organization, meaning you’ll be well-equipped to move into other roles within the same system.
Rewarding work
Many settle into a long-term career in assisted living purely due to how rewarding the work can be. Even if you don’t intend to stay in assisted living as a lifelong career, it can offer you useful insight into what you want out of work. Given the wide number of career paths in front of an experienced assisted living employee, knowledge of what you want out of work will be quite important.
Building credentials
If you’re looking to put together a superior resume, either by building up new skills, working in a respectable role, or working as part of a well-organized team of medical professionals, a job in assisted living can be exactly what you need. You’ll have a number of opportunities to acquire new certifications, pursue additional learning, or establish yourself as a competent medical caretaker.
Versatility
For some, handling the same sorts of responsibilities every day can become boring, dull one’s professional edge, or lead to a career dead-end. Working in an assisted living facility will help you maintain your edge, continue learning, and offer insight into potential specialties and areas of focus for the future. It also looks great on your resume for just this reason.
Parting thoughts
Assisted living isn’t quite like other fields, but that’s something savvy workers will benefit from. Whether you’re attracted to the opportunities to train and learn, the potential for career advancement, or the satisfaction of doing an important job well, assisted living is a field worthy of your attention.