Healthcare Jobs That Don't Require Extensive College

Something that can make this whole thing feel more approachable is a limited search for jobs that are a little more accessible. In fact, these seven jobs all require a bachelor’s degree or less to get started. Some of them don’t require any prerequisites before you get hired.

Medical Administrative Assistant

A medical administrative assistant works in a healthcare facility. The gist of the job is to assist with administrative tasks such as scheduling appointments, preparing reports, answering phones, and more.

The position does not expressly require any type of degree. Instead, a medical administrative assistant certification program covers the basis and usually lasts between 11 and 18 months. In under two years, a person can get the certifications needed and pursue a career in this field.

Medical Scribe

As the name suggests, a medical scribe is focused on writing things. More specifically, a scribe will aid a doctor with charting and other written tasks. Medical scribe prerequisites are fairly loose. A doctor can hire for this position at their discretion. Provided an individual has the desired communication skills, the work can be done without any specialized certifications and no college classes whatsoever.

Phlebotomy

A phlebotomist is a person who draws blood from a patient. There are many applications for this position. A phlebotomist could take blood samples for testing, draw whole blood donations at a drive, or take specialized donations or samples for research, treatments, or any number of other cases. If the process requires blood to leave a patient, the phlebotomist is the one managing the needle. Phlebotomy requirements vary as much as many of these positions, but for most states, a certification program lasts between 6 and 12 weeks.

Billing and Coding

If you have ever received a healthcare bill, you probably noticed how complicated everything is. With insurance being the convoluted concept that it is, many healthcare facilities employ billing and coding specialists. They exist to go through healthcare orders and bills to ensure that everything is coded properly. This helps with record keeping and medicinal accuracy.

To get into billing and coding you will have to pass a certification test. Additionally, many states require an associate's degree focused on billing and coding.

Dental Assistant

A dental assistant works hand in hand with a dentist to provide patient care. Dental assistants have a working knowledge of dental medicine and patient care techniques. Because of that, it’s another fairly regulated position, and it pays accordingly.

Dental assistants require specialized certifications. Programs that fulfill all requirements often require two years to complete. While there are dental assistant certification programs that do not award an associate’s degree, the more common option is to go through an associate’s degree program for dental assistants that includes prerequisites and preparations for all of the certifications necessary to work in the field.

Equipment Technician

There are many kinds of equipment technicians, and the regulations surrounding each one of them are different. In general, you can work to be a medical technologist. This is someone who will work with many different technological devices within a medical setting.

More specialized technician positions might include ultrasounds, x-rays, or any number of other specific devices used by a healthcare facility. Depending on the equipment at hand, technician certifications can come with no external schooling, or they can require up to a bachelor’s degree.

Pharmacy Technician

Pharmacy technician positions might be the most accessible on the list. Every state has its own certification process, but none of them require college classes to complete. Typically, a pharmacy tech has to spend a certain number of hours in a working pharmacy. They then qualify to take a certification exam. Upon completion, they can work at any pharmacy in the state.

This means that most pharmacies will hire a new pharmacy technician with no specific skills, certifications, or experience. You can learn on the job and then get your certifications. A pharmacy technician is responsible for verifying prescriptions, filling prescriptions, compounding medications, billing and coding related to prescriptions, and patient interactions. 

Medical occupations are filled with opportunities. Many of these positions are stable and come with benefits. The pay tends to be higher than in other fields with comparable levels of education or expertise. In many cases, medical facility hours are convenient, and every one of these occupations comes with the potential for workplace fulfillment. Many people feel the impact of the work they do in the medical field.

If you are looking for better work, any number of these positions could fit the bill.