Suppose that you have always wanted to work in a hospital, but never got around to attending medical school and becoming a doctor (”I could have done it if I wanted to! Really!”).  Fortunately, you are in luck!  Hospitals of all types hire many different levels and types of professionals for clinical and non-clinical hospital jobs.

Working for a hospital can be an awarding experience.  After all, hospitals are there to make sick people better.  Contributing to a good cause can provide you with a sense of worth, and make your work meaningful.  Whether you work in an administrative role, as a janitor, or the manager of a gift shop, working for hospitals can definitely be rewarding.  You will be able to work around many people and enjoy great job security.

Each hospital contains many different departments and profit centers, most of which run as a separate entity within the hospital.  Some non-clinical departments in hospitals include the cafeteria, gift shop, and the morgue.  The many different departments account for a large number of jobs available to all levels of education and professional experience.

The rest of this article will focus on the many non-clinical jobs available at a hospital near you:

1.  Case manager / social worker

A case manager or social worker in a hospital may provide services to patients or other individuals in the hospital, providing advocacy, information and other services.  Particularly for mental health patients, case management can implement of special health plans.  Other social workers may take care of social issues that may be affecting the lives of certain patients.

2.  Accountants

As with any business in the world, hospitals are in need of accountants.  There is always a need to organize numbers, and accountants in hospitals are often responsible for the maintenance of spreadsheets and database files, reconciling monthly bank statements, and controlling unclaimed property and returned checks.

3.  Human Resources and Recruiting

Again, as it was with accounting, every business benefits from a human resources department.  Most human resources departments deal with issues such as benefits, employee satisfaction, and recruiting.  In a hospital, that may include dealing with doctor job applications or finding new recruits for both clinical and non-clinical jobs.

4.  Information Technology

Information technology is defined as the study, design, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems.  As hospitals are complicated business that deals with the complicated issue of medicine, information technology in a hospital can be essential.

5.  Administrative Assistant

Administrative assistants play a big role in the hospital.  They are responsible for providing support to doctors and other hospital administrators by coordinating schedules, organizing patient files, and handling billing and insurance documentation.  Hospitals of today are complex business environments that require the same sort of employees are a modern day office.  These administrative assistants deal with paperwork, phone calls, and schedules that doctors and nurses may not have time for.

As you can see, you do not need a medical degree to be part of the hospital workforce.  There are many different avenues that you can take to begin your career at one of your local hospitals!