Cole

Nowadays, most of the companies in the healthcare industry have HR portals for their employees. Therefore, the moment you are hired to work in the healthcare industry, you are likely to be given a web address/URL, through which you can be accessing the HR portal. Then you would be told that it is through the portal that you would be viewing your paystubs, your work schedules and the whole range of other work-related resources you need. In this article, we will be trying to gain deeper insights into the workings of such (HR) portals. We will begin by answering the question as to why the HR portals are set up. Then we will go a step further, and try to understand how exactly the HR portals are set up. We will also deal with the question as to how the HR portals are supposed to be used, and what the future of the HR portals for the healthcare industry looks like.

Why HR portals for the healthcare industry are set up

The HR portals are mainly set up with the objective of improving efficiency and effectiveness in the management of human resources. They are also meant to make life easier for the employees. Look at it this way: before the HR portals for the healthcare industry started coming up, employees would have to visit the HR offices in person (or call the offices on phone) whenever they wanted to access various work-related resources. But with the advent of the HR portals, healthcare industry employees can access their work-related resources at any time, and from almost anywhere in the world where there is Internet access. This means that life for the employees has becomes easier with the advent of the portals. For instance, an employee who is on holiday somewhere in the Caribbean can just log in (from the beach chair, using his mobile device), and get to see when he is scheduled to get back on duty. This would have been unthinkable in the days before the advent of the HR portals. In those days, the employee would have to call the HR office, to inquire on when he was scheduled to go back on duty – which would mess up with the spirit of the holiday completely. So we see that the HR portals have made life easier for the employees, while also improving efficiency and effectiveness in the management of human resources.

How the HR portals for the healthcare industry are set up

There are two models under which the HR portals for the healthcare industry are set up. The first model is the one where the HR portals operate as parts/sections of the healthcare companies’ main websites. And the second model is the one where the HR portals operate as stand-alone websites. In the first model, the employees may be instructed to go to their companies’ main websites, and once they get there, they find a link they can click on in order to be taken to the HR login page. Then once they manage to log into the HR sections of their companies’ websites, they can find the various resources they need. On the other hand, in the second model, the employees are given a web address/URL (different from that of the companies’ main website) which they are supposed to enter into their browsers in order to be taken to the HR portals. Then when they get there, they are able to log in and access the various resources they need. We are also increasingly seeing cases where the major healthcare companies are setting up mobile apps through which their employees can access the various work-related resources.

In all cases, the HR portals are linked to databases with the employee resources. So when the employees click on the links for various resources, the databases are queried, and the result of the query is what is displayed to the employees.

How the HR portals for the healthcare industry are supposed to be used

As we mentioned earlier, the HR portals are meant to be utilized by the healthcare industry staff, to access the various work-related resources they need. If, for instance, an employee wants to check his paystub for a certain month, he only has to go to his company’s HR portal, login there, navigate to the paystubs section, and get to see the desired statement. Similarly, if an employee wants to check his work schedule for a certain month, he only has to go to his company’s HR portal, login there, navigate to the work schedules section, and get to see the desired schedule…

Most of the information in the HR portals is of a private and confidential nature. That is why in all cases, these HR portals are password protected: meaning that one has to log in, before being able to access any resources through the portals. Some of the HR portals allow one to remain logged in for a certain duration of time. Others are designed in such a manner that login sessions expire after very brief durations of time (after which one has to log in again).

What the future of the HR portals for the healthcare industry looks like

For one, we are moving towards a future where all healthcare companies will have HR portals for their employees. The few healthcare companies that are yet to set up HR portals for their employees are under a great deal of pressure to do so. It is easy to foresee a future where HR management will be wholly undertaken online, and where the HR portals will be integrated with the rest of the companies systems, making ‘Single Sign On’ functionality possible.

Secondly, it is easy to foresee a future where the HR portals will become ever more sophisticated, in terms of capabilities. Initially, we had HR portals that were capable of only showing paystubs. But now we have HR portals that are capable of showing things like work schedules as well. Some have become so sophisticated that changes in work schedules are updated in real time.

Thirdly, we are likely to see more and more companies setting up mobile apps through which their employees can access their work-related resources. As mentioned earlier, the major companies in the healthcare field have already launched such apps. It is likely to be just a matter of time before the smaller companies are drawn to follow suit.

Healthcare jobs tend to be very demanding. They are physically and mentally taxing jobs, with zero room for mistakes. And they are jobs where one has to deal with ever-changing (sometimes heart-wrenching) scenarios on a day-in day-out basis. Furthermore the healthcare jobs tend to be 24-hour affairs, with shifts that can totally mess up with one’s social life. The question that arises, then, is as to why people apply for these jobs – notwithstanding the various stresses associated with them. This is a critical question, especially keeping in mind the fact that many of the people who take up healthcare jobs tend to be very highly intelligent individuals. As such, they are people with many other alternatives, in terms of other jobs they could do. But they nonetheless opt for the healthcare jobs. Why?

1. Healthcare jobs tend to pay very well: This is especially the case for the jobs in the professional cadres of the healthcare field. You find that the salary for a specialist/consultant doctor is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. The fact that one stands to earn such good money draws people to apply for the healthcare jobs, notwithstanding their mentally and physically taxing nature. Even for the lower/non-professional cadres, the earnings associated with the healthcare industry are better than what one would ordinarily earn elsewhere. Thus, for instance, a nursing assistance helping push trolleys around the hospital knows that he would probably earn much less pushing trolleys at a supermarket… Thus, in fact for both the professional and non-professional cadres, healthcare jobs tend to be very lucrative, and this fact draws very many people into the field. Of course, very few workers in the healthcare industry will admit to the fact that they were drawn to the field by the allure of money. Yet when you dig deep below, that is what you tend to discover – a situation where, directly or indirectly (consciously or subconsciously) people are drawn to healthcare jobs by the money.
2. Healthcare jobs are very prestigious: Again, this is especially the case for the jobs in the professional cadres of the healthcare industry. For many people, there is no greater prestige than that of being called a ‘doctor of medicine’. So there are people who are drawn to the jobs in the healthcare industry by the prestige associated with such jobs – notwithstanding the fact that such jobs can be mentally and physically taxing. So for many a people, compensation for the mental and physical exertion they have to put into healthcare jobs comes in the form of prestige and the social esteem.
3. Healthcare jobs give an opportunity to ‘make a difference’: Most of the healthcare jobs entail alleviating (or at least minimizing) the suffering of others. It can be very rewarding to see a patient who came to the hospital in a great deal of pain leaving with relief, due to your input as a healthcare worker. So there are people who find joy in ‘making a difference’ in others’ lives, and the healthcare jobs offer a good opportunity to do this. Coincidentally, this is the reason that most healthcare workers tend to cite, when they are asked what drew them to the field. And it is understandable, because this is the ‘right thing to say’. I mean, it would be outrageous to say that you became a doctor because you want to make a pile of money. But when you say that you chose to become a doctor because you wanted to ‘make a difference in others’ lives’, that surely sounds much better.
4. Healthcare jobs tend to offer good security: In this regard, we find that many of the people who are working in the healthcare field are employed on ‘permanent and pensionable’ terms. And even those who are hired on contracts tend to be on long-term contracts. So it is a question of job security, and healthcare jobs tend to offer very good job security. And even where there is no security of tenure, the people with healthcare qualifications know that their qualifications open plenty of doors. They know that armed with healthcare qualifications, they are unlikely to go for long periods of time without work. This still translates into ‘job security’ even when one happens to be temporarily unemployed: as there is always the assurance that with the healthcare qualifications, a good job is bound to come soon or later. And furthermore, healthcare qualifications tend to be universal: where, for instance, a person with healthcare qualifications earned in the USA can still get work in the Europe after just a few formalities. So this is yet another source of security – knowing that with healthcare qualifications and experience, you can get work in pretty much any part of the world.
5. Some healthcare jobs are very easy to get: This, for instance, is the case with the nursing jobs available at the homes for the aged and mental institutions. This is also the case with hospital janitor jobs, and the whole range of other ‘support’ positions in healthcare facilities. The reason as to why these jobs are easy to get is in the fact that some of them are very physically demanding – like those that entail lifting patients and carrying hospital supplies around. Others are easy to get because they are deemed to be ‘demeaning’ –like those that entail cleaning patients. Yet others are easy to get because they are deemed to be dangerous – like those that entail taking care of mentally ill patients, who at times are violent. Due to such factors, there are fewer people competing for such jobs – meaning that the jobs are easy to get. And the fact that such jobs are very easy to get means that they are viable for people without other alternatives.  They provide a launching pad to other career paths – like where, for instance, one can be working as a nursing assistant at a mental institution, while pursuing training in another field. Recent immigrants also find these jobs alluring, given the fact that they offer an opportunity for one to get established, before branching into other areas. Some people, of course, come to love these jobs – to the extent that they stick with them, even when they eventually get other alternatives.

There are some 4 major types of jobs you can apply for within the healthcare field. The specific type of healthcare job you opt to apply for will, of course, depend on your qualifications and your interests. But the most beautiful thing about the healthcare field is the fact that it has jobs for pretty much all sorts of people. There are some very high specialized job in the healthcare field, for the elites. Then there are some unskilled jobs in the healthcare field that even a person who doesn’t have much education can still do. This is contrary to the widely held perception that the jobs in the healthcare field are elitist – meant only for people with advanced qualifications. The reality is whether you have an advanced university degree or you have a fifth grade education, you can find a job in the healthcare field.

Without further ado, the 4 major types of jobs you can apply for within the healthcare field include:

1. Physician jobs: These are high skill jobs that entail treating people who are suffering from various conditions. It is also in this category that we are including the various groups of professionals who help the physicians in their work of treating patients (even when those assistants are themselves not physicians). The physician jobs in question here therefore range from consultant specialist doctor jobs to the physician assistant jobs. The earnings here vary a great deal too: like where you can find a consultant specialist doctor commanding hundreds of thousands of bucks per year in earnings, whereas a physician assistant can at times earn less than 30 thousand bucks per year. Of course, the higher paid positions tend to require very long durations of training: like where it can take more than a decade before one qualifies to be a consultant specialist doctor. The less paid positions, on the other hand, tend to require shorter durations of training – like where it can take just a couple of years to be trained to become a physician assistant. In this category of physician jobs, we are also including professionals like pharmacists, physiotherapists, nutritionists, anesthetists, occupational therapists, dentists, radiologists… and the whole range of other people who are involved in diagnosing and treating patients’ conditions. You can opt for any of these positions, depending on your abilities and interests.
2. Nursing jobs: These are jobs that entail taking care of patients on a day to day, hour to hour basis. You see, the physicians can only be with the patients for short durations of time – like where the specialist doctor only gets to see the patients during the ward rounds. So what the physician usually does is issue instructions (including various prescriptions), and then it is the nurses who are expected to act on those instructions in the care of the patients. Again, the earnings associated with nursing jobs vary a great deal: ranging from the very high salaries given to the specialized theater nurses, to the rather modest salaries given to certified nursing assistants. And just as was the case with the physician jobs, you tend to find that the nursing jobs that command the higher salaries tend to require longer durations of training. Thus, for instance, one may require up to 5 or even 6 years of training, to become a specialized theater nurse, earning a very good paycheck. On the other hand, one may require just a few weeks’ training to become a certified nursing assistant – but then, given the shorter duration of training, the paycheck would be commensurately modest.
3. Administration jobs: Nowadays, healthcare institutions require specialized administrators. Gone are the days when healthcare institutions where administered by the physicians working there. These days, the physicians are left to do their work in diagnosing and treating patients, while the administration work is left to the specialized administrators. Even where the physicians have to do administrative work, they are taken through special courses in administration – whereupon they transform from being physicians, to being administrators. So you find that there are colleges offering specialized courses in healthcare administration. And it is increasingly not uncommon to find someone who has a MD degree (making him a physician) as well as a MBA (which then makes him an administrator). With regard to administrative jobs, it is important to mention that there are different cadres: ranging from the very highly paid hospital administrators, to the modestly paid administrative or records clerks in hospitals. The training tends to be commensurate with the pay: whereby for instance, for you to become a hospital administrator, you may need to have a master’s degree (which can take up to 7 years to earn). Conversely, you may be hired as an administrative clerk in a hospital on the strength of your 12^th grade GED alone — but then, your earnings would have to be modest. Note that there are administrators who work in hospitals, and then we have others who are based in health insurance companies and other entities of that nature.
4. Support jobs: There are lots of support jobs in the healthcare field. In fact, it is fair to say that majority of the people who work in the healthcare field hold support jobs. The support jobs in question here range from those that entail cleaning the healthcare facilities and wheeling patients around to the specialized ones that entail maintaining the machines used in healthcare service provision. Thus when someone is said to hold a support job in the healthcare field, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he is a ‘lowly worker. He could, for instance, be a biomedical engineer or technician, involved in the maintenance of x-ray machines, ultra-sound machines, laboratory microscopes and so on. He could also be someone who is involved in cleaning a healthcare facility – and the so called ‘lowly’ positions can’t be taken for granted either, seeing that healthcare service provision would be impossible without them. As with the other categories of jobs we have looked at, the earnings from these ‘support jobs’ typically depend on the training one has to undergo for the jobs. Thus, for instance, a biomedical engineer, whose training takes years naturally ends up earning more than a person who is involved in trimming the hospital’s fence (whose training can take as little as a day).