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Resources for Careers in Healthcare & Medicine

Do you have an aptitude for science, a love for working with people, and the desire to be challenged in your work? A career as a healthcare professional may be for you. Human medicine, veterinary medicine, nursing, dentistry, public health, health care administration, the therapies (physical, occupational, recreational, music and art), pharmacy, optometry, mental health, vision care and podiatry—each of these fields offers the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people or animals. Students interested in health and science often find careers in other related fields such as the pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology, or community health education. Students interested in healthcare management can find some entry level positions in health administration from many different majors.

 
Health Professions Advising Office
 
While the resources and services in the Office of Career Services are available to all students and alumni, including those interested in health professions, students should be aware that the Health Professions Advising Office is the primary source for information and guidance on campus (pre-med, dental, veterinary, complementary and alternative medicine, genetics, public health, etc.) Advisors in this office can offer assistance with course selection and practical work experiences. They also coordinate all aspects of the medical school application process. 
 
The HPA library has print resources about health career and their website (http://www.princeton.edu/hpa/)also offers extensive information and links. They post announcements concerning volunteer positions, internships, special summer programs and mentoring/shadowing opportunities with local health care professionals. To make an appointment, please call 258-3144 or email hpa@princeton.edu.
 
Alumni Careers Network
 
Alumni have VOLUNTEERED to have students contact them for advice and information about majors and careers. The Alumni Careers Network (ACN), with 4,500 volunteers worldwide, is a searchable on-line database of Princeton alumni who are willing and eager for you to contact them so they can provide you with advice and assistance about their industry or career field.   
 
Selected Online Resources and Professional Associations
 
A professional association is an organization of people who have similar career interests. These membership- based organizations often offer a reduced rate for students that allow access to the many resources they provide. Professional association websites can also offer job/internship databases as well as opportunities to find mentors or other contacts.
 
GENERAL
 
American Association of Healthcare Executives - http://www.ache.org/ - Students can join this organization as a Student Associate. There is valuable information in the Careers Section for students interested in learning more about a career in healthcare administration. There are also jobs listed on this site.
 
Absolutely Health Care - http://www.healthjobsusa.com/ - Job postings in 100 categories of healthcare. Post your resume, obtain licensing information, review Health Care salary data, and set up a Job Search Agent.
 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - http://www.cdc.gov/  - Find out about CDC employment, training and educational opportunities.
 
Health Care Job Store -  http://www.healthcarejobstore.com/ - Lists positions in all areas of healthcare including pharmaceutical, biotechnology and public health. This website has healthcare salary information and a salary survey, and links to employer profiles nationwide.
 
Comprehensive overview of the diverse career paths for health-related careers, ranging from traditional career paths to environmental health and speech-language-hearing. 
 
HealthCareSource - (http://www.healthcaresource.com/) - With over 37,000 unique jobs and hundreds of new postings daily, HealthcareSource.com is one of America's largest healthcare job sites on the web. Search by state or facility.
 
HospitalLink.com-http://www.hospitallink.com/ - State-by-state links to most of the hospitals that have websites. Though you will have to search at each hospital site for the job listings, this is a potential gold-mine of jobs not advertised anywhere else.
 
National Institutes of Health -http://www.nih.gov/ - A comprehensive site containing information on the individual organizations that make up the NIH as well as career opportunities. NIH has student opportunities.
 
National Institute of Health Careers in Healthcare and Medicine - (http://www.training.nih.gov/careers/careercenter/caroptsmed.html) - Resource for information about diverse career paths in healthcare fields.
 
Occupational Outlook Handbook -http://www.bls.gov/oco/ - Want to know what education is required to be a physician’s assistant? The U.S. Department of Labor provides an A-Z search of jobs to learn more about working conditions, training and educational requirements, job outlook, and earnings.
 
Plunkett Research - http://www.plunkettresearch.com/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx  - Provides an overview of the healthcare industry, with emerging trends and statistics, and definitions of the most important terms pertaining to the healthcare industry.
 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - http://www.hhs.gov/ -The government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans. More than 300 programs are included in this department, covering a wide spectrum of activities.
 
NURSING
 
American Academy of Nurse Practitioners - http://www.aanp.org/AANPCMS2 - Great site for legislative issues as well as career resources.
 
American Association of Colleges of Nursing - http://www.aacn.nche.edu/CareerCenter/index.htm - Includes a Career Center which provides information about career resources.
 
American College of Nurse Practitioners – http://www.acnpweb.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1 -A national non-profit membership organization headquartered in Washington, DC, the ACNP is focused on advocacy and keeping NPs current on legislative, regulatory and clinical practice issues that effect NPs in the rapidly changing health care arena. The College is the only membership directed organization for NPs - meaning the ACNP sets its annual agenda and policies based on the consensus of its members.
 
Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow - http://www.nursesource.org/nursing_careers.html - Provides career information for nursing paths. 
 
PHYSICAL THERAPY
 
American Physical Therapy Association - http://www.apta.org/ - Provides career and education-related information.
 
GENETICS
 
National Society of Genetic Counselors - http://www.nsgc.org/ - Provides information on the genetic counseling profession, including education as well as key current issues. 
 
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY:
 
American Occupational Therapy Association  - http://www.aota.org/Students.aspx - Includes information about the profession, as well as a student section.