Medical vocational training is very popular, particularly in the US and Canada, as healthcare is one of the fastest growing occupational sectors. It is expected to continue its growth rate as the baby boomer population ages and experiences more healthcare needs. Any of these medical or healthcare-related occupations provide excellent opportunities for employment, offer generally average to above-average wages, and only rarely require education beyond an associate's degree. Most fields can be entered with a high school diploma and limited education or training for a certificate. Different types of medical vocational training are usually classified as clerical careers or clinical positions, depending upon the amount of expected patient contact and can include medical records technicians, certified nursing assistants, phlebotomists or medical practice receptionists.
Clerical positions that can form the focus of medical vocational training may range from a hospital telephone operator to a clinical coder specializing in medical insurance reimbursements. Many of these positions can be acquired with a high school diploma and a period of supervised on-the-job training (OJT). Clerical positions that require little educational preparation can include hospital telephone operators, medical practice receptionists or medical practice appointment secretaries. Other positions may require some background in medical terminology; this is the case, for example, for medical records transcribers or physician note recorders. A medical records technician, on the other hand, often requires classes from a community college for certification, and some institutions offer associate's degrees in the field.
Medical vocational training programs for careers in the clinical fields are quite numerous and all require some type of more specialized training, certification and education because of patient contact and safety issues. These positions range from those requiring a high school diploma and certification to those needing an associate's degree to enter the field. Clinical careers available through medical vocational training that require the least amount of education include certified nursing assistants (CNAs), home health aides, personal trainers and laboratory phlebotomists. Positions such as electrocardiograph (EKG) technicians, medical sonographers, surgical assistants or physical therapy assistants often require some additional training and a certification in the field. The careers requiring the greatest medical vocational training and education to begin include pharmacy technicians, radiological technicians and nuclear medicine technologists.
In the US, some of these careers require licensure by examination following the specified and prerequisite medical vocational training. Most clinical positions related to patient care also require a satisfactory criminal background check. All educational, training, certification and licensure requirements are readily available from the occupation's national association.
