DHORT basics - Discover Health Occupations Readiness Test Updated: 2023

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These are the fastest-growing health care jobs and how much they pay

Female doctor in scrubs in hospital using a digital tablet.

Health care is the fastest-growing sector in the U.S. economy. The industry will account for roughly 45% of all employment gains from 2022 to 2032, according to projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Much of this will be driven by the country’s rapidly aging population. From 2010 to 2020, the 65-plus population in the U.S. grew by the most and fastest at any point since the late 19th century, according to Census Bureau data.

Another factor creating more opportunities in this field is the rising amount of health expenditures due to increased state and federal spending on health care. This comes on the heels of wider access to care through the Affordable Care Act, increased Medicare enrollment, and the expansion of Medicaid. In 2021, Medicare spending grew 8.4% to $900.8 billion and Medicaid grew 9.2% to $734 billion, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Overall, the national health expenditure grew 2.7% to $4.3 trillion, making up 18.3% of gross domestic product.

These trends are driving a surge in demand for health care professionals overall, especially those involved in the care of older patients. Incredible Health used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to see which jobs in health care are predicted to grow the fastest over the next decade. In particular, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and medical and health services manager positions are likely to see the greatest spikes in employment and overall growth.

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#15. Athletic trainers

Trainer and athletic woman in conversation at a health club.

– Expected additional jobs by 2032: 4,800 (up 14.1% from 2022)
– Median annual wage in 2022: $53,840

An athletic trainer is a health care professional trained in sports medicine to provide support to athletes. They may work in injury prevention and recuperation, diagnosing and treating muscle injuries. Athletic trainers also work with individuals to Excellerate their performance by designing strength and conditioning programs.

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#14. Diagnostic medical sonographers

Patient with doctor doing a sonography on his knee.

– Expected additional jobs by 2032: 12,000 (up 14.3% from 2022)
– Median annual wage in 2022: $81,350

Diagnostic medical sonographers use imaging equipment and high-frequency sound waves to create noninvasive images of the body’s organs and tissues, known as sonograms, used by doctors to diagnose and treat illnesses. They can monitor patient conditions such as pregnancy and assist in procedures such as surgery. Often sonographers work in hospital settings, but they are sometimes also found in doctors’ offices and diagnostic labs.

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#13. Hearing aid specialists

An elderly woman getting a hearing aid.

– Expected additional jobs by 2032: 1,500 (up 14.5% from 2022)
– Median annual wage in 2022: $59,020

A hearing aid specialist’s job is to administer and interpret hearing tests. They may also help size hearing instruments for patients by making impressions of their ears and subsequently fitting and dispensing the instrument. These specialists can also provide counseling and additional options for assistive and alerting devices.

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#12. Physical therapists

Senior patient and physical therapist doing rehabilitation walking exercises.

– Expected additional jobs by 2032: 37,300 (up 15.1% from 2022)
– Median annual wage in 2022: $97,720

A physical therapist is a type of health specialist who can help patients Excellerate how their body manages movement, especially in response to pain or injuries. Often this is through prescribed exercises that reduce the need for surgery or prescribed drugs. These professionals use hands-on care, patient education, prescribed exercises, stretches, and equipment to restore function or reduce pain.

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#11. Orthotists and prosthetists

Prosthetist nurse checking prosthetic leg of patient.

– Expected additional jobs by 2032: 1,500 (up 15.4% from 2022)
– Median annual wage in 2022: $77,070

Orthotists and prosthetists design and fabricate medical assistive devices, braces, and artificial limbs for patients. They help patients regain their mobility, fitting them with the devices and monitoring their care. Orthotists and prosthetists also set goals and create rehabilitation plans to achieve clinical goals.

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#10. Genetic counselors

Doctor in front of a couple.

– Expected additional jobs by 2032: 600 (up 16.1% from 2022)
– Median annual wage in 2022: $89,990

Genetic counselors have specialized education and training in medical genetics to determine patients’ risks for inherited conditions. They review genetic tests and results with patients and their families. They can subsequently provide information and support on how these potential genetic conditions can affect the patient and their families.

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#9. Health information technologists and medical registrars

Doctor holding files in his office.

– Expected additional jobs by 2032: 6,200 (up 16.5% from 2022)
– Median annual wage in 2022: $58,250

Health information technologists and medical registrars help design and develop computerized health care systems. They advise organizations on how to implement and manage their electronic health care systems, catalog and update patient records, provide insights into possible disease patterns using data, analyze clinical data, and create reports.

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#8. Massage therapists

A massage therapist treating a client on a table in an apartment.

– Expected additional jobs by 2032: 24,600 (up 18.3% from 2022)
– Median annual wage in 2022: $49,860

Massage therapists use hands-on techniques and apply pressure to a body’s soft tissues to address injuries, loosen tight muscles, promote relaxation, and increase circulation. They may rub and knead the muscles, connective tissues, ligaments, and skin to manage a health condition or Excellerate wellness.

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#7. Speech-language pathologists

Speech-language pathologist working on a child’s pronunciation.

– Expected additional jobs by 2032: 33,100 (up 19.3% from 2022)
– Median annual wage in 2022: $84,140

Speech-language pathologists are communication experts who assess and treat individuals with speech, language, social communication, voice, fluency, and swallowing disorders. Depending on the issue, they can help patients form sounds better, Excellerate conversational understanding, and help them understand social and conversational cues.

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#6. Home health and personal care aides

Aide helping a senior patient.

– Expected additional jobs by 2032: 804,600 (up 21.7% from 2022)
– Median annual wage in 2022: $30,180

Home health and personal care aides assist those with disabilities or chronic illnesses with their daily living activities. They may help clients prepare food, use the bathroom, assist with bathing, or help them get up from bed and move around. Home health aides help their clients live at home independently while providing assistance with day-to-day tasks.

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#5. Occupational therapy assistants

Closeup of a hand in occupational therapy screwing a nut on a bolt.

– Expected additional jobs by 2032: 10,800 (up 24.0% from 2022)
– Median annual wage in 2022: $64,250

Occupational therapy assistants help patients take part in daily living activities, such as washing, grooming, feeding themselves, or performing movements like rising from a chair or getting into bed. These workers may also conduct basic clerical tasks like scheduling, collecting medical history, and ordering medicine and supplies. These professionals may also help clients recover after a workplace injury.

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#4. Physical therapist assistants

Physiotherapist working with a female patient.

– Expected additional jobs by 2032: 26,300 (up 26.1% from 2022)
– Median annual wage in 2022: $62,770

Physical therapist assistants work under physical therapists to help patients regain mobility and strength and manage pain following injuries or illness. They may help treat patients through a variety of interventions such as exercise, hands-on massage, balance training, joint mobilization, ice, and other methods. Assistants document patient progress and report the results to the physical therapist.

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#3. Physician assistants

Doctor and practitioner examining patient’s medical records on a clipboard.

– Expected additional jobs by 2032: 39,300 (up 26.5% from 2022)
– Median annual wage in 2022: $126,010

Physician assistants are licensed clinicians working under a physician’s supervision who examine, diagnose, and treat patients. They may conduct physical exams, order and interpret tests, develop treatment plans, and provide patient education. Entering the field requires an accredited master’s degree and licensure.

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#2. Medical and health services managers

Group of healthcare workers and businessman using laptop in a meeting.

– Expected additional jobs by 2032: 144,700 (up 28.4% from 2022)
– Median annual wage in 2022: $104,830

Medical and health services managers are the masterminds behind the scenes of health care facilities overseeing planning and operations. They supervise, direct, coordinate, and evaluate staff and business activities at hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and managed care organizations. These managers are responsible for arranging the delivery and quality of services provided and keeping tabs on the health care facility’s capacity and usage.

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#1. Nurse practitioners

Female nurse with a mask putting on gloves.

– Expected additional jobs by 2032: 118,600 (up 44.5% from 2022)
– Median annual wage in 2022: $121,610

Nurse practitioners help manage patients’ overall care, examine patients, diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret medical tests, and prescribe medications. The position holds more responsibilities than a nurse but the range of duties varies from state to state. The position holds many similar duties to a doctor but requires less training and is licensed differently.

Data reporting by Wade Zhou. Story editing by Ashleigh Graf. Copy editing by Tim Bruns. Photo selection by Clarese Moller.

This story originally appeared on Incredible Health and was produced and
distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.

Lately, we’ve seen two distinct lines at our hospitals. We would all be healthier if we brought the two lines together.

The first line forms every morning before the building opens. Mothers, children, and the disabled clutch passels of documents along the sidewalk. They wait to reauthorize their Medicaid insurance.

The second line formed about a decade ago and takes place virtually. Future pediatricians, psychiatrists, and plastic surgeons log on for 30-minute calls seeking entry into residency. They are applying to begin their graduate medical training at our hospitals.

During the pandemic, both lines were altered in favor of equity. For the roughly three years of the official public health emergency, Medicaid was automatically renewed, keeping millions of people from disease and poverty. The public health emergency ended in May 2023, and Medicaid renewal now again requires the presentation of qualifying documents. In the fall of 2020, medical student interviews went virtual to minimize the spread of disease and Excellerate equity by reducing interview barriers.

Today, only one of these two changes endures: Medical students can still apply for the next step in their training through virtual interviews.

Becoming a physician is a well-defined path. You earn an undergraduate degree laden with basic science courses, score well on a series of licensing exams, and successfully complete a four-year medical school degree, which makes you a doctor. To become a physician, you must train in a residency, which prepares you for independent practice. American medical students apply to an average of 95 residencies, and the students who successfully match interview at a median of 14 programs.

In our careers as academic physicians, we have long cheered the autumn parade of medical students applying to residencies. We each work at one of our nation’s 871 teaching hospitals, where 149,296 doctors in training are enrolled in approximately 12,740 graduate medical education, or GME, programs. These doctors are caring, day and night, for the acutely ill. The training shapes their lives, as 57.1% will practice in the state where they train. The training defines their careers, as they select one of medicine’s 182 specialties and subspecialties as their own. The training also alters the health of the people they meet, or don’t meet, as patients.

The people in the other line are, often literally, dying to see a physician. These people, at least for now, are among the 72.5 million Americans who have Medicaid. Medicaid is an essential lifeline that has demonstrated the ability to save lives, reduce disparities, encourage workforce participation, and bolster economies. More Americans receive their health insurance through Medicaid than any other source, but they have to demonstrate annually that they still qualify. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that 8.6 million Americans have been unenrolled from Medicaid since May 2023, 72% for procedural reasons, and roughly 40% of those disenrolled are children.

This summer, the federal government began publicly scolding 36 states for allowing so many of its citizens to fall off the Medicaid rolls. Ten of those states have previously refused the Medicaid expansion offered by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), so scolding will likely be futile.

But there’s a more effective approach the federal government could take. It could bring together the two lines at teaching hospitals by tying more graduate medical education funding to Medicaid.

Both our patients and our trainees know that Medicaid is a partnership between the federal government and the states. States have a say in what Medicaid covers, but at minimum, it includes care for low-income families, qualified pregnant women and children, the blind, and the disabled. States can choose to add people in other vulnerable populations, including those who receive home and community-based care.

What few of our patients or our physicians in training know is that Medicaid is also the second-largest source of GME funding, with the District of Columbia and 43 states providing nearly $7.39 billion in 2022. Since it is a partnership between the federal government and the states, Medicaid is well adapted for local solutions. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, 11 states extend payments to places beyond hospitals that train residents, and 12 states use the payments to support the training of non-physician health professionals. Many states audit Medicaid payments and scrutinize the financial performance of their teaching hospitals, some hold teaching hospitals accountable for their social impact, and others recognize GME costs as part of overall hospital costs; each of these strategies provides levels of local responsiveness which Medicare lacks. The partnership also allows 57% of Medicaid GME payments to support managed care with 43% of payments made under fee-for-service.

Unfortunately, it is the first-largest source of GME funding that keeps the lines of new doctors so orderly and the lines of impoverished patients so lengthy.

In 2020, Medicare provided $4.5 billion to partially compensate teaching hospitals for education costs and an additional $11.68 billion to compensate teaching hospitals for the higher patient care costs that can accompany teaching. While the underlying math follows a complicated formula, it depends primarily on the percentage of beds occupied at teaching hospitals by Medicare patients. As the cost of inpatient care rises for Medicare recipients, the payments to teaching hospitals rise as well.

Medicare primarily insures people older than 65, the disabled, and people with end-stage renal disease. Linking GME to Medicare has successfully trained generations of physicians to care for people insured by Medicare; more than 8 out of 10 practicing physicians accept patients insured by Medicare, almost identical to the rates of physicians accepting private insurance.

Medicare is a critical safety-net for our country, but a safety-net that favors the wealthier and whiter Americans who live longer and use more medical services. Medicare leaves many patients underserved and skews the kinds of physicians we train. It is, for example, difficult to train pediatricians because children rarely have Medicare.

Oddly enough, it also makes it difficult to train geriatricians. Teaching hospitals have broad latitude to use federal dollars for the training programs they desire. Trainees in a procedural specialty, like anesthesia or orthopedics, bring in more than double the amount of money generated by trainees in a non-procedural specialty like geriatrics or primary care. But teaching hospitals typically pay residents and fellows the same stipend for each year of training, regardless of specialty, financially incentivizing hospitals to train doctors in more remunerative specialties. Funding GME primarily through Medicare, a fee-for-service insurance system, is the flaw at the heart of our expensive health care system, leaving us with more specialists than primary care physicians. Our nation is short 26,980 geriatricians and, in less than ten years, is expected to be short as many as 55,200 primary care doctors as well.

So the line of patients keeps growing.

Instead of training future physicians on a fee-for-service model, where they learn to think about medicine as a consumer good and health care as the business which provides it to the insured, we should train future physicians to provide a community’s essential services by shifting GME funding to Medicaid.

To be sure, Medicaid is well-known for lower reimbursement rates and more billing problems than Medicare. Many teaching hospitals would resist switching to Medicaid because of those lower reimbursement rates. States would also be reluctant to make the change because it requires their financial partnership. The change would be further resisted by many insurers because they prefer the fee-for-service model of Medicare.

But our health care system desperately needs reform, and all the resisters need physician trainees, so linking GME to Medicaid would enlist teaching hospitals, states, and insurers across the country in efforts to Excellerate the administration of Medicaid — even in the 10 states that refused ACA Medicaid expansion. Alabama’s 154 GME programs, Florida’s 732, Georgia’s 258, Kansas’ 81, Mississippi’s 86, South Carolina’s 168, Tennessee’s 247, Texas’s 872, Wisconsin’s 227, and even Wyoming’s four rely upon federal support. Linking GME funds to Medicaid beds would encourage states to expand and Excellerate Medicaid so they can retain their ability to train a physician workforce.

After all, Medicare was never meant to be the permanent source of GME funding. In its original 1965 legislation, it was intended as a stopgap until “the community undertakes to bear such education costs in some other way.”

That some other way has arrived, and it is time for a third transformative expansion to Medicaid: tying it to graduate medical education.

Congress currently is considering two GME bills. The Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act would expand federal funding for GME, and the Fairness for Rural Teaching Hospitals Act would alter some of the funding rules which disadvantage rural communities. Funding these, and all future, GME programs through Medicaid would advance Medicaid, the most cost-effective form of health care.

The medical students applying for our residencies right now are a bright, committed group; tomorrow’s physicians. Physicians like us are teaching them clinical skills. We can also engage trainees to rebuild our safety net, to serve the patients waiting in line. Tying the federal teaching hospital support for graduate medical education to the number of patients with Medicaid, instead of hospital beds occupied by people with Medicare, would incentivize both Medicaid expansion and increase the provision of services to patients with Medicaid at our nation’s teaching hospitals.

Residency determines what kind of physicians we have as a nation and where these physicians will practice. Tying GME to Medicaid would advance the how of medicine: access to physicians for all of us.

Abraham M. Nussbaum is the chief education officer at Denver Health and the author of “Progress Notes: One Year in the Future of Medicine.” Renee Y. Hsia is professor and vice chair for health services research of the UCSF Department of Emergency Medicine, and a Paul & Daisy Soros fellow and public voices fellow of the OpEd Project.

Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) recently organised a training course for the second group of practicing physicians and other health specialities on basic occupational health services at the Itqan Clinical Simulation and Innovation Centre at Hamad Bin Khalifa Medical City (HBKMC).

The course is a part of the MoPH’s keenness to provide the best occupational and environmental health care services to workers in all industrial, construction, economic and services settings.

The training course was organised in the aim of improving the health of workers in both government and private sector, increasing the efficiency of specialists in the field of occupational health, training doctors working in primary health care, and developing the concept of maintaining the highest quality of health and safety in the workplace, as well as understanding the role of doctors in managing and preventing the results of occupational diseases and accidents related to the work environment.

The course helped the participants in acquiring skills related to the different illnesses connected to workplace, developing their abilities in integrating the patient’s professional history with his medical history considering his clinical examinations. It explained also the necessity to understand and gain the needed skills to examine the occupational health performance and other necessary examinations upon need, as well as to understand the role of the physician in managing the occupational consequences due to illnesses and injuries, like changing job, or rehabilitation.

A group of experts and consultants in the field of occupational health and occupational medicine presented the course, where the training was provided to 37 practicing physicians and of other health specialities from the Primary Health Care Corporation, the Qatar Red Crescent workers’ centres, the institutions and corporate doctors on basic occupational health services.

In his speech during the course, Dr. Mohammed Ali Al Hajjaj, Director of Occupational Health at the Ministry of Public Health, praised the cooperation between the Ministry of Public Health and the concerned authorities in the country in the field of occupational health, pointing to the participation of six experts and consultants in the field of occupational health from Qatar Energy, HMC and PHCC.

Dr. Al Hajjaj added that the course comes as a continuation of the training programme for physicians working in primary health care, where a group of practicing doctors and other specialities have been trained during the past years from various entities in the country.

The Ministry of Public Health aims through this training to contribute to achieving the goal of making all workplaces in the State of Qatar free of diseases and injuries associated with work as a part of Qatar Vision 2030.

He pointed out that during the training course, the level of knowledge about occupational health and occupational medicine was transferred and enhanced to primary health care physicians in order to support and Excellerate occupational health practices and provide services.

On Nov. 7, Ohio became the 24th state in the United States to legalize recreational cannabis use by passing Issue 2. The new law will allow adults over the age of 21 to purchase and possess up to 2.5 ounces (70g) of cannabis. Additionally, individuals may grow up to six marijuana plants at home (limit 12 per household for multi-adult households). Cannabis sales in Ohio will be taxed at a rate of 10%, which will primarily go towards addiction services, social equity programs, and jobs programs. Research by the Ohio State University suggests that the legalization of recreational cannabis use could produce between $276 million and $403 million in revenue by 2028.

While Issue 2 was approved by voters on Nov. 7, it will not go into effect until Dec. 7 – 30 days later. Issue 2 was a citizen-initiated statute, not an amendment to Ohio’s Constitution. As such, Ohio State lawmakers have the power to adjust, amend and/or repeal the law. Some Republican lawmakers, who remain opposed to legalized recreational cannabis use, are already calling for changes to the law.

It is also important to note that while the law goes into effect on Dec. 7, dispensaries will not be able to sell cannabis for recreational use right away. The state of Ohio has up to nine months to issue licenses to marijuana growers, processors and dispensaries. The first round of licenses will go to dispensaries that currently have medical marijuana licenses as well as participants in social equity programs.

Cannabis and marijuana use remains illegal under Federal law. Accordingly, it is still illegal to transport marijuana and/or cannabis across state lines. Issue 2 does not automatically seal or expunge prior convictions related to marijuana usage, nor does it lessen sentences for people currently serving time for marijuana convictions. Similarly, Issue 2 does not protect workers from being terminated for cannabis use, nor does it permit operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of marijuana. Smoking marijuana falls under the State of Ohio’s smoking ban, which prohibits people from smoking plant material in enclosed areas open to the public.

The citizens of Ohio have spoken loudly and clearly by passing Issue 2. However, given the opposition in the Statehouse, federal unlawfulness and licensing issues, the impact of Issue 2 remains uncertain and will likely evolve over the coming months.

Ian N. Friedman is a partner and Maria M. Hirz is an attorney with Friedman Nemecek & Long, L.L.C.

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