Welcome to Mrsk's Journal

Excellent article, excellent advice. As a comprehensive cancer center, RPCI has many, many career opportunities that extend beyond hands-on caregiving.

MrsK


How to Work in Health Care Without Being a Caregiver

by Caroline M.L. Potter, Yahoo! HotJobs

While much of the economy falters, the healthcare sector remains hot. Why? According to George Rainer, vice president of human resources for Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, New York, "Health care isn't completely recession-proof, but it's certainly more so than other industries. People get sick, and we have to be here to take care of them -- no matter what the economy looks like."

But what if a career as a hands-on caregiver, such as a physician or nurse, isn't right for you? There are still ways to build a successful career at a medical center near you.

A City Within a City

Rainer, who has worked at Winthrop for 20 years, says, "What a lot of people are unaware of is that hospitals are really small cities. They have just about every job imaginable within the four walls." His colleague Karin Weisenberger, R.N., senior director of human resources, concurs: "We have so many nonclinical positions here, many of which don't require degrees, in service areas as well as clerical positions throughout the hospital. And there are many nonclinical positions in admitting and billing."

There are professional-level positions, too, in administration, education, fundraising, legal, marketing, operations, and quality assurance as well as finance. "Most hospitals have large accounting departments, and it's not always essential to have direct healthcare experience," points out Rainer, who was downsized out of a job with one of New York's largest banks in tough economic times two decades ago.

A Matter of Degrees

Because of the array of opportunities at most hospitals, there's a place for holders of a variety of professional degrees. A degree specifically focused on health care, but not caregiving can help you get ahead. Weisenberger notes, "Administrators for most departments have a clinical degree and perhaps a degree in health administration or public health. But you'll also find practice managers at our outpatient facilities who have MBAs or degrees in public health administration."

She also reveals, "We have programs here at our hospital for people in nonclinical positions to go back to school and earn clinical degrees. And some of our nurses are now pursuing nonclinical positions through administrative degrees."

Adds Rainer, "There is a very high emphasis on continuing education when you work in health care."

The Rewards

Working in a hospital isn't right for everyone, but its challenges are far outweighed by its rewards. In addition to stability, there's the "feel-good factor" you'll experience every day. Says Rainer, "There's an intrinsic reward you get from being in the business of helping people. I rarely have patient contact, but I still enjoy the feeling of knowing I am helping people indirectly."

Weisenberger, who's also a trained critical care nurse, says, "I really love my job!" And while you may not be able to snag her precise position, she and Rainer agree that there are no unimportant jobs at any hospital. "Every person here carries a lot of responsibility because nothing must go wrong, whether you're in hospitality, engineering, or in the operating room. There's always an emphasis on quality," Ranier says.

Hiring Hints

You can search Yahoo! HotJobs for jobs at area hospitals, visit each medical center's career section on its website, or peruse newspaper ads for openings. But what if you don't see an opportunity that fits your qualifications? Rainer advises job seekers to drop their resumes off in person at a hospital's human resources department. "HR receptionists are able to pick out people who are a cut above the rest, so there's a higher likelihood that you'll get attention."

Weisenberger, a Winthrop employee for nine years, urges interested candidates to attend local health-care job fairs. "Look in your major local papers, such as The New York Times, for health-care job fairs and see if the hospital you're interested in will be there. Go and you'll have a better chance of getting the ear of someone you might not have had the opportunity to meet at the HR department," she urges.

Also, consider volunteering at a hospital first to see if it's right for you and to stand out as an applicant. Rainer says, "When people volunteer, it's a good indication that they're a cut above other applicants, that they're going above and beyond. We're trying to find those people, the ones who are willing to make a difference."

The Public Affairs team must say a tearful, grateful goodbye to two of the best summer interns we've ever had...Mary and Sam! Our loss...but some fortunate employer's gain! Both of these exemplary UB students have definitely left their mark...on the work and in our hearts!

My best to you poised, professional, go-getter young ladies. Now go out and change the world. You've changed ours...the internship bar has never been raised so high.

Come back and visit! Thank you for rising to the challenge and teaching us a few things.

Love, Mrs. K

Greetings!
My husband, a social scientist/psychologist (and someone who keeps abreast of new and emerging trends in education, behavior and healthcare!) sent me this article from the Chronicle of Higher Education. I thought I'd share it.

Happy Trails,
MrsK

Playing the Science Game
Computer Gamers Could Help Scientists Find a Cure for Cancer

By MARIA JOSÉ VIÑAS

Could the person who finds the cure for cancer be a gamer? The creators of an online game that allows players to help scientists design new proteins with therapeutic properties hope so.

A protein has an elaborate, three-dimensional structure, and scientists who want to design new proteins from scratch face extremely complicated puzzles with only one correct answer. David Baker, a professor of biochemistry at the University of Washington, uses a computer algorithm based on trial and error to find new proteins' structures. The program requires enormous computer power, so Mr. Baker invented a screen saver that uses the combined spare energy of multiple computers, or "distributed computing," to endlessly fold proteins. When some users of the program told Mr. Baker they wanted to help design proteins, he created Foldit (http://fold.it/portal/adobe_main), a game that would allow them to do that.

"Computers try all possible positions randomly until something falls into place, like monkeys banging typewriters until they write all of Shakespeare's works," says Zoran Popovi´c, a computer scientist at the university who helped Mr. Baker create Foldit.

To engage players in a game that has nothing to do with racing cars or killing zombies, the team made it a competition between players and offered them the chance to share scientific glory: Gamers who come up with winning structures will be named in research papers. And Mr. Popovi´c says Foldit will let computers learn from the folding techniques of the most talented players and become more efficient in searching for new proteins.

More than 40,000 people have downloaded the game. It is still being tested and limits players to finding answers only to known protein puzzles, so that scientists can analyze how good people are at folding proteins. In a few months, the game will allow players to create brand-new proteins. But since the "right" solutions to those puzzles will be unknown, even stable-looking structures proposed by the gamers will have to be created in the lab to see if they really work.