Work in the Healthcare System

Picking an employer is almost as important as picking a career. How fulfilling your job is and your prospects for gaining experience and new responsibilities (as well as more pay!) are as based on the attitude and culture of your employer as much as the actual industry you work in.

Working in the Healthcare system is definitely something to consider when you’re weighing your options. It has a lot to recommend it, even if you’re not a nurse or a doctor. Today we’re taking a look at the advantages of looking at the NHS as an employer, not just the clear moral case for its existence.

Broad Range

The NHS, and the Welfare State in general requires a veritable army to keep it working. You don’t have to commit to the long process of training to be doctor to find a job with the NHS. Allied Health roles frequently require less training than doctors, and allow you to work with patients. Physiotherapy jobs are in regular demand, allow you the flexibility to practice in the NHS or privately (or a combination of the two!) and can be trained for in the course of a simple 3 year undergraduate degree, with part time courses available taking longer than allow you to integrate your studies with work or other responsibilities.

On top of clinical roles, however long they take to train for, there’s a broad array of administrative support the machinery of the health service requires to keep it turning. From HR professionals to procurement experts, it requires as many back office staff as the biggest private companies on the planet!

Hierarchy and Experience

One of the big advantages of working for a large organisation like the NHS is that it has a clear hierarchy for you to climb. In smaller companies, and start ups especially, there are plenty of opportunities to acquire experience but with a relatively flat structure and no chance to ‘rise through the ranks’ it can be a challenge to reflect that experience in both pay and job title, which can make it difficult to build into a career.

At least starting out your career in a structured organisation like the NHS means you have the opportunity to develop a career in a hierarchy with opportunities not simply to grapple valuable experiences from the challenges available but to take advantage of training, regular review and promotions that see you acquiring skills and being groomed for management.

Whether you decide to stay with the NHS or eventually to take your HR experience into the more remunerative private sector, starting out there builds a firm foundation you absolutely cannot undervalue.