Career Opportunities
Careers related to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) are on the rise nationally, with a projected 10.8% growth from 2022 to 2032. This outpaces non-STEM professions by over 8%. In fact, the BLS expects approximately 1.8 million healthcare-related positions to become available each year through 2032, offering plenty of opportunities for career growth!
For those looking to advance their careers in healthcare or health sciences, earning a Graduate Certificate in Implementation Science is a strategic move, as holding a graduate certificate can broaden your career prospects within the healthcare industry.
If you’re unsure about the range of options available, don’t worry. Below, we explore some compelling roles to consider:
Health Services Manager
Health services managers, also known as healthcare administrators or medical service managers, work in a variety of settings from hospitals to private healthcare facilities. They have a range of responsibilities, including:
- Developing goals to improve the efficiency and quality of services offered.
- Ensuring the facility complies with laws and regulations.
- Carrying out policies and procedures for their department or facility based on evidence-based practices.
- Optimizing available resources for effective and efficient allocation of new practices and interventions.
- Training new and current employees to ensure they have the necessary skills to successfully implement new healthcare practices.
Salary and Outlook
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), health services managers earn an average annual salary of $104,830. Furthermore, the job outlook for this position is anticipated to grow at an exceptionally rapid rate, with an estimated increase of approximately 28% from 2022 to 2032.
Medical Scientist
Medical scientists play an important role in research that aims to improve human health, often in the form of clinical trials. In the realm of implementation science, their responsibilities vary, but may consist of some of the following:
- Translating research findings so they can be implemented in a clinical setting.
- Studying implementation strategies to find the most effective methods to introduce evidence-based practices to healthcare systems.
- Designing implementation plans that outline how healthcare organizations can implement and sustain new practices.
- Evaluating the effectiveness of implemented programs by conducting evaluations and measuring their impact on patient outcomes.
- Contributing to the development of healthcare guidelines and policies, which has a crucial impact on how facilities deliver healthcare.
Salary and Job Outlook
The BLS reports that the average salary for a medical scientist is $99,930 per year. Additionally, its predicted job outlook for this role shows a growth rate of 10% from 2022 to 2032, exceeding the national average for all occupations of 3%.
Health Education Specialist
If you excel in organizational skills, find joy in a meticulously planned week and have a passion for educating others, a career as a health education specialist might be the perfect fit, even if you hadn’t considered it before.
As someone who works to design, implement and evaluate health education programs, you can expect some of the following responsibilities:
- Interacting with communities to understand their preferences and requirements, ensuring that your interventions align with the distinct needs of each group.
- Designing educational programs based on evidence-based practices found with the help of implementation science.
- Developing educational materials such as pamphlets, brochures and online resources to effectively convey recent findings.
- Training healthcare providers and other community health workers on delivering education programs to participating communities.
Salary and Job Outlook
According to the BLS, the median annual salary for a health education specialist is $59,990 per year. Jobs for health education specialists are forecasted to grow by 7% from 2022 to 2032.
Registered Nurse
According to the National Library of Medicine, registered nurses play a crucial role in implementing quality improvement initiatives. That said, it’s more important than ever to have well-trained nurses who are knowledgeable in ideal implementation strategies for use across a variety of healthcare settings and populations.
Regardless of your current specialty, nurses with a background in implementation science have a unique set of responsibilities, including (but not limited to):
- Applying evidence-based practices and ensuring that the interventions they’re using are grounded in the latest research.
- Contributing their insight and experiences to help design and plan healthcare improvement programs.
- Assessing the readiness of their facility for implementing new practices, including identifying potential barriers and potential solutions.
- Monitoring the progress of implemented programs and assessing their impact on patient outcomes.
Salary and Job Outlook
According to the BLS, the average annual salary for registered nurses is $81,220 nationally, and demand for these professionals is expected to grow by 6% from 2022 to 2032.
Other Careers to Consider
The career possibilities don’t end there! If the idea of nursing or engaging with communities to create tailored healthcare programs doesn’t align with your goals, there are plenty of other roles that are equally deserving of your consideration, such as:
- Policymaker
- Secondary education teacher
- Professor of medicine
- Social worker
- Clinician
- Clinical liaison
