More than 100,000 medical-related jobs in the country’s fast growing business process outsourcing (BPO) sector are open to nursing graduates and other qualified candidates, according to a recent Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) report.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz cited this report as she encouraged Filipino nurses to consider a career in outsourced healthcare services. Careers in the fast growing sector include billers, health care secretaries and medical transcriptionists; mostly non-clinical but medical related job opportunities.

The BLE website’s “Career Guides,” at http://ble.dole.gov.ph/career.asp, specified Medical Assistants; Medical Secretaries; Medical Butlers; Medical Coders and Billers; Medical Transcriptionists; and Medical Representatives as some of the healthcare outsourcing professions that nursing graduates can consider.

In an interview published recently in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the Labor Secretary mentioned the fast-growing and innovative trends and advancements in the healthcare industry and encouraged Filipino nurses looking for employment to consider looking beyond traditional clinical jobs. “I encourage you to go out-of-the-box, beyond traditional clinical jobs, and explore other emerging medical and health-related careers that are needed by our labor market today,” the Secretary said.

Careers in health care, according to Sec. Baldoz, have now expanded into many other disciplines that have opened employment opportunities for nurses and allied medical professionals. The Labor Secretary said that Nursing graduates may also consider applying as clinical research associates that administer and monitor health and safety protocols. Sec. Baldoz added that this job looks for medical knowledge and expertise in the application of clinical regulatory requirements – skills that are also required of nurses.

Qualified applicants who have outstanding decision making and clinical review skills may want to look into a career as clinical appeals specialists. The job requires reviewing clinical cases, abstracting relevant information from the medical records of patients and preparing responses to written medical appeals of clients and patients.

The Labor Secretary cited the BLE Career Guides as she mentioned that these job opportunities in health care outsourcing have starting salaries from P14,000 to P18,000. BPO sector clinical appeals specialists, on the other hand, command a basic salary of P20,000 to P40,000. The salaries may be even higher if type of employment, hours of work and typing speed are also factored in.

“The salary in these alternate medical careers is almost double the average monthly salary of P10,000 received by nurses working in local hospitals and private institutions.” Sec. Baldoz told the Inquirer. “Beyond the higher pay, considering these medical-related careers as employment alternatives is a “win-win” solution for our jobseekers in the healthcare industry.”

The Labor Secretary added that these BPO sector careers, along with the constant re training, add to the educational expertise which help increase and broaden competencies as nursing graduates venture into their dream medical career in the future.