Waterloo Area’s Highest and Lowest Paying Healthcare Jobs

The healthcare field can be very rewarding with a lot of hard work. It can also be frustrating when it comes to compensation based upon the duties required. Working with people who need help physically, mentally, emotionally can be taxing and definitely not for everyone. Those who do this, and love their job, are a special kind of human being.

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Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) are those with training who help the LPNs and RNs take care of a patient in basic ways like baths, bed changing, feeding, helping with mobility, and more. This helps free up an RN's time to keep moving from patient to patient passing medications, administering IVs, fulfilling orders from the doctor regarding the care of the patient, and so on.

In Waterloo/Cedar Falls there are about 1,350 CNAs at hospitals and nursing homes. An average annual mean salary is about $31,360.

Phlebotomists (Phlebotomy technicians) are those who come to draw blood for testing. They may also assist in other ways like helping patients with adverse reactions like fainting. A phlebotomist may also explain why they need to draw blood and what tests are going to be performed on your blood.

There are around 100 phlebotomy techs in the Cedar Valley and the average annual mean salary is around $32,020.

Pharmacy technicians are those people you see assisting the pharmacist with medication counts and recounts, verifying the prescriptions are labeled correctly and helping mix meds under the supervision of the pharmacist. They are very important to a busy pharmacy since they are the reason prescriptions can get filled as quickly as possible. Thank a pharmacy tech today!

An annual mean salary for a pharmacy tech ranges around $34,370 and there are around 250 in Waterloo/Cedar Falls.

Medical assistants do a variety of duties, mainly behind the scenes, at a desk. A medical assistant is the "numbers" person. They keep track of and maintain medical records, encoding of procedures, and billing. They are highly organized and have a mind for numbers. They can also do clinical duties like taking temps, checking vital signs, preparing patients for the doctor, and even administering meds the doctor orders.

Around 260 MAs are in the Cedar Valley and make an annual mean salary of around $35,180.

Jumping to Family Medicine Physician, we all know what they do. Our doctors know us and our family well and are there for us when we need them. They do the diagnosing of ailments and other physiological issues. They will make a plan to help you get better with the help of all the other positions that deal with you and your health. It's definitely a team effort.

A Family Medicine doctor ranges an annual mean salary of just under $200,000.

If you've been thinking about getting into the healthcare field and are wondering what careers are available, the WCF Courier has an article with plenty more options to choose from. Then, it's up to you!