From doctors and nurses to medical assistants and phlebotomists, not to mention all of the behind-the-scenes staff, it takes a host of trained workers to make care possible. And there’s no question that serving in health-related roles like these can be among the most rewarding career paths.

If you’ve been thinking about starting a new career in the health care field, it’s possible that there may not be a better time to go for it.

As the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, health care environments of all shapes and sizes have been struggling to continue serving their patients without putting anyone at increased risk for exposure.

Here’s what to know about getting into health care in the midst of a global health crisis.

While a 2-4 year degree program may be a practical path towards a career for some students, those who want to pursue careers in healthcare, IT, business, arts, or mechanical occupations can find more efficient paths to fill your professional qualifications. That doesn’t mean you can’t continue your education at some point, and earn your associate’s, bachelor’s or graduate level degree. But why wait if you don’t have to?

As hospitals and other facilities are overwhelmed by patients and health care workers themselves face illness, the system is getting strained by the virus. Hospitals, emergency rooms, urgent care clinics, and others are expecting “critical” worker shortages over the coming months—if they aren’t experiencing staffing issues already.

Nursing staff in particular, whether in intensive care and critical care units, surgical units, or primary care units, are under tremendous pressure. That’s likely to put patients at higher risk without adequate capacity to provide the care they deserve. In the meantime, support staff in health care environments are facing personnel problems too, meaning that facilities will struggle to continue running smoothly.

But with or without the novel coronavirus, people still need medical care for other reasons! We may be seeing fewer car accidents or cases of influenza with more people staying at home due to COVID-19, but people still need to have their gallbladders removed and broken bones repaired. They still need annual checkups and teeth cleanings and massage therapy.

While many frontline and emergency room staff are dedicating their time to caring for those with the virus, we need additional staff to help keep our standard health care processes going.

What happens when COVID-related care becomes the norm? Most scientists expect that the coronavirus will be around, at least in some form, indefinitely. That likely means annual coronavirus shots, just as we get regular flu shots. We may continue wearing masks to the grocery store during winter months to help keep us healthy.

We can also expect to provide care for those with long-term effects of getting sick with the virus. That may include respiratory, neurological, cardiac, or any number of other supports in the years—and even decades—to come.

If you’ve got a passion for patient care, enjoy a fast-paced work environment, and are interested in pursuing a new career in 2021, training for a health care role could be the perfect choice for you!

The Imagine America Foundation partners with a robust network of schools who provide hands-on training to help students like you get the skills they need to succeed. Plus, we’re also proud to offer scholarship and grant award programs to recent high school graduates, military students, and adult learners. Eligible students can receive a tuition discount at our member schools in order to help them make their career training more affordable.

We’d love to help you find the right health care program from a variety of popular roles in the health sciences, including nursing, medical assisting, dental assisting, massage therapy, medical billing and coding, pharmacy technology, phlebotomy, surgery technology, and more.

Get started today and make a difference in the health care field in 2021!