Duke Health, our trusted link for April 2021

Duke Health as a Resource Duke Health in Durham, NC is anchored by the Duke University School of Medicine, ranked #3 in research by U.S. News & World Report. The medical school was established in 1925 in a bequest from the founder of Duke Energy and  British American Tobacco, James B. Duke. A top-ranked nursing school and hospital were funded at the same time. Today, the Duke Health system serves 32 counties in North Carolina and nearby states. It now includes three other hospitals, a research institute, health policy center, and the Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore.  U.S. News & World Report ranks the university medical school performance #2 in Surgery #4 in Anesthesiology #5 in Internal Medicine #6 in Radiology #7 in Pediatrics #8 in Obstetrics and Gynecology #10 in Psychiatry.  Major U.S. milestones at Duke Health include 1936 - Ultraviolet lights in operating rooms to kill germs 1937 - 1st brain tumor program 1955 - 1st center for aging 1956 - Systemic hypothermia introduced to cardiac surgery 1965 - 1st physician's assistant education program 1969 - Databank for Cardiovascular Disease created 1969 - Human functions below 1,000 feet of water studied 1985 - One of only 2 clinical trials for AZT  1990 - Newborn screening test for 30 metabolic diseases 1993 - 1st thymus transplant for an infant 1993 - Identification of the 'Alzheimer's gene' 2013 - 1st bioengineered blood vessel implanted. The Duke Clinical Research Institute has distributed more than 16,000 publications since 1996, and last year their researchers put out 1,225 papers, with 243 in top-tier journals. See their latest announcements.  The Duke-NUS Medical School was established in 2005 when Duke University partnered with the National University of Singapore to create Singapore's first graduate school of medicine as well as a leading center for medical research, education, and device development. Their Centre for Technology and Development shepherds the Duke-NUS research into commercial applications. Among their success stories is a company called CognaLearn that markets educational software, such as InteDashboard for team-based learning.

Check out InteDashboard

The Ten Largest Healthcare Support Occupations in the U.S.

In recently released reports, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimated that there were over 6.4 million people employed in healthcare support occupations as of May 2020.  This BLS employment grouping includes a variety of occupations that assist and aid healthcare practitioners, technologists, and technicians who are involved in the diagnosing or treating of medical conditions.   As of May 2020, employment in healthcare support occupations accounted for about 4.6% of total U.S. employment.  BLS data as of May 2020 reveals the following as the ten largest healthcare support occupations in the U.S.:

	Occupation		# Employed	Annual Mean Wages
1	Home Health and Personal Care Aide		3,211,590	$28,060
2	Nursing Assistant		1,371,050	$32,050
3	Medical Assistant		710,200	$36,930
4	Dental Assistant		312,140	$42,310
5	Phlebotomist		128,020	$37,280
6	Veterinary Assistant/Lab Animal Caretaker		98,810	$30,980
7	Physical Therapist Assistant		92,740	$59,440
8	Massage Therapist		85,040	$47,350
9	Medical Equipment Preparer		56,870	$41,070
10	Psychiatric Aide		51,550	$33,300
	All Healthcare Support Occupations		6,440,880	$32,250

Source: BLS Economic News Release, March 31, 2021.