Healthcare Information Technology (HIT) is rapidly growing field, thanks to recent and ongoing advancements in EMR, PACS, and other digital and computerized systems designed to help streamline healthcare documentation and patient care.

I've recently fielded a number of questions from readers regarding careers in healthcare IT. One of the most common questions is: "How do I break into the field of healthcare IT?" This has been a popular question recently due to the declining job market, which is causing many IT professionals to consider a switch into a more recession-resistant field such as healthcare. Whether you are an IT professional with no clinical experience, or if you're a clinician with no IT experience, there are a few things you can do to increase your chances for success in a new health IT career.

To learn more about how to make the transition successfully, I consulted with an IT professional who left his general IT career with IBM for a role as healthcare IT executive at a top healthcare facility. He shared a wealth of information with me, to help others learn how to break into healthcare IT.

As unemployment rates climbed yet again, the healthcare industry added 32,000 jobs in the month of December, according to the most recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), released this morning. Unemployment rose to an astonishing rate of 7.2%, while the healthcare industry added more jobs. In 2008, the healthcare industry gained a total of 372,000 jobs.

Despite record-breaking layoffs in pharmaceutical companies, and with the layoffs now starting to affect some hospital systems, healthcare remains by far the strongest industry, and the only industry adding jobs.

Of the jobs added in the healthcare industry in December, about 14,000 were added in ambulatory care (out-patient, office based care) and 12,000 hospital jobs were added.

Fortunately, healthcare industry employment is not mirroring the unemployment trends of the overall job market. Since the beginning of the recession in December of 2007, a net total of 3.6 million jobs have been lost in other industries, according to the BLS report, with 1.9 million of those jobs having been lost in the past four months.

News broke today that President-elect Obama has approached Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN regarding the post of Surgeon General. Dr. Gupta is a neurosurgeon by trade and well known for his work as a journalist and medical correspondent for CNN’s Health news beat.

The news of Dr. Gupta’s nomination has prompted a flurry of debate over whether or not Dr. Gupta is adequately qualified for the role, due to his lack of experience in public health. Dr. Val from Get Better Health weighed in, as did Dr. Kevin Pho, also known as KevinMD, a popular blogger in the medical community.

While Dr. Sanjay Gupta doesn’t have experience working in Public Health for a government agency, isn’t Dr. Gupta’s current job at CNN primarily to help inform the public regarding medical issues? According to the official website of the Office of the Surgeon General, the Surgeon General serves as the “chief health educator” for the country, “providing Americans the best scientific information available on how to improve their health and reduce their risk for illness and injury.” An educator is someone who can not only convey knowledge, but also get the buy-in of the audience to apply that information. That requires not only medical and scientific knowledge, but charisma, communication skills, and persuasion skills.

What are your thoughts? Has the Obama administration based their nomination too heavily on public relations over public health?

A new documentary premieres this week on MSNBC that follows the daily life and career of a forensic pathologist.

This show is an excellent opportunity to witness, almost first-hand, the lifestyle and challenges of a career as a forensic pathologist, or medical examiner, Dr. Daniel Spitz, working to help solve homicides and mysterious deaths. Therefore, if you think you may be interested in working in the medical field of pathology, watching Dead Men Talking on MSNBC could help you get a glimpse into your future career.

Other careers in pathology include medical technologists, lab technicians, forensic technicians or morgue assistants, which are good career options if you are unable or unwilling to go to medical school. Dead Men Talking also spotlights these additional careers with personal interviews and unprecedented access to crime scenes, and autopsies.

How do you know if forensic pathology is for you? According to the forensic technicians featured on the show, if you love anatomy, and you’re not afraid of death, that’s a start. One assistant interviewed reveals a tattoo of a toe tag on her foot, and shares a story of how she used to play with a toy skeleton instead of dolls, when she was a kid. The show even explores how their unusual careers affect their personal and romantic lives, in addition to exploring their professional lives.

The show is a fascinating, up-close and personal look into one type of many careers in pathology, so it’s a great way to get a glimpse into these unique, often misunderstood professions. The show is graphic, but if you are truly interested in forensic pathology, it shouldn’t deter you! Dead Men Talking premieres on MSNBC Sunday January 4, at 10:00pm Eastern time.

For more information about how to become a pathologist, as well as the other different types of pathology in addition to forensic pathology, check out the new pathology career overview here on About Health Careers.