Healthcare professionals are going to need more than just medical knowledge to get many of today's jobs.

In fact, the most common skill requested in healthcare job ads has little to do with medicine.  It's the ability to manage Electronic Medical Records (EMR), according to a Wanted Analytics press release. The company, which proivdes hiring demand and talent supply data, found that more than 15,000 healthcare job ads in August required experience or knowledge in EMRs.This is an increase of 31% from August 2011 and 88% since August 2010.

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) has been providing funding for the adoption and “meaningful use” of the technology, so many healthcare providers have been converting their paper patient records to EMRs (also known as Electronic Health Records or EHRs).  As we have previously reported, this has created a huge demand for Health IT contractors who can implement these systems.  In fact, some recruiters have decided to concentrate their efforts solely on placing contractors in the Health IT niche.

But based on Wanted Analytics' research, it sounds like all healthcare professionals will do well to get some sort of training or experience in the use of this technology. Registered Nurses and Medical Billing Coders were some of the most common positions to require EMR skills, according to Wanted Analytics.

If you place direct hires or contractors in healthcare, finding candidates with EMR experience could give you a competitive edge. Employers are already struggling to find the talent with these technical skills. It takes an average of six weeks for them to fill positions that require electronic skills, according to the Wanted Analytics press release, citing data from the Hiring Scale. If you can help them reduce their hiring time, you will certainly become the recruiter of choice for your healthcare clients.

Debbie Fledderjohann is the President of Top Echelon Contracting, Inc.