The following is an excerpt from the Jan. 18 issue of The Wichita Eagle. Sandra Bibb, dean of the College of Health Professions, weighs in on the top 100 jobs for 2017 according to U.S. News and World Report. (Subscription may be required to view full story.)

Those looking for hot jobs in the labor market this year would be wise to keep two words in mind: health care.

That’s according to a new list by U.S. News & World Report ranking the top 100 jobs for 2017.

 

Released on Jan. 11, the annual list includes eight health care-related jobs in the top 10 and 22 in the top 30. About half of the top 100 jobs for this year have to do with health care, including oral health- and mental health-related positions.

 

In order, the top five jobs for 2017, according to the list, are dentist, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, statistician and orthodontist.

 

A local leader

 

After reviewing the 2017 lineup, Sandra Bibb, dean of the Wichita State University College of Health Professions, said she’s not surprised at the industry’s dominance in the rankings.

 

“With the aging of our population, the health care industry will continue to be a leader in a number of ways,” Bibb said. “People are living longer, so everything points to the health care industry being very robust moving forward.”

 

The publication identified “good jobs” as being those that pay well and are challenging though not overly stressful.

 

Bibb said the College of Health Professions – which has about 2,060 students – features 10 programs of study that correspond with jobs on the U.S. News & World Report top 100.

 

“Here in Wichita, health care is our second-largest industry,” Bibb said. “We have a lot of nursing students – 44 percent of students in the College of Health Professions are in nursing – but we have a lot of other programs that line up with that list. For instance, we’re home to the only physician assistant program in Kansas.”

 

Wichita State is also home to a one-year residency program in advanced general dentistry. Bibb said the program is important because Kansas does not currently have a school of dentistry, though the Kansas Board of Regents did discuss the possibility of the state’s first such school at an August budget workshop.

 

“The hope is that people come to Wichita for our dental residency program and stay in Kansas,” Bibb said.

 

Read the full story .