Part-Time Healthcare Jobs in the US: Roles and How to Apply in 2026

Most part-time healthcare work in the US is hands-on and on-site. The remote exceptions are administrative: scheduling, patient intake, billing and telehealth support.

As a home health or personal care aide, a shift means travelling to one or more clients' homes and helping with bathing, dressing, meals, mobility, light housekeeping and errands, then documenting the visit. Under the direction of a nurse or other healthcare practitioner, home health aides may be allowed to check a client's vital signs or give medication, depending on the state (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, undated).

Nursing assistants work in nursing homes, hospitals and assisted living: repositioning, transfers, toileting, feeding, vitals and charting in a facility EHR. Medical assistants split clinical tasks — rooming patients, vitals, injections where state rules allow — with scheduling and insurance paperwork. Phlebotomists draw blood, label and log samples, and keep draw stations stocked.

Shift patterns suit part-time schedules. Most home health and personal care aides work full time, although part-time work is common, and they may work evening and weekend hours depending on clients' needs (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, undated). Hospital and lab phlebotomists may need to work nights, weekends and holidays (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, undated), and facilities open around the clock run evening, weekend and holiday shifts for medical assistants (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, undated).

Plan to supply scrubs and non-slip shoes, and reliable transport if you visit homes or carry samples.

• Individual and family services — the largest employer of home health and personal care aides at 51%, followed by home healthcare services at 23% (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). This includes consumer-directed and Medicaid-funded home care run through state programmes.
• Residential facilities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (6%) and continuing care retirement communities and assisted living facilities for the elderly (6%) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025).
• Nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities, hiring nursing assistants on rotating part-time and per-diem schedules.
• Hospital systems, for phlebotomy, patient care technician and unit assistant roles, usually posted on their own careers sites.
• Physician practices, urgent care and outpatient clinics, hiring medical assistants, sometimes for fixed part-day schedules.
• Healthcare staffing and per-diem agencies, placing credentialed workers shift by shift across several facilities.
• Diagnostic laboratories and mobile draw services, for phlebotomists willing to travel.
• Private households, hiring directly or through state-funded caregiver programmes.

Demand is uneven. About 760,500 openings for home health and personal care aides are projected each year on average over the decade, with 18% growth from 2025 to 2035 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025), against about 203,300 annual openings for nursing assistants and orderlies, about 109,700 for medical assistants and about 18,000 for phlebotomists (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). Start with the categories that hire most in your area.

Pay is almost always hourly, with add-ons layered on top. Published medians cover all workers in a role, full and part time, so treat them as reference points rather than offers.

Check your state and city minimum wage, and ask in writing how travel time, documentation time and cancelled shifts are paid.

1. Pick the role that matches the training you will do. Home health and personal care aides typically need a high school diploma or equivalent, but some positions do not require it; those at certified home health or hospice agencies may need formal training or a standardized test (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, undated). Nursing assistants often need a state-approved education program and their state's competency exam (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, undated).
2. Check your state's rules before paying for any course. Nursing assistants who pass are placed on a state registry and must be on it to work in a nursing home; titles vary, and some states offer an additional Certified Medication Assistant credential allowing medication to be dispensed (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, undated). States may require phlebotomists to complete an accredited program, hold a licence or meet other conditions (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, undated). Confirm with your state licensing agency or health department.
3. Gather supporting documents. Background check, TB test or health screening, immunisation records, and Basic Life Support certification — phlebotomists may need BLS certification, and those transporting samples may need a driver's licence (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, undated).
4. Write a one-page resume around care tasks. Clinical skills, patients or clients per shift, EHR systems used, languages, and exact availability by day and hour. Unpaid family caregiving counts if you describe it as duties performed.
5. Sort out payroll status. Most part-time clinical roles are W-2. If an employer proposes contractor status, check classification rules on official federal and state tax and labour agency sites first.
6. Apply where the jobs sit — hospital and facility career portals, home care agency sites, your state workforce agency's job bank, and general job boards. Apply to several agencies at once, since per-diem work depends on open shifts.
7. Send a short covering message each time: the role, the shifts you can cover, your credential or registry status with its expiry date, and your start date.

• Verify the employer exists and is licensed using your state's business registration database and your state health department's licensed agency or facility lookup.
• Confirm the credential requirement in writing, including whether your name must appear on a state registry and whether the employer has checked it.
• Get pay terms in writing: hourly rate, differentials, overtime, mileage, travel time between clients, documentation time, and what happens when a client cancels.
• Confirm how you are paid — direct deposit to your own account, pay frequency, and any deductions. Do not accept a role that requires up-front payment for uniforms, background checks or training through a vendor the employer picks.
• Pin down the schedule: guaranteed hours versus on-call, shift start times in your time zone, how far ahead shifts are posted, and the penalty for declining one.
• Ask about scope and supervision — which tasks you may perform in your state, who supervises, and how to reach them mid-shift.
• Check travel and lone-worker safety for home visits, including vehicle use and reimbursement.
• Read outside reviews on a general employer-review site, plus your state's facility inspection or complaint records, looking for repeated reports of unpaid hours or cancelled shifts.
• Confirm employment status and benefits, including whether your hours qualify for paid sick leave under state or city law.