Question: The Richmond Times-Dispatch Spring Medical Job Fair: What's in it for you?

Answer: A chance for a job with a local hospital, staffing company or other health-care company.

Exhibitors at the job fair, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow, March 10, at the Science Museum of Virginia, will be looking to hire medical professionals at all levels, from entry level to experienced, according to LaJuan M. Lewis, recruitment account executive with the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Seventeen companies will have representatives at the fair, looking to hire for numerous positions.

Masonic Home of Virginia, Sheltering Arms Physical Rehabilitation Centers, Optima Health, Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center, Bon Secours and Southside Regional Medical Center are among those slated to participate, Lewis said.

Others include Sentara Home Care Services, Medical Office Services, Cumberland Hospital, Patient First, Central State Hospital, HealthSouth, Bostick Laboratories and Carilion Laboratories. (See details below)

Also, three schools - Bryant & Stratton, Central Michigan University in Virginia and Beta Tech will also have employees there to talk about their programs and training classses for jobs in the health-care field.

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Sheltering Arms staffing specialist Allyson Brininstool said via e-mail that there are openings at most of the six Sheltering Arms campuses around Richmond.

Positions in physical therapy, occupational therapy, nursing and patient access/customer relations are those Sheltering Arms will be recruiting to fill at the Spring Medical Job Fair, according to Brininstool.

Each position has its own requirements but, in general, Sheltering Arms wants people who are "patient-centered, team-oriented, committed to excellence," according to Brininstool.

What you can expect from Sheltering Arms is "a competitive salary and benefits package, flexible work schedule and a great work environment," Brininstool also said via e-mail.

Sheltering Arms offers "a full range of rehab and total wellness services, continually striving to offer innovative care at locations that are convenient for our patients and their families," she said.

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Optima Health, which "offers employer benefits -- health insurance products to companies of all sizes, small and large" and has its main office in Virginia Beach, will be trying to fill case manager positions for its Richmond location (1604 Santa Rosa Road), said recruiter Diane Gaskin.

These positions are "for registered nurses who have a few years of clinical experience who are looking to move into a different avenue in their career. This would be on the side of helping the patients and families work through the health-care process," Gaskin said.

For these positions, Optima Health is seeking registered nurses with five years current experience in acute-care nursing or case management or utilization review or discharge planning or related experience, according to Gaskin. They must also be currently licensed as an RN in the commonwealth of Virginia, she said.

Candidates should also have strong communication skills and be a team player, according to Gaskin. Minimum hire rate for the case manager positions, which are full-time and have benefits, is $25.45 an hour, the recruiter said.

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Brininstool advises those visiting the job fair to "dress professionally, as if you are going to an interview. You cannot get back this first impression." Gaskin said candidates can bring a résumé to the job fair, but all applicants will be required to apply online at www.optimahealth.com/jobs.

In the Richmond area, health care is probably one of the most important industries now as far as employment goes, said William F. Mezger, chief economist with the Virginia Employment Commission.

There are 634,000 jobs in the Richmond area, and health-care jobs make up about 60,000 of those, Mezger said.

The largest industries are government (federal, state and local); professional and business services (lawyers, accountants, computer programmers, advertising agencies, etc.); health care; and construction and finance (in a virtual tie), according to Mezger.

The ranking has been this way "for the last several years anyway," Mezger said.

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The trend over the last couple of years has been an expansion in the health-care industry in the Richmond area of about 2.5 percent to 3 percent a year, he said, noting that this growth is expected to continue.

"I would say that business services and health care are probably the fastest growing industries in the Richmond area," he added.

Medical and education jobs are pretty consistent and pretty important in the Richmond area, because in recent years the area has become a medical and education center for the upper South, Mezger said. The Richmond area serves most of eastern and central Virginia and into portions of North Carolina as far as health care goes, he added.

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The big employers in the medical field in the Richmond area fall into four categories: hospitals; private practices of physicians and dentists (private practices being the largest category in terms of employment); nursing homes; and social assistance (vocational rehabilitation, day care, therapists, psychologists, etc.), according to Mezger.

"There are many good jobs in the medical field because it's growing but they are not the type of jobs you can just walk into. In most cases, you need very specific training in that particular line," Mezger said.

For more information on the Richmond Times-Dispatch Spring Medical Job Fair visit www.inrich.com, click on "Jobs" along the top of the screen and then "Job Fairs" in the menu on the left.