The role of healthcare is normally thought of in terms of preventing disease and death, but it is actually concerned with all aspects of human life. Those who choose a career in hospice work help preserve the dignity of patients in their final days, helping to make the days easier and more pleasant for those who do not have many days left.

"To me it shows them that people care about them, that people are listening to them," said Tori Smitherman, a social worker with Crossroads Hospice in Memphis to The Commerical Appeal. "Sometimes I think it rewards us as staff more than it does the patient."

Currently one out of every three Americans dies in hospice care, according to the Hospice Foundation of America.

Employment of personal and home care aides is growing rapidly according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is mostly being driven by the large numbers of elderly as the baby boomer generation retires. Employment in this area is expected to skyrocket by 51% from 2006-2016, with approximately 1.2 million jobs by the end of that period.