Medical Careers

People who choose to go for a medical career want to help people fight their illnesses. But since not everyone is qualified to be a doctor, there are other positions you can fill.

1. Some people have difficulty with their sense of hearing so they go and meet an audiologist. When a patient comes in, they try to find the source of the problem followed by treatment that may include cleaning the air canal, fitting and dispensing hearing aids, fitting and tuning cochlear implants and audiologic rehabilitation.

Those who want to become an audiologist will have to get a master’s degree in Audiology but this will soon change as the requirement will now be clinical doctoral degree. They must also pass the national examination given the Educational Testing Service or ETS; perform 300 to 375 hours of supervised clinical experience and 9 months of post graduate professional clinical experience.

2. Remember those people working in the drug store giving you medicine once you present a prescription? Those people behind the counter are called pharmacists. These individuals must first graduate from an accredited college and pass the state examination.

Having done so, they can already dispense drug and even provide information about their proper usage. In some cases, they advise doctors and other health professionals on the dosages, interactions, selection and side effects of medications.

The job of a pharmacist involves a lot of sacrifice as you have to work on holidays and weekends as drug stores are open 7 days a week and in some places, 24 hours a day. They may also find work in a mental institution, nursing home or neighborhood clinic.

3. Another job that will enable you to work hand in hand with a doctor is by being a dietitian. Their job is to tell a patient what to eat in order to lose weight or simply to promote better eating habits.

Nutritionists also fall under this category. Both individuals must have a bachelor’s degree in dietetics, food and nutrition or food service management systems. The dietitian may start their own practice and network with doctors; find employment in nursing homes, small hospitals or in a correctional facility to manage the food service department.

4. When you go for a medical checkup in a clinic or hospital, the person that will doing the testing is a laboratory technician. These individuals personally examine your body fluids, tissues and cells to see if there are any bacteria, parasites or other microorganisms that pose a danger to the patient.

They use state of the art machines like electronic microscopes, cell counters and other gadgets making their work less hands on and more analytical. If you want to pursue a medical career in this field, you must have a bachelor’s degree in medical technology. You will report to a clinical technologist or a laboratory manager.

There are other medical careers you can pursue aside from the four mentioned. You should do some research first if this is really something you want to do, go to school and then fulfill that dream. If at some point you want to shift somewhere else, go ahead and do so because there are other things you can do.

You can take on another job still in the medical field like assisting doctors in medical research.