Types Of Medical Jobs

Before choosing any career, one must be aware of all available options and have a realistic understanding of their interest and capabilities. Many people make wrong decisions and choose a path that they would regret later. So, it is always better to introspect over these issues or discuss career objectives with a career counselor or parents before making a decision. People who are interested in service to humanity or research in medicine and don’t have pathophobia, hemophobia or other such phobias, can choose jobs in medical fields. More than any other occupation, those working in medical fields must be well qualified and have a genuine interest to help people because several lives are dependent on them. Patience and compassion are secondary requirements for most medical jobs but doctors and surgeons must not allow other emotions to interfere with their work. Jobs in medicine aren’t restricted to doctors and nurses, although these are the most common medical jobs. Other occupations in this field include researchers, medical assistants, therapists, dietitians, psychiatrists, medical technologists, lab technicians, pharmacologists, pharmacists, medical transcriptionists, hospital administration staff, etc. Check out the details of some of the most popularly chosen careers in the medical field, in the section below.

 

 

This is the most common and well-known job that majority of the people interested in medicine opt for. Adequate knowledge and expertise on treating patients successfully earns a doctor good reputation. Doctors can specialize in their respective field of interest after graduation, some of them being ophthalmology, dermatology, gynecology, cardiology, pediatrics, orthopedics, and so on.

 

Nursing is the second most popular job in this field because nurses constitute the largest workforce in this industry. The educational qualification for joining nursing schools can vary from high school to graduates as they are trained and provided jobs in accordance to their skills. Depending upon the duration of the course and nature of job, nurses are further categorized into registered nurses, nurse practitioners, licensed practical nurses, and home health nurses.

 

Medical assistants help doctors, nurses, and patients. They take care of all the trivial but essential necessities, such as collecting the patient’s vital signs, reporting their condition, drawing blood, providing bedside assistance, giving injections, and so on. Apart from catering to patients’ needs, a medical assistant also takes up other responsibilities, like working at the front office and performing administrative tasks, such as taking phone calls, scheduling doctor’s appointments, greeting walk-in patients, etc.

 

Therapists are in great demand with each passing day and with the advent of new medical procedures, there are new job opportunities for different types of therapists. The duties of a therapist will depend on what type of a therapist he/she is. These can include providing rehabilitation and training exercise for those who’ve suffered severe injuries, alternate healing therapists, massage therapists, speech and language therapists, nutritional therapists, occupational therapists, music therapists, etc.

 

People have become comparatively more health conscious these days because they are exposed to a wider variety of harmful substances and unhealthy lifestyles. Registered dietitians are regarded as experts in food and nutrition. They play an important role in prescribing one with a balanced diet, based on their bodily requirements and exercise regimen.

 

Both psychiatrists and psychologists conduct psychoanalysis, but psychiatrists have a degree in medicine while psychologists have a doctoral level degree in psychology. Another difference is that psychiatrists can prescribe medicines for psychotherapy but psychologists are not authorized to do so. Psychiatrists can specialize in various sub-specialties, like general psychiatry, old age psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, psychiatry of learning disabilities, and psychotherapy. On the other hand, psychologists can choose from clinical psychology, quantitative psychology, social psychology, educational psychology, experimental psychology, developmental psychology, and industrial-organizational psychology as their area of specialization.

 

Although these two terms are often interchanged, the difference between a technologist and technician lies at their skill level. Technicians are taught to use medical instruments for their respective purpose but technologists have deeper knowledge about the results collected by those instruments and how such variations in data affect the person. While a medical technician is responsible for conducting tests and preparing reports for physicians, a medical technologist, on the other hand, confirm the tests and manage laboratory quality control programs.

 

Pharmacologists are involved with the study of effect of drugs on the human body. They are also involved with the preparation of new types of drugs and how they can be used safely and effectively. Also, they are involved with assisting other scientists on a higher level. Psychopharmacology is the study of effect of drugs on the brain. On the contrary, pharmacists study pharmacy that deals with medicines. They must know the types of medicines that are prescribed for different types of diseases so that patients aren’t given wrong medication when they visit a pharmacy. While areas for specialisation for pharmacologists include clinical pharmacology, neuropharmacology, regulatory pharmacology, and toxicology, pharmacists can choose to practice in hospital pharmacy, primary care pharmacy, and community pharmacy.

 

Most doctors do not have time to write their own reports, so they usually use a voice recorder to save time and energy. These audio files must be transcribed by someone who is familiar with medical terms. This is the job of a medical transcriptionist, who converts the doctor’s voice recording into text and passes it on to the doctor for approval. Mostly, diagnostic studies, medical examination or operative reports, doctor’s referral reports, autopsy reports, and other such documents are transcribed by medical transcriptionists.

 

Managing a hospital or nursing home is very different from managing any other type of institution because of the standards of hygiene and efficiency that can never be compromised. A team of good administrative staff is essential for every medical center, starting from clinics to hospitals. Those who are trained at hospital management have enormous prospects in the near future when healthcare expenditure is sure to rise. Small hospitals have one administrator taking care of all departments, while large group practices have many administrators and assistant administrators managing day-to-day tasks carried out by the hospital’s departments, with one administrator in-charge of the entire team.

 

Anybody who is interested in these fields can specialize in domains that are more specific. Such specialization increases their value and demand in a world where there is no dearth of disease, suffering and death.