Comparing different health care careers!

Pre-Med & Medical School Careers in Medicine
1

Hi everyone,

I posted a thread a few days ago in the college search section about PA schools, but I think it would be beneficial to look into other potential careers.

A little background about myself:
-Love to volunteer (Interact member, volunteered at a science museum)
-Passionate about Spanish/Hispanic cultures/other cultures as a whole
-LOVED Biology, but not a huge fan of Chem (possibly because of the math, which I struggle with)
-LOVED learning about genetics in Bio
-Enjoyed a short intro class to Exercise Physiology
-At times I can be a bit shy, but I can connect to others well. My friends often say that I am really easy to talk to, as well as good at giving advice.
-Will be studying abroad this summer as a foreign exchange student

Like I said, I think I’m probably going to go the PA route because I like the idea of having similar responsibilities to a doctor without so many years of education. However,I may not get into the programs I’m interested in as they’re so competitive. So, I was thinking about some other potential ideas such as dietetics (I think it would be cool to work internationally, traveling to areas in need) or possibly a cytotechnologist. Do you have any other suggestions or advice? I’m just pretty confused… haha.

2

Have you considered nursing?

Nurse practitioner jobs are similar to PA jobs in that they treat patients for routine, non-emergency, non-complicated health conditions/illnesses. In fact, there’s tons of overlap between what a PA can do and what a NP can do.

If you liked exercise physiology, what about physical therapy? Kinesiology? Or athletic training? Maybe even occupational therapy (which works with small muscle issues rather than large muscle issues that PT does)? Respiratory therapy?

Genetics–genetic counseling?

Here’s a website devoted to healthcare careers:

http://explorehealthcareers.org/en/careers/careers#

It’s good place to start looking.

Be aware that many (most?) healthcare fields will require chemistry and probably organic chemistry in college.