<p>I don't know if this is the right place to put this, but I've been thinking about careers lately. I know I want to work in the health fields. I always thought I wanted to be a doctor, but I'm taking a step back. Any suggestions on careers in the health fields that are not a doctor, or a site that I could go to that would help?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I recently had a change of heart and switched from the study of Linguistics to Pharmacy :) I'm not sure if it's what you're looking for, but there are definitely lots of reasons to consider it!</p>
<p><a href="http://www.pharmcas.org/advisors/toptenreasons.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.pharmcas.org/advisors/toptenreasons.htm</a>
<a href="http://www.wccnet.org/departments/health/pharmacy/top10.php%5B/url%5D">http://www.wccnet.org/departments/health/pharmacy/top10.php</a> (fun stuff ;))</p>
<p>Nursing will be in great demand for years...it is more varied and has more options than most appreciate....check it out.</p>
<p>thanks so much!</p>
<p>see <a href="http://library.thinkquest.org/15569/?tqskip1=1%5B/url%5D">http://library.thinkquest.org/15569/?tqskip1=1</a> for a nice guide</p>
<p>there are so <em>many</em> things you can do that are involved in health care. You could work in hospital administration or as a manager a company that provides home health care or nursing services. You could work in basic science investigating disease, for a drug company looking for cures. You could work in a public health department setting up or administering programs. You could be a statistician specializing in medicine. The list just goes on and on.</p>
<p>Your choices are wide open in health care!</p>
<p>What appeals to you? Hands on patient care? Adminitrative?
Technical? Hospital setting? Private practice?</p>
<p>I have enjoyed >25 years as a clinical microbiologist in a hospital lab.
Continual technical challenge, contribution to patient care, flexible hours.</p>
<p>The 'hot' careers right now seem to be nursing, physical therapy, pharmacy.
Meaning that graduates are in demand, earn reasonable salaries and have varied opportunites.
My personal 'favorites' include nurse practitioner, physician assistant, epidemiologist.</p>
<p>It's really a matter of matching your skills, abilities and preferences with one of the many choices!
Best of luck. It is great to hear that there will be at least ONE new young person coming into healthcare to take care of all us old folk!</p>
<p>I've been looking into clinical positions such as microbiologist. Would you mind telling me a little more about it?
What exactly do they do?
What colleges are good for it?
Do they earn decent salaries?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>My husband and I both work in healthcare as non-physicians. I am a pediatric audiologist and he is a radiological biophysicist at a large cancer center. His field is in great demand and he is well paid. Within his workgroup are many other specialized healthcare providers including other types of physicists, a radiopharmacist, social worker, nurse practitioners, oncology nurses, radiation therapists, dosimetrists, etc. There is a lot of opportunity in these areas right now. Many of my friends are nurses and they have been able to diversity their responsiilities and grow into managment activities.</p>
<p>Marymary-</p>
<p>Clinical microbiologists in a hospital setting perform varied cultures on clinical specimens to help diagnose and treat infectious diseases.
Much is predefined: select appropriate media to culture the microorganisms based on specimen type and suspected pathogens; identify the isolated bacteria; test the isolates for sensitivity to a battery of antibiotics that might to useful to treat the disease.</p>
<p>That's the simplistic answer....
Microorganisms don't know the rules nor choose to follow them, however!
What has kept me challenged is the attempt to stay one step ahead of their propensity to mutate around the 'rules'.</p>
<p>Years ago, all staphylococci were universally sensitive to a methicillin. Now, in some large hospital settings, only about 50% are sensitive. We now have to be alert for Vancomycin resistant Staph......a REAL problem.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is becoming more resistant.
We now employ many different technical methods to address these issues, methods that were not in existence even ten years ago.
There is no need for a motivated person to become bored in this field.
Opportunities also exist to teach, in industry and also computers. I have been involved extensively in LIS (lab info systems) over many years.
I started life as a Medical Technologist (B.S.), gained experience in microbiology and became credentialed as a Microbiology Specialist by ASCP through a national exam. Many colleagues have Master's degrees as well.
Some organizations to learn more include:
<a href="http://www.ascp.org%5B/url%5D">www.ascp.org</a> American Society for Clinical Pathology
<a href="http://www.asm.org%5B/url%5D">www.asm.org</a> American Society for Microbiology</p>
<p>Pay? Never enough! But most folks don't go into allied health to become wealthy! I beleive new MT (ASCP) grads here in New Jersey start at about 42T.....others areas of the US may be lower. Private industry probably pays considerably more.</p>
<p>Good luck to you!</p>
<p>thanks for all the information musicmom! </p>
<p>Is your work generally full time or part time? and are there other things you can do with a Medical Technologist degree other than the hospital setting you described? I'm thinking of possibly doing a double major in medical technology and biochemistry, do you think that would help my options for getting a job, or are med tech pretty much in demand?</p>
<p>Thanks for answering if you get a chance. sorry for so many questions!</p>
<p>Marymary-</p>
<p>I'm not knowledgeable enough about the current prospects of recent MT graduates to advise on benefit of dual degree. You could try to speak with
the director of an MT program in your area for info on that.
The MT program requires a 12 month clinical internship as the 4th or 5th year (depending on the school) and our graduates seem to find jobs within a reasonable time frame.</p>
<p>Back in the dark ages, all MTs were female; that is changing. The hospital setting offers full and part time shifts, also evening and nite shifts.
Thus the profession has appealed to women attempting to raise families while working. It's worked for me!</p>
<p>Pharmaceutical companies, reagent manufacturers and colleges also offer careers to MTs.</p>
<p>Have you thought about an optometrist, podiatrist, chiropractor, etc? They're doctors but sometimes require less schooling and involve more set hours and less stress. The BLS website had a good summary of alot of healthcare professions with accurate information on salary, numbers employed, required education, job outlook, etc.</p>
<p>I am also a registered med tech. It is a great field for working mothers, as there are plenty of part-time and shift positions. I was able to take several years off to raise kids and return to the field with on the job re-training. BUT, the pay is poor for the education and responisbility required. Opportunities for advancement are few unless you work in a larger hospital, and even then, additional education may be required. Opportunites for diversification are nowhere near what they are for other health care fields. (The MTs I know who are happy have gone into LIS). Pay varies widely across the country - check your area! Technological advances have made many med techs mere button pushers and equipment troubleshooters (this is not so true in microbiology and transfusion services). The interpretive skills are not needed as much as years ago, and some labs have responded by decreasing staffing and hiring a combination of medtechs and lesser educated technicians. In many hospitals, MTs are treated poorly by physicians and RNs.
I plan to stay in the field for another ten years or so til I retire, and I don't dislike my job. But I would not choose this field as a career if I was just starting out now. As I see it, the best non MD medical fields for diversity, opportunity, salary and job satisfaction are nursing, physical therapy, and pharmacy. If you are interested in the MD route, but are concerned about quality of your life, look into Pathology (the medical head of a laboratory- my boss) The hours are usually reasonable, the pace is less crazy, but the job is interesting. We have several on staff here who work part-time or who took years off to raise kids.</p>
<p>welcome all, my friends! I was also thinking of working in health field, but not doctor! Well, being doctor is cool, but I just think there's too much training and studies to do and money to pay (I'm from middle income family, too bad :) )</p>
<p>Do any of you know schools that offer good microbiology curriculum?</p>
<p>Physical Therapy, Speech Pathology, Audiology</p>
<p>GWColonial - I am an audiologist and like cal0302 I would not choose this field again. When I chose this field audiologists were trained to be scientists, with clinician as an option. Things are different today and the field attracts very different students. Options are very limited in Audiology and despite the fact that as of 2007 all audiologists must have a clinical doctorate to practice, most people, including physicians we work with, do not understand what we do. If you do not want to work in hospital, audiologists require oodles of money to begin a private practice because we are equipment bound - soundproof booths cost anywhere form 30 to 100k and then there is the actual diagnostic and habilitative equipment. That said, Audiology is a very interesting field with a lot of different clinical options from newborn hearing screening to pediatric assessment and intervention to diagnostic workups for dizzy adults - just not a lot of work setting options or recognition. Pay is middling and depends upon where you work geographically and private/school/hospital. Most audiologists in training now are hoping to model optometry and strike out on their own in private practice. Reimbursement by third party payors - Blue Cross, Medicaid, etc is very low so private practice usually mandates that you sell a lot of hearing aids, which carries it's own issues but is part of most rehabilitative processes. Speech Pathology has more freedom to do private practice as the costs are related primarily to test and therapy materials and space. Most speech pathologists work in hospitals, schools and nursing facilities or private practice. Again the range runs from pediatrics (language delays, cleft palate, autism, etc) to adults (stroke patients, head trauma patients, swallowing disorders, etc.). If you are interested in either Speech or Audiology try <a href="http://www.asha.org%5B/url%5D">www.asha.org</a> (both fields) or <a href="http://www.audiology.org%5B/url%5D">www.audiology.org</a>. Admittedly, both of these fields can offer great schedules to working Moms who choose not to work full-time.</p>
<p>Hi Rileydog! My Aunt is a speech pathologist, and she loves her job. She ended up with a double major from FSU with a double major in audiology and speech pathology, so I just assumed that they were kind of alike. She ended up going to grad. school in Speech pathology, and now owns her own practice in Boston. This field is becoming pretty popular, and offers wide ranges of career options. Maybe something someone should think about. The starting salary is not too bad either... but I guess I'm not as big of an expert as Rileydog!!</p>
<p>GWColonial, you are correct that there is/was an association between speech and audiology but the diffrences in practice and education have created a revolution in recent years. Audiology has moved away from the organization that certified both speech pathologists and audiologists and created it's own certifying and educational body. I have over 25 years of experience in the field, which makes me some kind of expert, and based on that, I would not choose it again - I can't possibly give you my seasoned perspective in this blurb and I hate to be the voice of discouragement but often we don't choose our careers with any understanding of what our future goals/needs might be. That doesn't mean that I don't enjoy my job - I love it, actually - but there are some professional limitations, which I have worked hard within my organization and profession to change - still not changed, which I would prefer to avoid given a second chance. That is a long subject which I would be happy to discuss with anyone seriously interested in my field - there are pros and cons - each person should make their own decision. Speech is a very different field from Audiology - there are many options for job settings and private practice in speech and reimbursement for services from third party payers is much better. Audiologists are working on this but basically the lack of recognition of our field and our expertise has limited payments. If nobody reimburses your costs - you won't be in practice very long. Your aunt's situation offers independence and opportunity for financial growth although these fields do not usually offer salaries that other professionals with similar education earn. Still, there are some benefits - usually the ability to work part-time, keep mother's hours, and certainly these are helping professions and often quite rewarding in that regard. I am presently getting my doctorate in Audiology at age 52! I have made that choice because a doctorate will be the entrance degree for all audiologists as of 2007 and I refuse to be a second class citizen in my own field. But, think about spending $120k or so for your doctorate in Audiology and starting with $35 to $45k salary. Imagine that there are no real career paths in a hospital setting - you can get merit and cost of living raises and you can become a senior audiologist after 5 years, perhaps a department manager if you are in the right place at the right time.....there is not a lot of upward mobility. The senior management positions in a hospital go to people with broader degrees or who have managed bigger departments. I have been in hospital administration having managed a big speech and audiologist program - this led to several promotions for me. However, those opportunities are very scarce today due to downsizing. Most audiologists seek private practice for autonomy and financial stability but remember my previous post about the costs of equipment and the poor reimbursement for services. The cost of living in Boston is pretty high and $35 to 45k isn't a lot of money for someone with 8 years of education. The upside for me is that I am a pedi audiologist and there is nothing better than putting hearing aids on a 3 month old because you have diagnosed the hearing loss promptly and accurately, defined the paramaters, selected and programmed appropriate amplification and helped the family through all of this and onward through the hard years of training and habilitation. Nothing is better than seeing the progress but there are very hard days too - it's not easy to tell a new mother that their baby is deaf and not everyone does well with our help. Most of my peers would consider me highly committed to my field but I have to honestly say that I would try to steer my own child away from it.</p>
<p>As eloquently stated by Cal0302 and Rileydog, there have been many changes in allied health careers over the last 20-25 years. Most have not been improvements, IMO.</p>
<p>As a registered Medical Technologist working in microbiology, I have escaped much of the "robotization" that has hit the other sections of the clinical lab.
I have also been much involved with the LIS database installation and upgrades in our lab. This has supplied me with challenge and opportuntiy.
Some of my colleagues have not fared as well and feel burned out or bored. There really aren't sufficient opportunities to go around in a hospital setting.
I would not advocate going into Medical Technology today as a generalist unless you posessed a strong interest in instrumentation, and love of routine.
It makes me sad to say these things! I believe an individual can find a satisfying career even with limitations in a field. There are simply many more limitations to the 'traditional' allied health careers today (except Nursing).</p>
<p>I think given the population demographics (read: aging baby boomers), Physical Therapy will only gain in status, earning power, etc as time goes on. Of course, there is intense competition for entry into PT programs!</p>
<p>If you are interested in the overall field of heath care, you might enjoy being a social worker. I've talked to a couple different social workers, and they both love their job. Interestingly enough, their jobs are rather different. One has a private practice and does child counseling. She took about 10 years off from work to raise her kids and was able to establish her own private practice once her kids were in school. She makes her own hours so she can work while her kids are at school. The other works for the city and holds therapy sessions for public officers (fireman, policeman, ect.). She also advises people on how to obtain proper nutrition, find a good doctor or well-paying job, and pretty much establish a pleasing lifestyle. Both love going to work everyday and insist that with a degree in socil work has TONS of options. If this sounds good you should look it up. Good luck!</p>