To Study or Not to Study: Healthcare

Oh, it seems you’ve stumbled onto another fascinating edition of To Study or Not to Study.  This series is designed to inform the reader about the various study programs that exist and the pros and cons of each. The goal is to help people who struggle to pick a major or career – which can be a problem for many high school graduates and adults alike. Today’s topic: Healthcare.

Give it to me straight, Doc.

Sadly, since the beginning of history, no one has achieved perfect health.
When people get sick they need, you guessed it, a doctor. For this reason, healthcare professions will always be in high demand. Until someone can put a stop to sickness and death, people will always need a good healthcare system and good medical schools.

Now, the healthcare field is a wide, diverse field of study. The healthcare area can be divided into four major domains:

1. Doctors, Surgeons and Specialists
2. Nurses
3. Allied Medical Jobs
4. Administrative Medical Jobs

Let’s start with the Allied Health Professions and the Healthcare Administration.

I want to draw your blood!

Although not as glamorized as being a doctor or a nurse, both of these careers are still a vital and necessary part of hospitals, clinics and the whole healthcare sector in general. What are they exactly?

Allied Medical Professionals can be called specialists in a sense, but they are referred mostly as technicians. These can be: Radiology Technicians, Pharmacy Technicians, Medical Assistants, Phlebotomists, Ultrasound Technicians and many more. They have direct contact with patients in a clinical setting and generally offer more supportive roles, assisting doctors and nurses using specialized equipment. Therefore, they should be able to take direction well, be able to work well with people and patients, and be comfortable using specialized equipment.

Healthcare Administrators, though generally unnoticed, are also a crucial part of the healthcare process. Ranging from receptionists to medical records specialists to hospital administrators, all these work behind the scenes and glory making sure that the hospitals or clinics are working smoothly.  Each operation needs someone to track trends in an ever-changing industry and to keep the business on the cutting edge.  In fact, a Master in Healthcare Administration has been likened to combining healthcare and business for the benefit of others. Sort of like a businessman with a heart.

So, what is the diagnosis?

John Dou who worked as a nurse and became writer at essaybot review says: The main benefit to both these fields of study is the time commitment. A lot of people attribute medical education to being 8 years of intensive study and the equivalent of no life. Most of the professions mentioned above (with the exception of the graduate study in Healthcare Administration) require only two years of study. Although not all take the same amount of time, most just require an Associate’s degree in their respective field. Many of which can be learned with online classes.

Another upside is the scheduling. Generally these technicians are compensated per hour or per shift. This means that the schedule is in your hands; you work as much or as little as you can (with reasonable limits of course). And speaking of compensation, remember, you are in a high demanding field. Depending on the specialization, you could earn $30,000 to $60,000 in both those fields.

Even though you have to deal with less life saving situations than an actual doctor, remember, being in the healthcare field means you are still dealing with patients, no matter what your profession is. It’s not all like Grey’s Anatomy, being in a hospital everyday means you are going to see pain, diseases and bodily fluids, all coupled in with the stress generated from difficult patients. If you feel confident you can handle these situations, then without a doubt, the healthcare field is right for you.

And that wraps up this part of Healthcare. Such a topic cannot possibly be contained in just one article. That is why you need to stay tuned for the next installment; To Study or Not to Study: Healthcare: Part Two. There we will keep on talking about studying in the medical field, this time; we will see what it takes to become a doctor or nurse. You really will not want to miss it!