Health care is one of the rare industries that really grew during the Great Recession and is resuming to expand rapidly. Directed by increased demand driven by a declining population and new health care legislation, the next decade is projected to be favorable for qualified health care workers.
The medical and health sectors are classified into various specialty areas, allowing prospective students to pursue a diverse array of academic and career avenues. Medicine is a vocational degree, giving us to enhance both the practical and clinical abilities particular to medicine, and the professional and personal qualities needed to become a doctor.
Our careers in medicine, medical sciences, and research can contain some of these things at some time. But definitely not all the time. Every career in this sector is difficult, challenging, and hugely prominent in other people’s lives. There are also a large number of career choices available, many of which we apparently didn’t even know existed. Therefore, before we choose to get into medicine, medical sciences, and research, we should firstly discover what it’s really all about.
The Realities of a Medical Career
It’s all regarding serving people who are having problems with their physical health. It’s all about saving lives and improving lives. It’s all about treatments, cures, medicine and drugs, and about research, innovation, and breakthroughs.
Everybody is dependent on the expert skills of dentists, medical staff, and medical scientists at some point in their lives: if we break a bone, if we need an operation, if we have an accident, when we go for a dental check-up, even when we take Paracetamol. It may appear obvious, though without doctors, nurses, and medical science specialists, people would physically not be able to survive.
The National Health Service (NHS) is the fifth-largest in the world. However, several private institutions also employ tons of people in medicine, medical sciences, and research arenas.
There are so several specialist areas within all of these areas. Some careers need a greater amount of medical, technical, and scientific knowledge. Reasonably, dentists, doctors, surgeons, pharmacologists, and medical research scientists require to be absolute experts in their specialist field. So those who seek these careers need to have an excellent academic background. But, several other career opportunities available in medicine, medical sciences, and research, which simply require people with specialist practical or care skills, such as nurses, technical healthcare assistants, and laboratory assistants.
Opportunities in the Medical Field
Different jobs opportunities for the students related to the medical field are as follows:
1. Histology Technician
A histology technician works in a medical lab and focuses on converting tissue samples into microscope slides for disease diagnosis. This role is vital in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases like cancer. They work behind the scenes to provide doctors with relevant information. Histology technicians work with pathologists and lab managers daily.
2. Dentist/Orthodontist
Careers in dental professions are all regarding teeth and gums. Dentists, orthodontists, dental hygienists, dental therapists, and dental technicians all perform an integral role in keeping our gnashes healthy and in tip-top condition. Without these guys, we wouldn’t be capable of chewing our food and our breath would be also worse than it already is. Numerous dental professionals work in common practice or a dental hospital, and others are self-employed, allowing private services within their own dental surgeries.
3. Hospital Administration
One of the most lucrative career alternatives after MBBS is to get into hospital Administration. The administrative jobs are the long-standing opportunities for doctors, particularly for the senior and elder doctors. It’s a fact that clinical experience makes doctors more qualified administrators as they understand the health system inside out thus improving the hospital’s credibility.
To win the challenge of a lack of business intelligence, many doctors are opting for this alternative career and taking up business courses and pursuing an MBA in a try to position themselves for the purpose of a hospital administrator.
Medical Teacher/ Professor Medical education is one of the best career ways for us to choose after MBBS. With a teaching career, we can always be in touch with our medical world along with many other things. We can assist trainee medical trainees or doctors, teaching the public, be it in our home country or abroad. It can make us a handsome amount as well for our expertise.
4. Public Health Worker
Public health is serving and protecting the health of the general population. It is one of the most challenging and important jobs for us. We might work on preventing the extent of infectious diseases or environmental health hazards and work with our government on many important projects on saving millions of lives. We could also be included in plans to increase the accountability, performance, and effectiveness of our health service.
5. Health / Medical Journalism and Medical Writing
Journalism in itself is a vast field, but those with scientific & medical credentials and have enough experience have the advantage over the wide majority of journalists who frequently come from other social science backgrounds. Thus some medics undertake this as an addition, rather than an option to their clinical practice.
Therefore, as a medical writer, you can work in academia, industry (medical devices, pharmaceuticals, etc.), news organizations, government, or for yourself. You can also write books, reports on clinical trials, news articles, regulative submissions, meeting abstracts, patient education materials, and even slide stories.
Hence, you may require to gain an extra qualification for this alternative career path to start a successful journalism career. As it can also be a productive career for those Doctors who have a passion for writing, undertake clinical writing and editorial activities for pharmaceutical and healthcare companies.
6. Nurses
The one who can be considered as a true heart and soul of the medical profession is Nurses. As they work in every area of healthcare, from casualty and primary care trusts to general practices and in people’s own homes, and provide significant support to doctors and direct care for patients as well.
One of the most rewarding and satisfying jobs that you can pursue is the job of nursing as sometimes it can be extremely challenging but the satisfaction it gets after serving or helping patients is one of the best feelings. Thus you can specialize in many different areas of nursing, including positively serving the nation neonatal (newborn babies), pediatrics (children), adult, mental health, and many more.
7. Clinical Forensic Medical Examiner
After completing your course you can take up this interesting route to become a Clinical Forensic Medical Examiner. Their main role is to deal with examining the living while forensic pathologists are guided to carry out medical examinations on the dead.
8. Medico-Legal Advisor
It can be one of the highly paid alternative career options for those who are more likely interested in a medico-legal career. They may be required to attend court trials, writing articles, holding lectures as well as running workshops regarding the same. Therefore, the respective field is quite difficult as they deal with the legal angle of the medical cases.
9. Forensic Psychiatry
A subspecialty of psychiatry, Forensic psychiatry is related to criminology. It incorporates the interface between law and psychiatry. As it involves the treatment and healing of mentally ill criminal offenders, this field is also closely related to the field of medico-legal study.
10. Medical / Pharmaceutical Researcher
The medical research field is a vibrant one that is constantly developing. Thus a Medical researcher is the one who conducts experiments and analyses results to learn more about the human body and potential treatments. They are often required to work in the pharmaceutical industry, academia, hospital labs, and research institutes, etc. Hence, through directed research and analysis they formulate new drugs and clinical approaches.
For medical science graduates, Translational Medicine or Translational Research is a great career path for those who wish to combine lab/bench research and clinical duties.
11. Transplant Coordinator
Both administrative and medical alternatives to MBBS are those professionals who coordinate activities associated with organ donation and transplantation as an alternative of both medical and administration to MBBS. They cooperate with medical, paramedical, and non-medical personnel and may be involved in different stages of the process, from meeting with donors and recipients to post-surgical care and follow-up. As this role demands both medical and administrative tasks.
12. Radiology / Diagnostic Imaging
The person involved in the respective imaging is in charge of staying on top of medical imaging programs such as X-Rays, CT scans, ultrasounds, and MRIs. They are assured to meet the correct professional standards.
13. Academic Medicine
Another feasible career option after graduation in the medical field is Academic medicine where the doctors not only involve in clinical practices but also contribute their knowledge in teaching medical students and taking part in several research programs. Many senior doctors opt for this profession option and settle down with an impressive salary.
14. Sports Doctor
A career in sports medicine nowadays is another one of the common sought-after careers because of its dynamic and high-profile client base which also includes traveling abroad. Therefore, a sports doctor career can make you earn the best salary or a high paying salary amongst other competitive careers.
15. Public Services
The students graduated with a medical degree can also appear for different government exams to serve the nation.
16. Investment Banking
It may sound crazy. But investment banks help companies to obtain funds and offer guidance on alliances, acquisitions, and equity research. So therefore with your medical background, you could work as a healthcare equity researcher to advise people on parts of the health industry such as biotech companies.
17. Health Analytics and Informatics
Graduates who have got a love for numbers and analytics than Data Analytics and Health Informatics can be considered two excellent career options for you.
18. Bio-medical scientist
With Diagnostic tools or therapeutic strategies, Bio-medical scientists work with patients and in labs to find new measures to cure or treat disease. They work at diagnosing diseases and illnesses like HIV, cancer, diabetes, food poisoning, hepatitis, and meningitis.
Conclusion
With different opportunities across a massive range of interests, one can look at the list of careers available within the sectors of medicine, medical sciences, and research which are almost endless. As to whether you want to develop drugs for the treatment to save lives first hand or bringing them into the world you are going to find a place in the respective field. Hence, it’s rather safe to say that the people working in this sector are extremely important for all.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What are the best medical courses in India?
Ans. The colleges/ universities offer all medical and allied courses, but the most sought after courses in India are:
- MBBS
- BDS
- BAMS (Ayurvedic)
- BHMS (Homoeopathy)
- BUMS (Unani)
- Bachelor of Naturopathy & Yogic Science (BNYS)
- Bachelor of Physiotherapy
Q2. What are the medical courses without NEET?
Ans. There are various medical courses that one can pursue without appearing for NEET. Some popular medical courses are – Veterinarian, Food Technology, Biochemist, Pharmacist, Biotechnologist, Naturopathy, and Yogic Sciences, Clinical Research, etc.
Q3. What options do I have if I want to do a certificate medical course?
Ans. There are a lot of 6 months – 1 year certificate medical courses, however, the eligibility criteria for each course may be different. Applicants are proposed to go through the eligibility criteria for the course he/ she wants to pursue before applying for it.
- Yoga and Naturopathy
- Public Health Management
- Yoga Teacher’s Training
- Food and Nutrition
- Medical Lab Technology
Q4. Which medical courses can I pursue after BSc?
Ans. Numerous options are available for candidates after completing BSc. Some of the popular medical courses that one can select from are mention here: MBBS, BAMS, BHMS, BDS, BUMS, MSc, MBA in hospital administration psychology, pharmacy, etc.
Q5. Which medical course can a student with PCM opt for?
Ans. There are not many medical courses that you can choose if did not have Biology in class XII. But, you can choose from among the following few courses that are related to medicine:
- BSc in Radiography
- Biomedical Engineering
- Biotechnology
- Pharmacy
