If you are considering a career in the healthcare industry, there are a variety of options available to you. These days, nearly any type of interest can be appropriated to the field of medicine, from patient care to accounting. While a career in healthcare can be rewarding and lucrative, it also takes hard work, dedication, and education. Doctors, medical assistants, nurses, X-ray and ultrasound technicians, medical coding specialists, pharmacy technicians, and medical transcriptionists are just a few of the many careers to choose from. If you’re not sure what healthcare profession would be right for you, start by considering what your interests are, what your current level of education is, and how much more education you are willing to invest in.

Education Required for Different Careers – Doctors

Different levels of education and specialized training will be required for virtually all healthcare careers. Becoming a doctor of any type naturally entails the most schooling and training. A doctor is required to have an undergraduate degree from an accredited four-year school. Most medical schools look favorably upon a Bachelor of Science with a focus in biology or chemistry. A Doctor of Medicine degree, which is a four-year program, is also required. After medical school, a residency program is required. Also called an internship, this can take a doctor anywhere from three to seven years to complete, depending on the specialization.

Nurses

An associate degree in nursing, which typically takes about two to three years to complete, or a four-year bachelor’s degree in nursing is required to become a nurse. The amount of training that is required from this point on will depend on whether you wish to become a registered nurse (RN) or a nurse practitioner (LPN). If you wish to become an RN, you will need to take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses. LPNs, on the other hand, are supervised by RNs and are not required to take this licensing exam. LPNs do not usually specialize in one particular field of medicine as nurses do.

Medical Assistants

To become a medical assistant, you can complete a two-year associated degree at an accredited school, though some schools do offer one-year certificates. After school, aspiring medical assistants will take the national certification exam and will need to take the exam again every five years. Coursework will generally involve a broad range of training, from medical billing and coding to patient care. A medical assistant, which is different than a physician’s assistant, will likely have many duties in the workplace such as taking vital signs, checking patients in, and managing some accounting.

Physician’s Assistant

A physician’s assistant, or PA, is often confused with a medical assistant, but the two positions are actually quite different. A physician’s assistant is required to have training from a program approved by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, which usually requires a bachelor\’s degrees and experience in some aspect of healthcare. The program usually takes about 26 months, but can vary for individuals that want to do a specialization like internal medicine or surgery.

Character Traits for Careers in Healthcare

This is just a small sampling of the many healthcare careers that are available, and obviously takes a broad range of individuals to make up the ever-growing medical industry. However, there are a few traits that anyone considering a career in healthcare should have. These include patients, flexibility, a positive attitude, and efficiency. Medical careers of any kind can be hectic and fast-paced, so you should be ready to work hard in order to perform your job well. And although not all healthcare professions will involve working directly with patients in a clinical setting, most jobs will involve working with other individuals on some level so having good communication skills and the ability to function as a member of a team will be imperative.

John Soland is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Mr. Soland is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to healthcare careers.

John Soland is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Mr. Soland is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to healthcare careers. https://careers-lsi.icims.com/jobs/intro?hashed=0

Author Bio: John Soland is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Mr. Soland is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to healthcare careers.

Category: Career
Keywords: Patient Education, Healthcare Professionals