If you want a career in healthcare, but don’t want to go to school for eight more years to be a doctor, or don’t like the idea of being a nurse, you have options. The medical field is huge, and it has jobs for just about every personality type. Here are a few options you might consider:
1. Medical Transport Services
The ambulance service is extremely important. Paramedics, ambulance drivers and others help provide emergency care to the population, saving lives every day. While there is training involved to work in the ambulance service, it takes place in a community college or trade school, so it’s significantly cheaper than a full university education. If you like the idea of a fast-paced career where you’re on the front line for saving lives, it’s worth investigating what’s needed to become a paramedic.
2. Midwifery
You don’t have to be a doctor to deliver babies. In fact, in most developed countries, doctors are only involved in high-risk deliveries. Midwives deliver healthy babies everyday.
Midwifery is a challenging profession, enabling you to work closely with people on a daily basis and provide care and support to expectant mothers and their newborn children. There are several reasons to become a midwife, and while you can expect long hours and some tough days, it can also be an extremely rewarding role within the healthcare industry. It’s a career that goes back centuries, and one that is still very much needed in medicine today.
3. Phlebotomy
Phlebotomy is the practice of drawing blood, and is carried out every day in hospitals and doctors offices across the country. It’s an essential profession, and one that doesn’t require years at college to qualify. You can undergo phlebotomy training in a matter of months, enabling you to work at hospitals and other practices once you’ve completed your training. Phlebotomy is a great career if you’re interested in medicine, and could provide a good foundation before you apply for other roles such as nursing or working in medical research.
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4. Management
Hospitals have many people working behind the scenes to ensure things run smoothly, and there are many opportunities for you in hospital management. You could start with an administrative role and work your way up, while some hospitals have management programs to help you secure a management position sooner. Working in hospital management can be a fast-paced and exciting role, allowing you to be a part of the hospital environment and ensure that it continues to function. You can move into hospital management from other industries, giving you a change of scene or pace from your current role.
Working in medicine is a great way to work with people and be a part of an essential service for the community. If you want a career that helps people and makes a difference, but don’t want to train to become a doctor or nurse, then exploring other avenues in the healthcare industry is worth your while. It’s a necessary service, and one that can open up a lot of doors in the future. Explore the opportunities that exist near you and consider working in healthcare for your long-term career.
