If you’ve ever been to a hospital, you’ve most likely encountered a range of different people who work there. A successful hospital is made up of many different people of many different professions who come together for the common goal of helping others! If you love science, solving problems, critical thinking, and helping those around you, maybe you should consider a career in health care. Health care is made up of many different jobs, including doctors, physician assistants, nurses, medical assistants, certified nurse assistants, and more. Here we are going to briefly discuss some of these jobs and what the roles are about.
Doctors are in charge of figuring out why people are sick and coming up with the best treatments to make them feel better. There are many different types of doctors as they can specialize in multiple areas of medicine, which are sometimes focused on specific groups of organs. For instance, cardiologists focus on the heart, pulmonologists focus on the lungs, orthopedic doctors focus on the bones, and neurologists focus on the brain. If you want to become a doctor, you have to go through a lot of schooling to get there. This means that after high school you have to go to college, medical school, and further training to specialize in your area of interest. After all, you have to be able to know many diseases and forms of treatment to be able to help those who need it.
A physician assistant (PA) is someone who works in collaboration with doctors and is able to assist with the diagnosis and treatment of sick patients. PAs are often certified to perform certain procedures and prescribe certain medications; however, this is mostly done under the supervision of a doctor. PAs are very important, since they are able to help a great number of patients and can facilitate the brainstorming of diagnoses and treatments. If you want to become a PA, you have to go to college and then join a PA program.
Nurses work very closely with patients. They are in charge of administering medications, and recurrently checking in on patients to make sure they are doing okay and are comfortable. If you enjoy maximizing the time you spend interacting with patients, then this might be the job for you! Moreover, nurses can also specialize in different fields, including pediatrics, oncology, or emergency care. In order to become a nurse, you have to attend a college nursing program, after finishing high school, in which you will be taught everything you need to know.
Certified nurse assistants work in collaboration with nurses and assist with basic tasks, which often involve daily activities like bathing and eating. Certified nurse assistants are essential to ensuring patient comfort and happiness; they often help by taking vitals and making sure that the patient is doing okay. If you enjoy working closely with patients, this would be another job to consider! To become a certified nurse assistant you have to complete a training program. Certified nurse assistants are often on the path to becoming nurses or doctors. Students often work as certified nurse assistants while in college to gain valuable clinical experience.
Medical assistants either work at a hospital or a doctor’s clinic. They are of great help to the entire team because they often perform essential administrative tasks, like recording patient information, or clinical tasks, like taking vitals and preparing patients for their visits. Medical assistants allow doctors and nurses to do their jobs more efficiently, thus maximizing the number of patients that can be treated! In order to be a medical assistant you have to complete a training program after high school. Sometimes students who are aiming to become doctors or physician assistants work as medical assistants during their college years to gain valuable experience.
If you are passionate about helping others, you should consider a career in health care! These careers are only a few of the many possibilities out there. Consider getting a science degree and gaining valuable experience volunteering with patients to see if this is something you might want to do on a long-term basis.
Note: The content for this article came from the personal experience of the author, who is a pre-med student and hospital volunteer. Therefore, no outside source material was used.
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