If you’re someone who’s been told they have the healing touch, a career in the medical field might be right up your alley. This career field is perfect for those who are great at looking after others and managing multiple tasks at once. One of the key trademarks of the medical field is there’s always a demand for new workers. Whether it’s becoming a simple nurse, to aspiring to be the best doctor you can, we’ve compiled a few jobs that you should consider pursuing.
Medical Assistant
A medical assistant can be considered to be a small step below the typical nurse. The duties of a medical assistant are rather simple. You’ll spend your time greeting and getting to know patients, answering phone calls, preparing patients for various tests and exams and making sure prescriptions go through the pharmacy. These tasks are covered by medical assistants, so the medical professionals can focus on more urgent tasks. However, the tasks you perform do vary on the job as well the type of practice you choose to participate in. The education requirements to become a medical assistant are some of the easiest to fulfill as all you need is either a high school diploma or an associate’s degree.
Registered Nurse
If you’re someone looking for a more professional position, but still want to keep things simple, then a registered nurse might be what you’re looking for. While you will still perform a few lesser tasks such as preparing patients and answering phone calls, a registered nurse has far more responsibilities. Below is a list of the many duties that you can expect to perform as a registered nurse:
- Speaking to patients to find out more about their issues
- Recording information from the patients such as their symptoms, medical history, and experiences
- Providing care by administering medication and performing various tests
- Taking samples, like blood and urine
- Coming up with health care plans for patients
- Patching up wounds by disinfecting, stitching and bandaging
- Answering the questions of patients and their loved ones about their medical conditions
There are many things for you to do as a registered nurse. However, the job itself does require you to receive an extensive education first. Compared to a medical assistant, a registered nurse requires you to complete a bachelor’s degree. A BA in nursing takes around four years to complete. College can be expensive, especially when it comes to participating in the medical field. The average cost of this degree is around $40,000, but depending on the school and location, it can be almost $80,000. You might be tempted to take out a student loan to pay for it.
However, even well-established medical professionals are still paying off their student loans despite having some of the best pay you can imagine. There are other ways to pay for your college education. In this case, the best way to pay for your medical degree is to take out a scholarship. A scholarship is typically thought of as a type of award given to successful students. But that’s not the only way to get one. Scholarships aren’t exclusive to star students. Anyone can apply for a scholarship by using an online platform. These platforms make it easier for applicants to search by allowing them to filter out their specific needs and preferences.
General Surgeon
Out of most of the medical careers, you’d be surprised at how many don’t talk about becoming surgeons. There are many types of surgeons you can aspire to be, but we’re going to be talking about general surgeons. General surgeons are able to assess and treat all sorts of different types of problems and diseases, which might require surgical intervention. To be more specific, general surgeons focus on areas such as the head, neck, breast area, abdomen, digestive tract and even blood vessels. To become this type of surgeon, you must first have at least a bachelor’s degree from college, four years of training from medical school and complete at least a five-year residency program. This career can be difficult to acquire, but you get to help people in ways that not many others can. You’re also entitled to a large salary that can range from $200,000 to over $400,000 on average. Make sure you’re absolutely certain you want to be a surgeon before taking on the course work.
