The medical field has hundreds of career paths that are vital to the industry. However, many young students only hear about options like becoming a doctor or a nurse. If you have a passion for healthcare but don’t want to be a nurse, have no fear. There are plenty of jobs in the healthcare field you didn’t know existed that might be right for you.
Diet Technician
Are you fascinated by the role our diets play in our health? Becoming a diet technician will make this your top priority at work. Diet technicians educate patients and families about proper diet and nutrition habits, provide meal plans, and give nutrition counseling. They also help patients refine or gain control over unhealthy eating habits.
Clinical Study Representative
Clinical study representatives need to be knowledgeable in the medical field, but they also need to have great sales and communication skills. As a clinical study representative, you’ll focus on recruiting clinical trial participants and be the main point of contact for all things related to the trial.
Perfusionist
Most people think of surgeons and anesthesiologists when they imagine an operating team, but perfusionists are just as important. The perfusionist is responsible for operating the cardiopulmonary (or “heart-lung”) bypass machine. This machine performs the heart’s function during heart surgery and maintains the patient’s circulatory and respiratory systems during surgery.
Wound-Care Specialist
Wound care revolves around bandaging and treating a patient’s flesh wounds, such as burns, unhealed surgical incisions, and bedsores. The primary concern of a wound-care specialist is preventing infection and speeding recovery time.
Specialists help treat patients suffering from mild to severe wounds that need particular care. Most wound-care specialists spend most of their days evaluating and assessing patient wounds, establishing a treatment plan, administering stitches or wound management devices, cleaning and bandaging wounds, monitoring the healing process, and educating patients on their injuries.
Medical Illustrator
The medical illustrator career path is perfect for those with a passion for healthcare and art. Medical illustrators help to relay the most up-to-date industry knowledge using artistic renderings. These professionals create different drawings, graphic designs, illustrations, and pictorial representations of particular body parts, cellular bodies, ailments, diseases, disabilities, and more. These vital visual representations help healthcare professionals to better understand and connect with the medical information they need to learn.
If you have a passion for healthcare, you ’don’t need to choose between being a nurse or a doctor. There are plenty of unique jobs in the healthcare field that many don’t know exist. One of these five examples may be the dream career path you’ve been looking for.
