Alternative Medical Careers

The average person goes to school at age 4 or 5 and perhaps graduates from secondary school in the late teens. To become a doctor there is another 4 years of premed and 4 years in medical school. Add another 3 to 7 years in specialist training and you could easily be 30 years old before starting your career as a fully trained doctor.

For some the love of medicine makes this a small price to pay but for others, you just cannot afford to wait so long. Perhaps because of family commitments or other pressures. So is there an alternative way to be involved in patient care without going through medical school?

Pharmacist. This actually allows you to contribute to the care of patients without too intimate a degree of patient contact. traditionally a pharmacist dispenses drugs either in the hospital or at a drug store. But the role of a pharmacist goes deeper. A pharmacist also tries to ensure that the patient takes the drugs in a safe manner with regards to proper dosage and timing.

Laboratory Technician. As a lab technician there is a wide spectrum of different sub specialties open to you. The requirements and scope of a microbiology lab technician is different from that of a haematology lab technician. Because the individual roles are so varied, there is a wide selection of options in this one field

Nursing. As a nurse you will never lack for a job. In the United States and England, nurses, especially good dedicated nurses are in great demand. As a possible career path, with increasing roles for nurses, there is the option to advance to the level of specialist nurse in your chosen medical field

The duration of time required to train in the medical related fields above varies but is usually less than 5 years. And the roles are of great relevance to the overall care of the patient

Here, they will learn subjects such as anatomy, biology, chemistry, infection control, medical terminology, physiology and several others before undergoing hands on training. You will have to pass appropriate examinations before being allowed to move on to the next stage of your training.

There are also options to working in medical related fields without any patient contact. In an earlier post we have discussed medical transcription which is a thriving and potentially lucrative field. The flexibility afforded by medical transcription makes it a very attractive option.

Drug representative. You could also opt to be a sales rep for a pharmaceutical company. This usually attracts a competitive salary and is associated with travel to a wide variety of places

This is not meant to be an exhaustive article on alternative medical careers. It however should stimulate you to try and find out more about this especially if you are at a crossroads in your employment history. There are other options that do not require full time study. Just look online for part time courses that may suit your current situation .