The Different Jobs One Can Get in the World of Healthcare

The healthcare field is a wide and diverse field, encompassing many different levels of care. As a result of its diversity, employing over 22 million people in the United States alone — accounting for a whopping 14% of the entire population of the country — it is a popular route for many people, no matter their background or even their level of qualification. This also means that there are a whole host of different jobs that you can get when it comes to working in the healthcare field.

If you are interested in the types of jobs that you can get in the world of healthcare — the likes of which has been scrutinized in great depth due to the many stresses of the coronavirus pandemic, which has seen a lot of cases in recent weeks and has created what a lot of people are calling a new normal — then it is definitely recommended to read this guide, which has been especially created in order to outline all of the different jobs that one can get. Take a look now if you are interested and you will be sure to get the complete overview.

 

Clinical Healthcare Jobs

The first category of jobs on this list refer to those that are in the clinical setting. This refers to hands-on work that means direct interaction with patients and their medical needs.

 

Surgeon

A surgeon is probably the first job that you think of when it comes to healthcare. It can be split into many different specializations, but broadly speaking, it refers to people who perform surgery on patients in order to fix whichever problems that they might have.

 

Nurse

A nurse does many jobs within a clinical setting, from managing people’s physical needs to stopping illnesses from occurring to treating health conditions. Usually nurses don’t need to have a PhD, but there is always the possibility to get further education beyond the nursing training, such as a doctor of nursing practice degree.

 

Veterinarian

A veterinarian is broadly similar to a doctor or a surgeon, but instead of dealing with the needs of people, they deal with the needs of animals, ranging from household pets like dogs, cats and hamsters, to farm animals such as pigs and sheep, to wild animals such as lions, zebras and elephants. Veterinarians often earn a lot more than regular doctors, usually because animal care isn’t fully covered under insurance.

 

Podiatrist

If you have a problem with your foot, your leg or your ankle, then you will probably need the services of a podiatrist. In the United States, people who work in this field are known as Doctors of Podiatry Medicine.

 

Chiropractor

If you are interested in alternative medicine, then you might want to look up a career as a chiropractor. They are concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of issues in the skeletal system, with their work helping people with back and spine pain. Just be aware that many consider chiropractic medicine to be a pseudo-science.

 

Psychiatrist

A psychiatrist deals in the field of mental health. They deal with people and their problems, before being legally allowed to administer them with the mental health drugs that they need.

 

Physician

A physician is a generalized term that can refer to a doctor with a degree. Physicians are responsible for diagnosis, prevention and treatment, with many specializations within their field.

 

Dentist

If you have serious issues with your teeth, then it is recommended to look up the services of a dentist. Dentists usually command quite high salaries, usually because dental care is not covered under normal health insurance.

 

Oncologist

Oncology refers to the study of cancers. This means that oncologists are responsible for diagnosing cancers as soon as possible before recommending the best course of care to deal with the problem.

 

Optometrist 

When it comes to treating eye-health, especially if the average optician cannot adequately deal with the problem, then people are usually recommended to visit an optometrist. Generally speaking, visiting the optician costs money, but the optometrist is covered under insurance.

 

Administrative Healthcare Jobs

Healthcare doesn’t necessarily mean directly catering to the needs of patients. Due to the scale of many healthcare operations, administrative work is also always needed. Below you can see a whole host of administration jobs that can exist within the healthcare field.

 

Health Services Manager

A health services manager is a professional who works to keep any healthcare setting running smoothly. Their job is mostly observational, before they come in and make recommendations as to how a healthcare facility can be better run.

 

Patient Services Representative

A patient services representative is the person whose job it is to schedule patient appointments, and remind patients when they have an appointment coming up. They would also be responsible for getting the important medical information from a patient before the appointment occurs.

 

Medical Biller

After surgery has been performed or a consultation has been made, someone has to pay for it, whether the patient is insured — privately or under medicare — or uninsured. The medical biller does all the necessary co-ordination before sending the responsible party the bill.

 

Medical Transcriptionist

When a visit to a doctor is made, someone has to make a complete record of what occurs. This is where a medical transcriptionist can come in and make sure that there is the necessary documentation of what happens. This is important when it comes to the legal perspective.

 

Medical Records Director

On top of the medical transcriptionist, there needs to be someone out there who is responsible for making sure that the medical records are stored correctly and used in the right way. This is where the medical records director comes in, who performs a highly vital task.

 

Technical Healthcare Jobs

Due to the technical advances in healthcare, there are all types of machines and advanced techniques that are used in the healthcare field, with technical healthcare jobs the broad term used for people who manage these machines. Take a look at the types of jobs that you could expect below.

 

Lab Technician

When samples are taken to a lab, no matter the reason, the lab technician is the person responsible for all of the proper analysis, making them a deeply important part of the research process.

 

Healthcare Web Developer

In order for healthcare providers to be able to advertise their wares properly, they often need to call in the services of a healthcare web developer. If a developer makes a website well, they can often command decent pay-checks as a result.

 

MRI Technologist

When someone goes in for an MRI scan, there has to be someone responsible for operation of the MRI machine itself. This is where an MRI technologist can come in and make a massive difference. 

 

Other Healthcare Jobs

As the healthcare field is so broad, not all of the jobs that are involved could be contained in the past three sections. That’s why you should take a look below for the other healthcare jobs that you could be interested in.

 

Therapist

Although a therapist, broadly speaking, isn’t allowed to give out medications like a psychiatrist, they can still use a whole host of mechanisms in order to help people with their mental health problems. It’s a good field to go into when you consider that therapists are in high demand recently due to the pandemic.

 

Paramedic

As popularized in the classic Martin Scorsese film Bringing out The Dead, or, more recently, Ambulance by Michael Bay, a paramedic is a high-stress but high-reward job. Given the interaction with the public, many characterize it more like being a police officer than a healthcare professional. 

 

Nutritionist

When it comes to making sure that people live healthy lives, what they eat matters. When they are looking to change their lives through food, then they usually consult the services of nutritionists, the likes of which have risen in importance due to people’s bad food decisions during the pandemic.

 

Masseuse

Massages might not be the first course of action when you think of healthcare, but of course, when it comes to relieving stress and making sure that people are happy, then masseuses perform a highly vital task. 

 

Conclusion

It has been the stated aim of this guide to give you the complete overview when it comes to the many different jobs that one can get within the healthcare field. It is worth pointing out that due to the complexity of caring for people, this guide, although having tried to be exhaustive, cannot cover literally every job within the field. Therefore, it is likely that there might be a job that you would like to do that is not on this list. As a result, it is never a bad idea for you to be doing your own independent research.

Nonetheless, you should be revisiting this guide in the weeks and months to come as you finally figure out which job is the right pick for you. Good luck in your journey to becoming a healthcare professional: may you find the most rewarding and well-paid job possible!