If you’re an individual who is driven by the idea of helping others, then the chances are that you’ve considered a medical career at some time during your life. There are plenty of individuals completing medical degrees who are more interested in seeking out a less traditional career.
Healthcare professionals need to deal with increased stress at work, due to the intensity of their workloads and the amount of emotional attachment they form with the people that they help. However, finding a non-clinical, or non-traditional medical career could help you to reduce your chances of suffering from career burnout, or offer a new opportunity to help people in a different avenue.
As the risk of career burnout grows particularly strong for individuals within the healthcare profession, it’s estimated that all physicians will experience some form of mental and physical burnout at one time or another. If you do not understand this, just watch about two to four episodes of ER in any season!
1. Medical Translation
Medical translators are professional individuals who translate medical information into other languages. Materials may be translated from reports, research, records, or documents, and could be related to anything in the clinical or medical fields. Positions in medical translation are often quite flexible, and can either be full-time or part-time. As well as having a mastery of the spoken language, the translator should have specialized knowledge of the medical industry.
2. Medicine in Other Fields
Many fields require medical knowledge even if they don’t practice medicine. For example, think about medical insurance companies like USHealth Group who maintain a social media presence so that they can provide an informational service to people who are both looking for careers and healthcare quotes. The Facebook page for USHealth Group insurance is full of useful posts about economic indicators and industry-specific news.
From the law to administration, medical expertise is something that often remains highly sought after. Journalism is also a field that appreciates medical knowledge. Clinics and hospitals need people who can effectively conduct public relations (PR) for them, and magazines, newspapers, and websites exist that are entirely devoted to health.
3. Pharmaceutical Medicine
Pharmaceutical medicine focuses primarily on finding, developing, and considering the various aspects of medicine, and how those medicines can be marketed to both the private and public sectors. Just some of the careers that exist within the realm of pharmaceutical medicine include: clinical research, medical marketing, drug candidate selection, drug safety, medical and scientific affairs, public health and societal issues, and more.
4. Healthcare Management Careers
Someone who works within the industry of healthcare management, or administration will generally be an executive individual in charge of running or managing a hospital or healthcare organization behind the scenes. Often, practicing physicians already possess the medical skills, background, and knowledge to incorporate valid policies for hospital procedures. If you’re considering a career in healthcare management, you should take management and business courses and possibly attain a degree in these fields.
You can also obtain a certificate in these domains and try to develop your knowledge about how hospitals are operated. It’s also useful to ensure that you have excellent communication skills, and are particularly adept when it comes to organization and management and knowing when and how to listen.
Photo Credit: Phalinn Ooi