CAREERS IN
HEALTHCARE
Benefits of working in healthcare





Job Growth
Makes an impact
Flexible (for all levels of education and
experience)
Competitive
Never a dull moment
Background

The SNAP officers researched the major
healthcare professions
 Doctors
 Nurses
 Sports
Medicine
 Surgeons/ER Doctors
 Specialists
Checkpoints for most healthcare
professions






Pre-med (4-years)
MCAT (test for acceptance into medical
school)
Medical School (4-years)
The Match (for acceptance into residency)
Residency (3-7years depending on profession)
Fellowship (optional)
Pre-med

4 years
Prerequisites
Major/minor in anything

What to do in pre-med:


 http://www.mommd.com/premedplanning.shtml
The Match



During Fourth and final year in Medical
school
Interview October – February
Colleges will look at your MCAT score and
your interview
MCAT
Four part test
 Physical Sciences (PS)
 Verbal Reasoning (VR)
 Writing Sample (WS)
 Biological Sciences (BS)
Residency




On-the-job training
Year 1-4 annual salary is around $50,000
80 hour work week
Look up years of residency for each specialty:
 http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publicat
ions/otherpubs/strolling/specialty/residencypro
grams.html
Doctors


Also called physicians
A doctor diagnoses and treats diseases and
conditions, as well as provides treatment in
many forms including medication, procedures,
surgery, or therapy.
“General Doctor”
•
Primary care- Family Medicine
provides continuing, comprehensive health care for
individual and family
Pediatrician
•
•
•
Does checkups, diagnoses, provides treatment for ages 0-18yrs
Family Doctor





Salary

$125,000 - $161,000

11 - 13

Excellent



a medical office
hospitals,
nursing homes
Years in school
Job outlook
Work in
3 years residency
Pediatrician



3 years residency
Median salary $172,098
Typically work longer hours (many do 60 or
more hours work-weeks)
 on
call at all hours of the day or night including
days that may be scheduled days off

4 years of undergraduate school, 4 years of
medical school, and 3 to 8 years of internship
and residency,
Nursing
Many Subspecialties including:
Registered Nurse
Nurse Practitioner
Flexible schedule
3 days, 12 hours each day
4 days, 10 hours each day
Registered Nurse



provide and coordinate patient care
educate patients and the public about various
health conditions
provide advice and emotional support to patients
and their family members.
Nurse Practitioner



first in line to diagnose and treat illnesses and
injuries.
Can make prescriptions
often require a BSN (Bachelors of Science in
Nursing), followed by additional training,
sometimes requiring a Masters in Nursing
Licensed Practical and Licensed
Vocational Nurses


provide basic nursing care. They work under the
direction of registered nurses and doctors.
work in facilities, hospitals, physicians' offices,
and private homes.
Top 10 Highest Paying Nursing Specialties










1) Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist – $135,000
2) Nurse Researcher – $95,000
3) Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner – $95,000
4) Certified Nurse Midwife – $84,000
5) Pediatric Endocrinology Nurse – $81,000
6) Orthopedic Nurse – $81,000
7) Nurse Practitioner – $78,000
8) Clinical Nurse Specialist – $76,000
9) Gerontological Nurse Practitioner – $75,000
10) Neonatal Nurse – $74,000
Sports Medicine



branch of medicine that deals with physical fitness, treatment and
prevention of injuries related to sports and exercise
has the potential to save an athlete's career, and possibly their life.
The minimum requirements:



an undergraduate degree in a related field, such as athletic training or
exercise science
a passing score on the state licensing exam.
Athletic Trainers/Therapist Duties
Sport equipment fitting, maintenance, and emergency removal
 Applying protective/supportive techniques that allow the athlete
to regain physically active lifestyle
 Immediate on-field emergency injury assessment and management

Team Physician



Supervising pre-participation physical & medical
history
Clearing of players for return to play after injury
Work with AT and student athletic
trainers/therapist in further development of AT
program
Sports Medicine Doctor






Examination
X-Rays
Preparation
Operations
Rehabilitation
Sports medicine physician: $220,000
Surgeons




Surgeons are physicians who operate to repair
injuries, correct deformities, prevent diseases,
and generally improve the health of patients.
trained specifically to operate on patients in need
of a variety of acute surgical procedures.
Surgery involves making an incision on the
patient's body and repairing or removing an
internal part of the body, and then closing the
incision for optimum recovery.
5-6 years residency
Work environment




work four and a half to five days a week on a regular basis, plus any
time being on-call for emergencies or urgent situations
being a surgeon is more than a forty-hour per week job.
Most surgeons work 50-60 hours weekly, including on-call time,
administrative duties, and other responsibilities.
Usually surgeons will have about 3 days blocked off for surgery and 2
days devoted to office hours for follow-up appointments or preoperative consultations.
Work Environment



long or irregular hours
long periods of standing while performing
surgeries
required to attend to patients on-call
Surgeon Salaries




General Surgeons:$330,215
Orthopedic surgeons:$475,781
Neurosurgeons:$623,936
Plastic surgeons:$408,065
Internal Medicine



3 years residency
Internists are typically generalists who cover a
broad scope of medicine to include total body
wellness, disease prevention, and management
of chronic conditions and illnesses. Internists
typically treat adults, some adolescents, and
elderly as well.
Typical office hours are about 8am to 5pm, 4 to
5 days per week
Internal Medicine subspecialties
Cardiologist: treats diseases of the heart, lungs, blood vessels and complex cardiac conditions;
requires a three-year fellowship.

Endocrinologist: treats diseases or conditions of the glands, hormones and other internal
secretions – requires an additional two years of fellowship after internal medicine residency.

Gastroenterologist: treats digestive system including stomach, liver, and intestines; requires a
two-year fellowship.

Nephrologist: treats kidney disorders; requires 2 year fellowship after residency.

Pulmonologist: treats lung diseases and disorders such as COPD, asthma, cancer, breathing
and sleep problems. Requires 2 year fellowship.

Oncologist: treats cancers and solid tumors of all kinds, and administers chemotherapy.
Requires 2 years of fellowship after internal medicine residency.

Rheumatologist: treats disorders of joints, muscles and bones, such as arthritis. Requires 3
years of fellowship training.

Allergist & Immunologist: diagnoses, evaluates, and manages severe allergies and deficiencies
of the immune system. Requires two year fellowship.

Cardiologist





The cardiologist job description would be the
standard cardiology physician who treats and
diagnoses heart disease.
The interventional cardiologist is a physician who
performs a variety of invasive tests and procedures to
assist in diagnoses of and treatment of cardiac
disease.
Cardiologists specialize in the diagnosis, treatment
and intervention of diseases of the heart and
cardiovascular system.
Most of them work in small private offices or clinics,
3-8 years of internship and residency
Specialists



More than 60 specialties
Subspecialties in almost all fields
Increasing with new technology
ER Doctors





3 years residency
Median salary $249,880.
Treats patients in emergency room to ensure
proper injury care and disease diagnosis,
treatment, and recovery.
Works with life-or-death situations
New experiences
Orthopedic Surgeon



Examines, diagnoses, and surgically treats
musculoskeletal diseases and injuries. Performs
surgical procedures to immobilize fractures by
using corrective devices such as braces, pins,
casts, and splints.
Median salary $414,000
5 years
Optometrist




Salary range:
$74,651 – $123,115
Minimum training
Doctorate; state-issued license required


Job description:


Work environment:
Optometrists diagnose, manage and treat conditions
and diseases of the eyes and visual system. May prescribe
drugs to treat some eye diseases.
Optometrists work in offices, typically as private
practitioners or in retail optical stores.
Radiologist




The main purpose of a radiologist is to diagnose
diseases through the use of x-rays.
Can work at home
Sometimes reviews x-rays with personal
technology
Great for travelling
Pharmacist



Salary: $85,000
most individuals have at least three years of
college education.
may require successful completion of the
Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PCAT).
Orthodontist



deal with hardware such as retainers and
headgear with goal of aligning teeth
improves the appearance or the ability of the
person to chew and swallow food without
difficulty or pain.
2-3 years residency
Anesthesiologist



responsible for maintenance of the patient’s vital
life functions—heart rate, body temperature,
blood pressure, breathing—through continual
monitoring and assessment during surgery.
4 years residency
often on call for all hours of the day.

In extreme cases they can work over 80 hours per
week
Top Medical Colleges










#1 Harvard University Boston, MA
Full-time: $47,500
#2 Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD
Full-time: $42,600 455
#2 University of Pennsylvania (Perelman) Philadelphia, PA
Full-time: $45,498 636
#4 Stanford University Stanford, CA
Full-time: $45,744 449
#5 University of California--San Francisco San Francisco, CA
Full-time: $29,856 (in-state), Full-time: $42,101 (out-of-state)
What to do in high school

Take many science and math classes
 Human
Anatomy + Physiology
• Educate yourself
-Volunteer at hospitals/medical organizations
-Internships
-Research on your own
• Keep an open mind!
Helpful sites

Interviews from people working in medicine etc
 http://www.jobshadow.com/list-of-interviews/
Overview of other medical professions:
www.healthjobsstarthere.com