Health Careers — Range very broadly from those that involve “hands-on“ care of individual patients to those that involve examining health and health care practices from a wider population level perspective.

Health Career Pathways:

• Therapeutic Services/Direct Patient Care

• Imaging &Diagnostic Services

• Support Services

• Health Informatics and Business

• Research and Development

Therapeutic Services/Direct Patient Care — Medical specialists attending to patients, nurses, nursing care, providers, physical therapists, dentists, etc.

• e.g. “hands-on” patient care

Imaging — Involves the use of technology in the diagnosis of patients.

• e.g. medical laboratory technologists, ultrasound and x-ray, technicians, radiologists.

Support Services — Responsible for keeping a clean and sanitary hospital or therapeutic environment.

• e.g. hospital maintenance engineers and technicians,

Health Informatics & Business — Includes documentation services, medical record management, hospital unit, coordination, health information, and communication systems.

• e.g. health info. coders, data analysis, health care administrators, medical billers, public health educators.

Research and Development — Contributes to the advancement of health care through science and technology

• e.g. biomedical chemists, toxicologists, pharmaceutical scientists, biomedical engineers.

Public Health — Science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities.

• Achieved by promoting healthy lifestyles, researching disease and injury preventions, and detecting, preventing and responding to infectious diseases.

Primary Tasks in Public Health:

• Assess and monitor health of communities.

• Formulate public policies.

• Assure that all populations have access to appropriate and cost-effective care.

Career Opportunities in Public Health:

• Public Health Practice

• Health Education

• Epidemiology

• Environmental Health

• International Health

• Maternal and Child Health

• Nutrition

• Health Services Administrator

Careers in Drug Prevention & Control

Mental Health Practitioners — Professionals who are trained to help patients who have mental and emotional problems and illnesses.

Psychologists — Provides professional guidance and advice to people who have deep emotional problems and are emotionally disturbed.

Psychiatrists — Medical practitioners who diagnose and treat patients who have mental illnesses.

Counselors — Professionals who deal with people who have mental-health related problems. They also provide professional guidance.

Careers in Drug-Abuse Treatments:

• Psychiatrists & Psychologists

• Psychiatric Nurses & Detox Specialists

Psychiatrists & Psychologists — Through therapy, they help people who are suffering from drug-abuse problems and understand the root abuse of their problems.

• Psychiatrists also prescribe medication for their patients.

Psychiatric Nurses & Detox Specialists — They track the physical progress of patients as medications are administered.

Counselors — Professionals who work with teens and adults who have drug abuse problems.

Professors, Researchers, and Social Workers — Less involved with direct care but try to understand the problem through studies and research so they can provide solutions to drug-abuse problems.