Healthcare Occupations Notes

Healthcare Occupations

Athletic Trainers

  • Specialize in preventing, diagnosing, and treating muscle, bone injuries, and illnesses.
  • Work in:
    • Educational settings (colleges, universities, elementary, and secondary schools).
    • Hospitals.
    • Fitness centers.
    • Physicians’ offices.
    • Military.
    • Law enforcement.
    • Professional sports teams.

Audiologists

  • Diagnose, manage, and treat patient's hearing, balance, or ear problems.
  • Work in:
    • Healthcare facilities (physicians’ offices, audiology clinics, and hospitals).
    • Schools or school districts, traveling between facilities.
    • Health and personal care stores.

Chiropractors

  • Treat patients with health problems of the neuromusculoskeletal system (nerves, bones, muscles, ligaments, and tendons).
  • Use spinal adjustments and manipulation, along with other clinical interventions, to manage health concerns, such as back and neck pain.
  • Most work in solo or group chiropractic practices, many are self-employed.

Dentists

  • Diagnose and treat problems with patients' teeth, gums, and related mouth parts.
  • Provide advice and instruction on teeth/gum care and diet choices affecting oral health.
  • Must be licensed in the state they work in.
  • Licensure requirements vary by state but usually require graduation from an accredited dental program and passing written and clinical exams.

Diagnostic Medical Sonographers, Cardiovascular Technologists, Vascular Technologists

  • Operate special imaging equipment to create images or conduct tests.
  • Images and test results help physicians assess and diagnose medical conditions.
  • Most work full time.
  • Most diagnostic imaging workers were employed in hospitals in 2016, while most of the rest worked in physicians’ offices or medical and diagnostic laboratories.

Dietitians and Nutritionists

  • Experts in using food and nutrition to promote health and manage disease.
  • Advise people on what to eat to lead a healthy lifestyle or achieve specific health-related goals.
  • Work in various settings, including:
    • Hospitals.
    • Nursing homes.
    • Clinics.
    • Cafeterias.
    • State and local governments.

Massage Therapists

  • Treat clients using touch to manipulate muscles and other soft tissues.
  • Relieve pain, help heal injuries, improve circulation, relieve stress, increase relaxation, and aid general wellness.
  • Work in settings such as:
    • Spas.
    • Franchised clinics.
    • Physicians’ offices.
    • Hotels.
    • Fitness centers.
  • Some travel to clients’ homes or offices.

Medical Assistants

  • Complete administrative and clinical tasks in physicians’ offices, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities.
  • Duties vary with location, specialty, and practice size.
  • Work in:
    • Physicians’ offices.
    • Hospitals.
    • Outpatient clinics.
    • Other healthcare facilities.

Nuclear Medicine Technologists

  • Prepare radioactive drugs and administer them to patients for imaging or treatment.
  • Provide technical support to physicians or others involved in patient care and researchers investigating uses of radioactive drugs.
  • May act as emergency responders in a nuclear disaster.

Nurse Anesthetists, Nurse Midwives, Nurse Practitioners

  • Also referred to as advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs).
  • Coordinate patient care and may provide primary and specialty healthcare.
  • Scope of practice varies by state.
  • Work in various healthcare settings, including hospitals, physicians' offices, and clinics.
  • Most APRNs work full time.
Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs)
  • Provide anesthesia and related care before, during, and after surgical, therapeutic, diagnostic, and obstetrical procedures.
  • Provide pain management and some emergency services.
  • Discuss patient medications, allergies, and illnesses before procedures to safely administer anesthesia.
  • Administer general, regional, or local anesthesia.
  • Monitor vital signs and adjust anesthesia as needed during procedures.
Nurse Midwives (CNMs)
  • Provide care to women, including gynecological exams, family planning services, and prenatal care.
  • Deliver babies, manage emergency situations during labor, repair lacerations, and may assist physicians during cesarean births.
  • May act as primary care providers for women and newborns.
  • Provide wellness care, educating patients on nutrition and disease prevention.
  • Provide care to patients’ partners for sexual or reproductive health issues.
Nurse Practitioners (NPs)
  • Serve as primary and specialty care providers, delivering advanced nursing services to patients and their families.
  • Assess patients and determine the best way to improve or manage health.
  • Discuss integrating health promotion strategies into patients’ lives.
  • Typically care for a specific population (e.g., adult and geriatric health, pediatric health, or psychiatric and mental health).

Occupational Therapists

  • Treat injured, ill, or disabled patients through therapeutic use of everyday activities.
  • Help patients develop, recover, improve, and maintain skills needed for daily living and working.
  • About half work in offices of occupational therapy or in hospitals.
  • Others work in schools, nursing homes, and home health services.
  • Therapists may spend a lot of time on their feet while working with patients.

Occupational Therapy Assistants

  • Help patients develop, recover, improve, and maintain skills needed for daily living and working.
  • Assistants are directly involved in providing therapy; aides typically perform support activities.
  • Assistants work under the direction of occupational therapists.
  • Primarily work in occupational therapists’ offices, hospitals, and nursing care facilities.
  • Spend much time on their feet while setting up equipment and providing therapy.

Optometrists

  • Examine the eyes and other parts of the visual system.
  • Diagnose and treat visual problems and manage diseases, injuries, and other disorders of the eyes.
  • Prescribe eyeglasses or contact lenses as needed.
  • Most work in stand-alone offices of optometry.
  • May also work in doctors’ offices and optical goods stores, some are self-employed.
  • Most work full time; some work evenings and weekends to accommodate patients.

Orthotists and Prosthetists

  • Design and fabricate medical supportive devices and measure and fit patients for them.
  • Devices include artificial limbs (arms, hands, legs, and feet), braces, and other medical or surgical devices.
  • Work in various industries, including manufacturing, health and personal care stores, doctors’ offices, and hospitals.
  • Most work full time.

Physical Therapists

  • Help injured or ill people improve their movement and manage their pain.
  • Important in rehabilitation, treatment, and prevention of patients with chronic conditions, illnesses, or injuries.
  • Work in private offices and clinics, hospitals, patients’ homes, and nursing homes.
  • Spend much time on their feet, actively working with patients.

Physical Therapy Assistants

  • Work under the direction and supervision of physical therapists.
  • Help patients recovering from injuries and illnesses regain movement and manage pain.
  • Most work in physical therapists’ offices or hospitals.
  • Frequently on their feet and moving as they set up equipment and help care for patients.

Physician Assistants

  • Practice medicine on teams with physicians, surgeons, and other healthcare workers.
  • Examine, diagnose, and treat patients.
  • Work in physicians’ offices, hospitals, outpatient clinics, and other healthcare settings.
  • Most work full time.

Physicians and Surgeons

  • Diagnose and treat injuries or illnesses.
  • Examine patients, take medical histories, prescribe medications, and order, perform, and interpret diagnostic tests.
  • Counsel patients on diet, hygiene, and preventive healthcare.
  • Surgeons operate on patients to treat injuries, diseases, and deformities.
Education and Training
  • Demanding education and training requirements.
  • Typically need a bachelor’s degree.
  • A degree from a medical school, which takes 4 years to complete, and, depending on their specialty, 3 to 7 years in internship and residency programs.
Specialties
  • Anesthesiologists:
    • Focus on the care of surgical patients and pain relief.
    • Administer anesthetics to reduce or eliminate pain during procedures.
    • Monitor vital signs during surgery.
    • Provide pain relief in intensive care units, labor and delivery, and for chronic pain.
    • Work with other physicians and surgeons to decide on treatments and procedures.
  • Family and General Physicians:
    • Assess and treat a range of conditions that occur in everyday life.
    • Typically have regular, long-term patients.
  • General Internists:
    • Diagnose and provide nonsurgical treatment for internal organ systems.
    • Use diagnostic techniques to treat patients through medication or hospitalization.
    • Work mostly with adult patients.
  • General Pediatricians:
    • Provide care for infants, children, teenagers, and young adults.
    • Specialize in diagnosing and treating problems specific to younger people.
    • Treat common illnesses, minor injuries, and infectious diseases, and administer vaccinations.
    • Some specialize in pediatric surgery or serious medical conditions.
  • Obstetricians and Gynecologists (OB/GYNs):
    • Provide care related to pregnancy, childbirth, and the female reproductive system.
    • Treat and counsel women throughout pregnancy and deliver babies.
    • Diagnose and treat health issues specific to women.
  • Psychiatrists:
    • Primary mental health physicians.
    • Diagnose and treat mental illnesses through counseling (psychotherapy), psychoanalysis, hospitalization, and medication.
    • Psychotherapy: regular discussions to find solutions through changes in behavior, explorations of past experiences, or group and family therapy.
    • Psychoanalysis: long-term psychotherapy and counseling.
    • Prescribe medications to correct chemical imbalances.
  • Surgeons:
    • Treat injuries, diseases, and deformities through operations.
    • Correct physical deformities, repair bone and tissue after injuries, or perform preventive or elective surgeries.
    • Specialize in areas such as orthopedic surgery, neurological surgery, cardiovascular surgery, and plastic or reconstructive surgery.
    • Examine patients, perform and interpret diagnostic tests, and counsel patients on preventive healthcare.
  • Other Specialist Physicians:
    • Allergists (allergies).
    • Cardiologists (heart).
    • Dermatologists (skin).
    • Gastroenterologists (digestive system).
    • Ophthalmologists (eye).
    • Pathologists (study body tissue).
    • Radiologists (interpret x-rays and deliver radiation treatments).

Radiation Therapists

  • Treat cancer and other diseases by administering radiation treatments.
  • Operate machines like linear accelerators to deliver concentrated radiation to tumors.
  • Radiation shrinks or removes cancers and tumors.

Radiologic and MRI Technologists

  • Radiologic technologists (radiographers) perform x-rays and other diagnostic imaging.
  • MRI technologists operate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners.
  • Radiologic technologists are trained in different types of medical diagnostic equipment and may specialize (e.g., x-ray, mammography, CT imaging).
  • MRI technologists specialize in MRI scanners and inject patients with contrast media.
  • Scanners use magnetic fields in combination with contrast agent to produce images for diagnosis.

Registered Nurses

  • Provide and coordinate patient care, educate patients and the public about health conditions, and provide advice and emotional support.
  • Work in hospitals, physicians’ offices, home healthcare services, and nursing care facilities.
  • Others work in outpatient clinics and schools, or serve in the military.

Respiratory Therapists

  • Care for patients with breathing problems (e.g., asthma, emphysema).
  • Patients range from premature infants to elderly patients with diseased lungs.
  • Provide emergency care to patients suffering from heart attacks, drowning, or shock.
  • Most work full time, including evening, night, or weekend hours in medical facilities.

Surgical Technologists

  • Assist with operations; also called operating room technicians.
  • Prepare operating rooms, arrange equipment, and help doctors during surgeries.