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What are some careers in the medical field that don’t directly involve being with patients?

#medicine #medical #science

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Doc’s Answer

Abby as healthcare continually changes each day, there is a growing desire for healthcare workers that work in non-traditional roles like non-clinical healthcare jobs. For instance, healthcare is largely changing to focus on the needs of patients more and more. One sign of this is telemedicine. This means that there is a large desire for professionals who can develop the technology that can help provide care to patients in more efficient and effective ways. As with the rest of the healthcare industry, non-clinical roles and job openings are expected to rise throughout the next decade. This means that there will be plenty of opportunities to start a healthcare career without being forced to pursue a medical degree or healthcare degree. You can still pursue a healthcare job even if you have a degree that isn’t related to healthcare and instead have a degree in something else like technology, english, communications, marketing, business, and more.

MEDICAL LAB TECHNOLOGIST
A career in medical lab technology takes place largely in the laboratory, analyzing blood and tissue samples, making cultures and matching and preparing blood donations for transfusion. Medical lab technologists work in hospital laboratories, pharmaceutical firms, research facilities and other lab settings to assist doctors and surgeons in determining the presence, severity and possible causes of disease. More experienced medical lab technologists may advance in this career by conducting research, developing new methods of analysis and supervising and training clinical lab technicians. Beginning a career as a medical lab technologist requires students to first pursue a bachelor's degree in medical technology or in a life science. Coursework covers general sciences as well as laboratory-specific skills and research methods. Qualified medical lab technologists must be extremely precise and methodical in their work; they should also be adept in handling delicate laboratory equipment and sensitive materials. The BLS predicts faster-than-average growth in the medical and clinical lab technology field from 2018-2028. While technological advancements have made some laboratory procedures obsolete, they have also made new kinds of testing and analysis possible, spurring job growth among medical and clinical laboratory technologists. The average Laboratory Assistant salary in the United States is $60,000 as of August 27, 2020, but the range typically falls between $49,250 and $75,500. Salary ranges can vary widely depending on many important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills, the number of years you have spent in your profession.

CHEMICAL TECHNICIAN
For those interested in helping chemists and engineers create and improve new products, becoming a chemical technician could be a good career option. Chemical technicians run tests that analyze the composition and quality of different kinds of products and solutions. They also prepare experiments, examine processes, mix up solutions, write reports and maintain equipment used in the lab. To qualify for employment, an associate degree in chemical technology or applied science is usually necessary, and as with other technician careers, coursework in a lab environment is vital. The BLS projects employment of chemical technicians will increase by 4% between 2018 and 2028. The average Chemical Technician salary in the United States is $51,500 as of August 27, 2020, but the range typically falls between $45,000 and $59,900. Salary ranges can vary widely depending on many important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills, the number of years you have spent in your profession.

BIOLOGICAL TECHNICIAN
A biological technician mainly provides technical assistance to biologists. They're also responsible for the set up and cleaning of laboratory equipment and tools, performing tests and creating detailed reports of findings. Science technicians use ideologies related to both science and math to help in the research, development and improvement of various scientific processes. They use the knowledge from basic research and apply it, along with techniques, to their experiments. Many focus on the medical field helping to develop cures for diseases or study organic substances like food, blood, drugs. A bachelor's degree in biology or a related area of study is necessary to enter this profession, and obtaining lab experience is very important. According to reports from the BLS, biological technicians should experience job growth of 10% during the 2018-2028 decade. The average Biological Technician salary in the United States is $48,500 as of August 27, 2020, but the salary range typically falls between $42,900 and $54,500. Salary ranges can vary widely depending on many important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills, the number of years you have spent in your profession.

If you’re interested in pursuing a healthcare career but aren’t certain that you want to pursue the clinical route, holding a non-clinical healthcare job is a good way for you to determine whether or not the healthcare industry is for you. You can gain some valuable experience in the healthcare industry to see if it is the right fit and evaluate whether or not you’d like to pursue additional opportunities.

Hope this was Helpful Abby
Thank you comment icon Thank you so much for your answer, and I’ll look into those careers in the future. Abby
Thank you comment icon Your Welcome Abby. Nothing is impossible, the word itself says “I’m possible”. Doc Frick
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Kristi’s Answer

Hi Abby,

Have you thought about working in the field of insurance? Whether it is health insurance (usually covers you personally, paid for by yourself or employer) or Workers' Compensation (paid for by the employer- covers employees that are injured on the job either by illness or injury)... we deal with a health care related field and interact with either providers, the patients or injured workers, their families, and employers.

I have worked in the insurance industry for many years and love my job. The majority of my time has been with Workers' Compensation. There are positions in the claims arena which would be handling the medical billing and processing of the claims- dealing with insurance agents, employers, healthcare providers, and injured workers. My field of specialty is underwriting. My team works with insurance agents to write the insurance policies for employers.

There are also positions in marketing, sales, actuary, IT, operations, loss control/ risk management, legal, medical authorization, physician and nurse teams…

What do you want to do in addition to working in healthcare? There is probably a coordinating filed in insurance that you would be interested in!

Kristi recommends the following next steps:

Keep an open mind- insurance is very interesting and enjoyable.
Look into insurance carrier or insurance agency roles.
Thank you comment icon Thank you for your answer! I’ll definitely looking into health insurance and it sounds like something I might want to do in the future. Abby
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Candice’s Answer

When I was in college, I began my time there as pre-med, majoring in biology. Over the next few years as I started to branch out and take additional classes, my interest grew in business courses—economics, accounting, etc. Even though I completed all of the pre-med courses, I decided to veer down a different path and integrate my interest in healthcare and business. I later earned a Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration and have had a diverse challenging 20 year career in healthcare administration. While I was in college and early in my career, I didn’t realize there was so many different avenues in healthcare that didn’t involve direct patient interaction to pursue and am glad I kept an open mind.

I’ve spent the majority of my career in healthcare in health insurance, specifically in health plan operations. In the more recent years, I have worked for companies that serve as vendors or partners of health plans and my roles have focused on building or growing care management programs focused on members that have chronic and complex conditions.

The roles I’ve had in healthcare operations have tended to be diverse. No day looks the same! And, it’s rewarding to work with a great dedicated team of clinicians that help coordinate care and services for individuals leading to improved health.

Thank you comment icon Thank you for your answer! You telling me about your experiences will definitely help me choose a career and I’ll keep an open mind about what I want to do! Abby
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Victor’s Answer

There are many careers in healthcare without direct involvement in patient care. Pathologist and radiologist normally would not have direct contact with patients. Also, here are a few other examples:
1. administrative staff in hospitals including management
2. healthcare finance
3. healthcare research
4. healthcare IT
5. healthcare revenue cycle
6. healthcare analytics
7. various healthcare positions with payer organizations (insurance companies)
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Richard’s Answer

Some options include:
Radiology
Pathology
OR scrub tech
Lab tech
Administration
Thank you comment icon Thank you for your suggestions, and I’ll be sure to check those careers out! Abby
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Estelle’s Answer

Pathology
Nursing administration
Pharmacist or pharmacy tech
Nursing staff that performs quality assurance and quality review
Thank you comment icon Thanks for the suggestions, I’ll look into researching those careers! Abby
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