What does your medical degree mean to you, whether you have it or not? For most people, getting a medical degree means becoming a doctor, right? Well, you might have your PhD, but there’s so much more to it than that.
Read on to learn more.
Clinical Practice and Beyond
Normally, studying medicine would make you think you HAVE to pursue a career as a doctor who cures patients in hospitals, clinics, or private practices. That’s not true – you’ll realize as soon as you start your degree. Medical graduates may concentrate on areas of high demand, like geriatrics, palliative care, or pain management, that deal with pressing matters within the healthcare system. There’s also an opportunity for physicians to specialize in highly specific fields such as genetic counseling, addiction medicine, and other similar branches whose significance has been enhanced by modern health trends. The world will literally be your oyster.
The Flexibility of Locum Tenens and Staffing Agencies
Doctors who like flexibility often find working with staffing agencies or becoming locum tenens – and we’re sure most medical staff would like more freedom with shifts. Such assignments allow healthcare workers to have temporary jobs at different places and manage their work schedules and locations independently – one example is applying to work for mascmedical.com. You have to ask yourself this – would you prefer to work your own hours and earn more money or have strict shift patterns?
Health Administration
Medical degrees offer great value in health administration – but it isn’t always the route people go for.
Hospital administration, policy development, and healthcare consulting jobs use the knowledge of doctors from a clinical perspective to cause systemic change. Do you have a hospital policy you know you want to change? You could if you go into health administration.
Many doctors with a business interest in healthcare will seek additional qualifications, such as an MBA, to strengthen their administrative skills and be seen as leaders capable of bridging the gap between practice and management. These roles enable doctors to impact health care at the macro level.
Innovation in Medical Research and Education
Doctors who are driven by innovation to choose careers in research or academia. Research and academia aren’t the easiest paths, but it’s rewarding and well-paid.
While medical researchers contribute towards understanding diseases better and producing new treatments, they also teach future medical practitioners. Being part of a landmark study or becoming a professor at a medical school gives physicians the chance to change the future of medicine.
Do you think you could change and shape the future of medicine through direct patient impact and by influencing medical education programs and policies? These roles are often characterized by multidisciplinary teams involving experts from various fields tackling complex health problems, resulting in comprehensive approaches and breakthroughs in the health science and education sectors.
A medical degree offers an impressive number of pathways in a wide range of areas – don’t think you have to be a doctor or nurse condemned to working long shifts or irregular shift patterns. There’s so much you can do with your medical degree – and don’t forget about the new trend of travel nursing. They get paid so much to work around the world.