| I really want a career in healthcare but im not sure which field will be best for me?I'm fascinated with medicine, diseases, and the way the human body works, so naturally I would like to work somewhere in the medical field. Only problem is that i don't know where exactly. I have time to decide still, as I am still only a junior in high school, but I'm beginning to look at colleges and planning out my future. In school, i really accel in subjects such as honors level chemistry, algebra II/trigonometry, and biology. Next year i plan to take AP chemistry, calculus AB, psychology, and possibly biology, and i will also be taking honors anatomy. With these courses, i hope to gain a better understanding of things that will help me in the medical field. But what i really want to know is what feilds of medicine combine my strengths of chemistry, math, and biology?
Asked By: yellow submarine - 1/2/2007 |
Here's two health professions that require strong skills in chemistry, math and biology:
1) Clinical laboratory science/medical technology:
Educational programs
Length. Programs are at least 1 year of professional/clinical education in conjunction with either a baccalaureate or a master’s degree.
Prerequisites. College courses and number of required credits are those necessary to ensure admission of a student who is prepared for the clinical educational program. *Content areas* should include general chemistry, general biological sciences, organic and/or biochemistry, microbiology, immunology, and mathematics. Survey courses do not qualify as fulfillment of chemistry and biological science prerequisites, and remedial mathematics courses will not satisfy the mathematics requirement.
College/university programs that integrate preprofessional and professional coursework are structured with professional courses in the junior and senior years or at the graduate level..
Curriculum. There must be a structured laboratory program, including instruction pertaining to theory and practice in hematology, clinical chemistry, microbiology, immunology, and immunohematology. The program must culminate in a baccalaureate degree for those students not already possessing the degree but may also culminate in a master’s degree.
Occupational description
Laboratory tests play an important role in the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of many diseases. Clinical laboratory scientists/medical technologists perform these tests in conjunction with pathologists (physicians who diagnose the causes and nature of disease) and other physicians or scientists who specialize in clinical chemistry, microbiology, or the other biological sciences. Clinical laboratory scientists/medical technologists develop data on the blood, tissues, and fluids of the human body by using a variety of precise methodologies and technologies.
Job description
In addition to possessing the skills of clinical laboratory technicians/medical laboratory technicians, clinical laboratory scientists/medical technologists perform complex analyses, fine-line discrimination, and error correction. They are able to recognize the interdependency of tests and have knowledge of physiological conditions affecting test results so that they can confirm these results and develop data that may be used by a physician in determining the presence, extent, and, as far as possible, cause of a disease.
Clinical laboratory scientists/medical technologists assume responsibility and are held accountable for accurate results. They establish and monitor quality assurance and quality improvement programs and design or modify procedures as necessary. Tests and procedures performed or supervised by clinical laboratory scientists/medical technologists in the clinical laboratory focus on major areas of hematology, microbiology, immunohematology, immunology, clinical chemistry, and urinalysis.
Based on a 2002 survey published in Laboratory Medicine, average entry-level salaries ranged from $33,280 to $45,760, and average manager salaries ranged from $50,690 to $62,400.
Careers/curriculum
American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science
7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 530
Bethesda, MD 20814
(301) 657-2768
(301) 657-2909 Fax
E-mail: ascls@ascls.org
2) Anesthesiologist assistant
Educational programs
Length. These postbaccalaureate programs are essentially 24 to 27 months.
Prerequisites. The programs require an undergraduate premedical background
*(premedical courses in biology, chemistry, physics, and math)* and a baccalaureate degree. Although any baccalaureate major is acceptable (if premedical requirements are met), majors typically are biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, computer science, or one of the allied health professions, such as respiratory therapy, medical technology, or nursing.
Occupational description
The anesthesiologist assistant (AA) functions as a specialty physician assistant under the direction of a licensed and qualified anesthesiologist, principally in medical centers. The AA assists the anesthesiologist in developing and implementing the anesthesia care plan. This may include collecting preoperative data, such as taking an appropriate health history; performing various preoperative tasks, such as the insertion of intravenous and arterial catheters and special catheters for central venous pressure monitoring, if necessary; performing airway management and drug administration for induction and maintenance of anesthesia; assisting in the administering and monitoring of regional and peripheral nerve blockade; administering supportive therapy, for example, with intravenous fluids and cardiovascular drugs; adjusting anesthetic levels on a minute-to-minute basis; performing intraoperative monitoring; providing recovery room care; and functioning in the intensive care unit. The AA may also be used in pain clinics or may participate in administrative and educational activities.
Employment characteristics
Anesthesiologist assistants work as members of the anesthesia care team in any locale where they may be appropriately directed by legally responsible anesthesiologists. The AAs most often work within organizations that also employ nurse anesthetists, and their responsibilities are identical. Experience to date has been that AAs are most commonly employed in larger facilities that perform procedures such as cardiac surgery, neurosurgery, transplant surgery, and trauma care, given the training in extensive patient monitoring devices and complex patients and procedures emphasized in AA educational programs.
However, AAs are used in hospitals of all sizes and assist anesthesiologists in a variety of settings and for a wide range of procedures. Starting salaries are in the $85,000 to $95,000 range for the 40-hour work week plus benefits and consideration of on-call activity.
American Academy of Anesthesiologist Assistants
PO Box 13978
Tallahassee, FL 32317
(866) 328-5858
(850) 656-3038 Fax
Certification
National Commission for Certification of Anesthesiologist Assistants
PO Box 15519
Atlanta, GA 30333-0519
(404) 687-9978 Fax
Program Accreditation
Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) in collaboration with:
Accreditation Review Committee for the Anesthesiologist Assistant
Brad Maxwell
c/o CAAHEP
1361 Park Street
Clearwater, FL 33756
(727) 210-2350
Good luck!
Answered By: edith clarke - 1/2/2007 |