Preparing the Next Generation
of Global Leaders

Medical and Healthcare Professionals

Posted on November 07, 2019

Medicine and healthcare are fields that continue to grow and offer many opportunities. Those who work in this field can come from a variety of educational backgrounds, such as science, business, or technology. In this career path, you’ll have the opportunity to either directly or indirectly help others. If you decide to become a healthcare practitioner, such as a doctor, therapist, or nurse, you need to have patience and compassion for others. Read on to find out more about some exciting opportunities in this field.

Nutrition

There are many career options in nutrition. You might work for a food and health related company, the government, a healthcare organization, or a nonprofit. You could pursue a variety of careers, such as counseling, marketing, public education, product development and research. If you decide to go into health education, you’ll teach people how they can eat healthier, and if you become a dietician, you might manage the food service department at a hospital or school.

In order to pursue a career in nutrition, you may need a bachelor’s degree in a related field, a license, and/or certification. In addition, you should have good communication skills, since you may be teaching the public or working closely with doctors.

Some of the skills you may gain from participating in an international program that can help you in a career in the field of nutrition include:

  • Cultural sensitivity and awareness. Some people have dietary restrictions based on their culture or religion, and you’ll want to keep this in mind as you advise them about good nutrition.
  • Cross-cultural communication. You’ll be working with people from diverse backgrounds and will need to communicate with them effectively.

Pharmaceuticals

Work in pharmaceutical companies can be broadly broken down into research, quality assurance, and sales positions. If you go into research, you will help discover, develop, and test medicines. Careers in quality assurance are concerned with the manufacturing of these medicines. There are also business-oriented careers in this field, such as finance and human resources. While most of the large pharmaceutical companies are based in the U.S., there are also some in Western Europe and in Asia.

In this field, it is helpful to have a scientific and/or a business background. If you choose a career in research, you should have patience because it usually takes a long time for a drug to be developed and then approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Also, keep in mind that a master’s, PhD, or MD degree may be helpful or even required for some advanced positions.

Some of the skills you may gain from participating in an international program that can help you in this field include:

  • Cross-cultural communication. You’ll probably be working with colleagues and/or patients from a variety of backgrounds, and will need to get your point across clearly.
  • Knowledge of a foreign language. If you plan to work abroad, fluency in more than one language can be useful.

Optometry

Like jobs in other medical fields, a career in optometry is rewarding because you get to help people. Optometrists provide vision care to their patients. To prepare for this field as an undergraduate, you should take courses in biology, chemistry, and physics. You may also need to take biochemistry, mathematics, microbiology, organic chemistry, psychology and/or statistics. To become a Doctor of Optometry, you have to complete a four year accredited degree program at a school or college of optometry, and then you must become licensed. Another career in this field is becoming an ophthalmologist, a physician who diagnoses and treats eye disease. Unlike an optometrist, an ophthalmologist can operate on the eye.

If you would like to become an optometrist, you must be able to work with patients tactfully. You should also be detail oriented and have manual dexterity to make adjustments on glasses. In addition, business skills are important, especially if you plan to have your own practice.

Some of the skills you may gain from participating in an international program that can help you in a career in this field:

  • Effective communication among diverse groups. You’ll have to explain information related to the eye to lots of different patients from diverse backgrounds.
  • Understanding of diverse cultures. Your knowledge of other cultures can help you relate to your patients.

Public Health

Public health is concerned with the prevention and control of disease. This field has improved the quality of life for people worldwide, for instance, life expectancy is longer and there are fewer communicable diseases. This field helps promote the health of groups of people, which could be people in a particular region, a certain age group, or even populations around the world. There are many different focuses your career in public health could take. A few examples include environmental health, health education, and international/global health. Your work might involve research or working with the public.

In this field, you need to have good communication skills and work well with people. Depending on your position, you may need an advanced degree, such as a masters in public health. Nevertheless, people come into this field from a variety of backgrounds, including business, biology, law, medicine, nursing, and social work.

Some of the skills you may gain from participating in an international program that can help you in a career in this field include:

  • Knowledge of a foreign language. Some public health issues are linked to certain minority groups, so knowledge of a foreign language is useful to help get your message out. In addition, there is work in public health performed abroad.
  • Ability to look at a project or situation from different perspectives. In this field, it helps to look at issues at different angles so that you can come up with the best solutions possible in order to prevent the spread of a disease and educate the public.

Doctors

There are many kinds of doctors, or physicians. You could become a family and general practitioner, or a specialist, such as an anesthesiologist, cardiologist, obstetrician and gynecologist, pediatrician, or surgeon. As a doctor, you will examine patients, perform and interpret tests, diagnose illnesses, prescribe treatment, and more. You might also educate your patients on things like hygiene, diet, and preventive measures. You could work in a private clinic, in a group practice, or at a hospital.

As a doctor, you must be willing to serve your patients. You should be emotionally stable, must work well under pressure and need to be able to make decisions in emergency situations. Furthermore, you should have good communication skills, since you will be working with many people, including patients, nurses, and administrative staff. Becoming a doctor takes hard work and dedication, because this career requires many years of schooling and the field is competitive.

Some of the skills you may gain from participating in an international program that can help you in a career in this field include:

  • Knowledge of a foreign language. Your knowledge of a foreign language can be useful to help you communicate with patients who speak that language.
  • Understanding of diverse cultures. Your understanding of different cultures can help you communicate effectively with your patients.

Nurses

As a nurse, you will likely help care for ill, injured, and/or disabled people. You can specialize in a certain work setting, a particular health condition, certain organs, or a specific population. Possible workplaces include hospitals, clinics, schools or universities, nursing care facilities, and public health agencies. You might give patients their medications, perform tests, analyze results, and/or educate them. However, not all nursing jobs require that you care directly for patients; in these positions, you might develop educational materials, manage information, supervise nursing staff, or do consulting work. There may be national and/or state exams you must pass in order to become a nurse. Furthermore, if you want to work in a higher position, you may need an advanced degree.

In order to do well in this field, you should have a good understanding of biology and physiology. You must also be able to work with medical equipment. In addition, you should be detail-oriented and responsible. You must have good oral and written communication skills. Moreover, you must be in good health, not only because you will be working with ill people, but also because there is a certain degree of physical activity involved in nursing jobs. As a nurse, you should be compassionate. Remember, this job may be emotionally demanding, but it can be also very rewarding.

Some of the skills you may gain from participating in an international program that can help you in a career in this field include:

  • Effective communication among diverse groups. You need to be able to communicate clearly and tactfully to your patients, who may come from a variety of cultural backgrounds.
  • Knowledge of a foreign language. Your knowledge of a foreign language can be useful to help you communicate with patients who speak that language.

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