
AsianScientist (Sep. 8, 2017) – When we suffer from coughs, colds and other physical ailments, the first person we think of consulting is the doctor. Medicine is a noble profession, and doctors are often viewed as the giants of the healthcare industry. It is unsurprising, then, that many youths aspire to obtain a medical degree and become general practitioners or specialists.
Yet, just as a movie requires a supporting cast to succeed, there are other players in the healthcare industry that uphold its value and promote patient wellness. Here are nine healthcare professions that are just as important to keep us healthy and happy.
- Nurses
- Medical researchers
- Pharmacists
- Nutritionists
- Therapists
- Psychologists
- Optometrists
- Dentists
- Radiographers
Besides doctors, the healthcare providers that we are most familiar with are probably the nurses. From recovery wards to surgical tables, nurses play critical roles in supporting patient care. They are the ‘ground troops’ administering treatments to patients and monitoring their health conditions, also providing timely updates to patients’ families about how the patient is doing. Their ability to adapt to changes and interact with empathy makes them essential to safeguarding the health of patients.
Every common medical practice or revolutionary medical breakthrough was founded on many years of prior research. Medical researchers are responsible for studying samples from patients and relating the results to health status. From such analyses, researchers learn more about medical conditions, which could lead to new discoveries, more accurate diagnosis and better treatments. Medical research teams usually consist of scientists who lead the investigation and clinical research coordinators who liaise with patients and manage their information.
Today’s healthcare landscape is largely built upon advances in modern medication. Given the numerous types of drugs currently available, pharmacists are indispensable to the healthcare system. Besides fulfilling the doctor’s prescriptions, they can make recommendations about the types of medication, dosage amounts and timings to suit the needs of individual patients. Pharmacists must be well versed in the latest pharmaceutical developments and competent in how drugs are administered and the way they act on the body.
The common saying goes, ‘you are what you eat’. Hence, nutritionists are in charge of ensuring good health through food consumption and diets. They assess and monitor the nutritional status of their patients, providing nutritional guidelines in tune with the latest dietary research. Besides working in hospitals to ensure that patients receive healthy meals, nutritionists also work in the cafeterias of schools and nursing homes to provide optimal diets to the young and old.
In addition to food and medicine, therapy is a crucial complement to improving health. It involves many aspects and employs diverse methods to assist in rehabilitation or recovery of bodily functions. Thus, there are several specializations of therapists who enable healing in various ways. Physiotherapists help to restore limb motion in patients, while speech therapists may help children with speech disorders develop their ability to communicate. Patients recovering from stroke may even need the help of both physiotherapists and speech therapists to regain mobility and the ability to swallow food.
Apart from physical wellbeing, mental wellbeing is another key component of health. The mental state has subtle but prominent effects on one’s body condition. Psychologists focus on the mind, emotions and behaviors of patients. By talking and listening to those under their care, psychologists make assessments of mental health and diagnose psychiatric disorders. Working closely with therapists and doctors, psychologists help individuals improve their mental wellbeing.
The work of optometrists is seldom viewed as a healthcare job, but in fact, they do much more than just point at random numbers and alphabets on a chart to provide you with a spectacle prescription. Beyond performing vision tests and recommending measures to enable clear vision, optometrists can identify health issues based on observable abnormalities in the eye. Diabetes is an increasingly prevalent disease, and while blood glucose measurements are the gold standard of diagnosis, signs of diabetes can be recognized from studying the condition of the eye.
An often-neglected aspect of health is dental health. To fill this gap, dentists provide a unique and highly technical service to make sure that our teeth and oral hygiene is taken care of. Whether fixing cavities or extracting a wisdom tooth, dentists must be dexterous and skilful in the precise procedures they perform to maintain our pearly whites in a pristine state. Although clean and straight teeth are often perceived as purely cosmetic or aesthetic bonuses, poor dental health could lead to more serious problems such as gingivitis and oral abscesses.
Medical imaging techniques such as X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging and sonography are frequently used as diagnostic tools. They are often non-invasive, or designed not to affect the patient’s health, and represent some of the most technologically advanced methods to look inside the human body. Therefore, radiographers are key operators of these complex medical imaging machines. They help obtain images and scans with high quality and clarity so that doctors can make accurate decisions about treatment and surgical options for patients.
As populations age and diseases evolve, a strong and diverse team of healthcare experts is essential to cope with increasing medical demands. This list is just the tip of the iceberg of the many crucial roles available in the healthcare sector. Perhaps, in considering a career that saves lives, one can look beyond the medical degree and find meaningful work in other positions that are no less important.
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Copyright: Asian Scientist Magazine; Photo: Shutterstock.
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