The health industry offers long term and rewarding career pathways. You might choose to work in primary care, a speciality or even become an allied health professional. But where to start? Read below for some tips if you are looking to make the switch into a healthcare career.
If you’re considering completing a university qualification, medicine and nursing require commitment and passion. Expect text books, exams and placements. If you want to become a medical specialist, this requires additional study on top of what’s required for general practitioner. Becoming a registered nurse is a more direct. It takes four years of university as the standard course in Australia, or, as an enrolled nurse you can complete your training in 18 months.
Another growing area in the health sciences is naturopathy. This is also a four year course, so expect a decent workload and you’ll become well-versed in all things natural therapies, herbal medicine and medicinal food science. Many courses will also involve clinical placement and even a thesis. Naturopathy is considered to be a holistic type of care. This means that your communication skills are ideally well developed as you will want to know a lot of details about your patients. A typical naturopathy patient history in includes questions about their lifestyle, environment, family history and even personality to make informed treatment plans. It is also possible to undergo tests, like the DOT physical exams in Sacramento CA as part of medical check-ins.
If you are not inclined to embark upon 10 years of study to become a general practitioner, a good entry level option is a personal trainer course. Melbourne, Sydney and other major capitals have a range of quality institutes and distance education is offered through some providers. A certificate IV in fitness is the minimum standard for PTs in Australia. Once you start to accumulate regular clients, you may want to join industry bodies such as Fitness Australia. These keep you in the know about the latest developments and about courses that offer professional points to update your credentials. Fitness is a fantastic field of preventative care and is increasingly in demand due to the rising rates of obesity in Australia. In-demand skills include rehabilitation and working specialist demographics like seniors or elite athletes.
After a certificate IV, you might opt to upskill and complete a diploma of sports development. This could then be a pathway for further studies in degrees such as exercise physiology, health sciences or sports management.
Another pathway for those newer to the health industry is allied health studies. Your Certificate IV level course will qualify you to assist and work alongside professionals such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists or dieticians depending on the stream you elect to specialize in. Prerequisites like general numeracy and literacy and first aid qualifications may be applicable. A career in allied health can be quite varied. You can expect to work with a variety of people, be involved in health services administration, or the provision of advice to governments on health and welfare matters.
So, head online to see what options await you in your new career in healthcare!
This is great info! My sister is thinking of going into this field, but it’s hard to know where to start!