About Health Science Service Careers
Once the exclusive domain of medical practitioners, the term "health sciences" now encompasses a wide-ranging field of professions concerned with health in general. Hundreds of occupations are classified as "health sciences," from physicians and nurses to social workers and coaches. Colleges and universities offer specific degrees in health sciences as well as many related degrees --- nursing, allied health, physical therapy, pharmacy, radiology --- that all lead to health science careers. Identifying your career path early in college can help you tailor a health sciences curriculum to meet your career goals.
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Education
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Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees are available in health sciences. A B.A. normally prepares you for an administrative or managerial career, whereas as B.S. has a more clinical approach. Some colleges may have differing names for their degree programs, such as allied health or health care studies. Obtaining a health science degree, especially if you are going to pursue a clinical or technical career, probably will require you to receive further training and certification after graduation (becoming an X-ray tech, for example, would mean more training and certification despite having a health science degree).
Primary Patient Care
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The most obvious and high-profile health science professionals are doctors and nurses. Both professions require extensive schooling and specialized training. Other health science occupations that deliver direct patient care are therapists, including physical, occupational, respiratory, recreational, art and speech therapists. Chiropractors, EMTs and paramedics also are primary-care professionals, as are home-care workers, hospice workers, dentists and dental hygienists. Mental health professionals --- psychiatrists, psychologists and therapists --- provide primary care, too.
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Secondary Patient Care
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Secondary patient-care professionals deal with patients but do not provide private primary care services. Examples include radiologic technicians, such as X-rays techs, MRI techs and CT techs. Workers who administer EKGs and EEGs would qualify, as would pharmacists, opticians and dialysis technicians. If you received a bachelor's degree in health sciences, many of these positions would be available to you upon further coursework, clinical training and certification. Of course, an undergraduate degree is not necessary for many secondary-care jobs.
Ancillary Patient Care
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Many health-care workers provide services without necessarily coming in contact with patients, such as food and nutrition professionals, dietitians, lab technicians and researchers. Many support services also fall within the health sciences umbrella, like health-care administration, medical records and health science librarians. Most jobs within these fields require at least a two-year college degree; for many, a four-year degree is necessary.
Community/Educational Services
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Non-patient-care services are provided by health science professionals. Social workers and counselors, health educators, weight-loss professionals and nutritionists, athletic trainers and coaches all provide services that contribute to the overall health of individuals and communities.
Environmental Health Services
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An environmental health sciences career involves public safety and public health issues. Many positions for such jobs are in the public sector with government agencies and academic institutions. Fields include public health policy, waste management, radiation safety, hazardous waste disposal, safety compliance, sanitation, industrial and occupational health, food safety and infectious diseases.
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- Photo Credit chemical waste image by Antonio Oquias from Fotolia.com
