How to Turn Your Interest in Health Into a Career

If you are interested in health and medicine, you might want to take your interest a little bit further by pursuing a career where you will be able to learn more about health and educate others about health and medicine. As such, here are some of the best steps that you should take if you want to turn your interest in health into a viable career.

• Decide Whether a Healthcare Career is Right For You 

Although you might be passionate about health, this does not mean that a career within the health industry will be right for you. As such, rather than leaping into a career in healthcare without once looking back or assessing your doubts, you should instead commit to a period of extensive research where you can find out more about what a healthcare career demands and whether this will suit your lifestyle and the direction that you see your life going in. For instance, many healthcare careers demand that you work incredibly long hours and that you are under extreme pressure, which means that they may not be a perfect career option for those that struggle with stress or that have a host of other commitments, such as family. You should also check the average salaries to ensure that you can support yourself, your family, and your lifestyle with this career for the foreseeable future. 

• Look for the Best Careers 

The first step that you need to take when you want to level up your interest in healthcare is to look at the best careers that you can get in the health industry, as well as which ones that might suit your strengths and your previous experience. Which career you choose also depends a lot on how far you want to take your immersion in the healthcare industry. For instance, you could decide to work in healthcare administration or marketing, or you might want to directly help people to improve their health. You could also consider using your extensive knowledge of health to become a researcher and to help healthcare to develop further in the future, saving more lives and increasing the quality of life of many others. 

• Take an Online Degree 

One of the best ways that you can kickstart your career within the health sector is to take an online degree. An online degree is a great option for those that are looking for a career change or who are mature students and may have commitments that prevent them from uprooting their lives to get a degree at a traditional university campus. As such, you should consider looking for online courses that can prepare you for the world of healthcare and which can teach you everything that you need to know for a specific career in a formal manner, ensuring that you understand the ins and outs of healthcare. Some of the best online degrees to take include those involving physiotherapy, public health education, and healthcare analytics. If you want to help people more directly, though, you should consider taking a nurse practitioner degree in Kentucky that will allow you to treat those in need and who have serious health issues, developing good relationships with your patients.  

• Start Your Own Health Business

If you are uncertain that any of the top healthcare careers are for you, there is always the option to start up your own health business instead. This can allow you to create a career for yourself and on your own terms, doing a job that specializes in what you find most interesting about health and healthcare. From supplying vitamin and mineral supplements to those with deficiencies to offering health tech to those who want to keep an eye on their health stats and alert a medical professional to emergencies, there are many different products and services that you could offer. These could benefit others’ lives and help you to create a business that will be successful not only now but also in the future. As such, to start up a successful health business, you should create a detailed plan and a budget, speak to others who own health businesses, and tailor your marketing toward the health industry to ensure that you are attracting the right target audience. Since the health industry is constantly changing, you should always make sure that you reflect on and update your company and the products that it offers as often as possible. 

• Consider Volunteering 

However, it can sometimes be difficult to get a flavor of what working within an industry is like until you can experience it yourself. As such, as getting experience can be difficult and as people without formal qualifications might be locked out from this, you should consider volunteering within the medical industry. For instance, you might consider offering your help to an over-stretched medical service, with many of the hospitals in the US having to deal with a nursing shortage due to an aging population of nurses. This will be able to give you a taste of what working in healthcare will be like and will ensure that you can get the experience that you need to be considered by possible employers. Not only this, but you will also be able to pick up on transferrable skills and you will get insight into how each role in healthcare works and which you might want to perform in the future, once you are fully trained. As such, you should try not to be put off by the unpaid nature of volunteering and work around your job and other commitments. 

• Look at Opportunities Abroad

However, the US is not the only place that needs healthcare professionals, and it can often be easier to find a potential job or training opportunity abroad. Many healthcare professionals travel the world to help those with health conditions or who are struggling to live healthily, and this can be a great way to get experience in healthcare and to directly help those who are most in need of your knowledge and passion. As such, you should consider looking at job websites that have been specially adapted for those that want to work abroad in roles such as that of a travel nurse, or you might consider going on a working or volunteering vacation that can allow you to explore a country while also trying out your medical expertise. You might also be able to volunteer with certain organizations that are based abroad or visit certain countries that are calling out for those with medical knowledge. This will then put you in a great position if you decide to return to the US and get a job in healthcare there. 

• Research More 

Although you might believe that you have a detailed knowledge of health that could help you to get a career in the field, this knowledge is not likely to be on the same level as a medical professional who has spent years in training and medical education. As such, to make sure that you get your knowledge up to scratch and that you can stand out from the many other resumés that will become your competition, you should make sure that you are constantly conducting research and using proper medical journals to do so, rather than social media or popular health websites. You should also consider reading academic books, ensuring these are the most modern and reliable, and follow the most recent trends and developments in medicine. You should also consider attending health industry talks to get an inside perspective on the healthcare industry and learn from the best, those who are already in the industry, about healthcare and medicine. This will then ensure that you can track what is happening in the healthcare industry and what you need to learn more about and can help you to have an in-depth knowledge of healthcare that can pave the way for your career.

• Do Not Lose Your Passion 

Many people who are passionate about health end up losing interest once they have decided to take on a job within healthcare and medicine because it becomes normal to them, and they realize they were looking at the opportunities in the industry through rose-tinted glasses. It is important that you do not lose your passion for health, though, as this is what can make you into a great health worker and can allow you to change someone else’s world in a small way. If you lack passion, you are also more likely to make mistakes that could have a serious impact on the life of another person. Instead, if you ever feel as if you are losing dedication and interest, you should try to reflect on why you wanted to get into the health industry in the first place, and you should set goals that can keep you driven and motivated to do well in your career. You might also decide to speak to superiors about how you feel, and they may be able to give you advice or share their own experiences with you, giving you a reason to continue to work within the industry.