Health Careers

1. Health Careers Health Team Relations 2nd & 4th Blocks Instructor: Melissa Lewis

2. Types of Education: • 1. Secondary: High school courses • 2. Health Occupations Education (HOE): Courses offered in high school. It prepares one for immediate employment in many HC or for additional education after graduation. • 3. Post-secondary education: Courses taken after high school (career-technical school, community college, or university)

3. Types of Education cont: • 4. Associate’s degree: Degree awarded by technical school or community college after 2 years of study. • 5. Bachelor’s degree: Degree awarded by college/university after 4 or more years of study • 6. Master’s degree: Degree awarded by college/university after 1 or more years of study beyond a bachelor’s degree. • 7. Doctorate degree: Degree awarded by college/university after 2 or more years of study beyond a bachelor’s/master’s degree.

4. Certification, Registration, & Licensure: • These methods ensure the skill and competency of HC personnel and to protect the consumer (patient). • 1. Certification: Person has fulfilled requirements of education and performance and meets the standards and qualifications est. by the professional association or gov’t agency that regulates a particular career. Examples: Dental assistant, certified lab tech, certified medical assistant.

5. Certification, Registration, & Licensure cont: • 2. Registration: Granted by regulatory body ( association or state board) that administers exams and maintains a current list of qualified personnel. Examples: Registered dietician, Registered respiratory therapist, & registered radiologic technologist

6. Certification, Registration, & Licensure cont: • 3. Licensure: Gov’t agency authorizes someone to work in a given occupation. Usually this person has completed their studies, passed state board test, and maintains certain standards. Examples: Registered nurse, Physician, Dentist, LPN

7. Accreditation: • One must graduate from an accredited program before they can get their certification, registration, or licensure • This ensures that the program meets established standards • Make sure that the school you want to attend is accredited before you enroll

8. Continuing Education Units (CEU’s): • Required to renew licenses or maintain certification or registration in many states • A person must obtain additional hours of education in specific HC career during a specific time period • Ex. RN’s must obtain 24 to 48 CEU’s every one to two years to renew their licenses

9. Training: • 1. Professional: Usually requires 4 or more years of college and an advanced degree (ex. Medical doctor, dentist) • 2. Technologist or therapist: Requires 3-4 years of college plus work experience, usually a bachelor’s degree (ex. Physical therapist, speech therapist, medical lab technologist

10. Training: • 3. Technician: Usually requires 2 year associate degree, special HOE, or 3-4 years OJT (ex. Dental lab tech, medical lab tech, surgical tech) • 4. Assistant or aide: Usually requires up to one or more years of training that combines classroom and/or OJT experience (ex. Dental, medical, or nurse assistants

11. Multi-competent/Multi-skilled Worker: • New trend in HC • Workers perform in a variety of occupations • Ex. Hiring an EKG tech that could also perform EEG’s • This is cost-efficient

12. Entrepreneur: • Individual who owns their own business • Examples in the HC field would be Physician, Nurse practitioner, Chiropractor, Dentist, Optometrist, etc.

13. Health Care Careers There are over 200 health careers to choose from.

14. Dental Careers: • 1. Dentists: • They are doctors • They examine teeth and mouth tissues • Diagnose & treat disease • Perform surgeries on teeth, gums, & tissues • Work to prevent disease • Supervise work of other dental workers • Most are entrepreneurs

15. Dental Careers: • 2. Dental Hygienists: • Work under the supervision of a dentist • Perform preliminary exams of teeth & mouth • **Remove deposits & stains from teeth** • Take x-rays

16. Dental Careers: • 3. Dental laboratory technician (DLT’s) • Make & repair dental prostheses (artificial devices) such as dentures, crowns, bridges, & orthodontic devices • Work under dentist • Some are entrepreneurs

17. Dental Careers: • 4. Dental assistants (DA’s): • Work under dentist • Prepare patients for examination • Pass instruments • Sterilize instruments

18. Diagnostic Services: • Basic job duties: • Perform tests or evaluations • They find out what the problem is • Diagnose the problem

19. Skill: Height and Weight • Greet and identify the patient • State your name and title • Explain procedure • Wash hands • Balance scale *** • Raise height bar • Patient to remove shoes and extra clothing

20. Skill: Height and Weight • Move weights until scale is balanced • Record weight in pounds • Lower height bar until rests on patients head • Record height in inches • Help patient down from scale • Return weights on scale to zero (left side) • Wash hands • Record in chart/growth chart

21. Electrocardiograph technician (EKG tech): • Operate EKG machine which records the electrical activity of the heart • Perform stress tests • Apply Holter Monitors (EKG’s that last for 24-48 hours) • Assist with thalium scans

22. Cardiovascular Technologists: • Assist with cardiac catheterizations & angioplasty • Monitor patients during heart surgery • Perform tests to check circulation in blood vessels • Echocardiographers use ultrasound to diagnose heart conditions

23. Electroencephalographic Technologists (EEG’s): • Operate the EEG machine which records the electrical activity in the brain • EEG’s diagnose brain tumors, strokes, epilepsy (seizures), sleep disorders

24. Medical/clinical Laboratory Technologist: • Work under a pathologist (doctor) • Determine presence or cause of disease by studying tissues, fluids, & cells of human body • Perform tests • Specialties include: biochemist, hematologist, histology, microbiology

25. Medical/Clinical Laboratory Technician: • Work under pathologist or medical/clinical lab technologist • Perform routine tests on tissues, fluids, & cells

26. Medical/clinical Laboratory Assistants: • Work under medical technologist, technician, or pathologist • Perform basic lab tests • Prepare specimens for testing • Clean & maintain equipment

27. Skill: Measuring & Recording Apical Pulse • Wash hands • Clean earpieces on stethoscope with alcohol swabs • Put earpieces in ears • Warm diaphragm with hands • Locate apex of heart (under left breast and over light clothing • Listen for heart sounds

28. Skill: Measuring & Recording Apical Pulse • Count heart beats for one full minute. Note any abnormal sounds, rate, or rhythm • Record number of beats on notepad • Wash hands

29. Phlebotomist: • **Draw blood** • Collect blood and prepare it for testing

30. Radiologic Technologists (RT’s): • Work under radiologist (doctor) • Work with x-rays, radiation, nuclear medicine, ultrasound, MRI’s • 1. Radiographers: take x-rays • 2. Radiation therapists: administer radiation for cancer • 3. Nuclear medicine technologists: Prepare radioactive substances to administer to patients (ex. Bone scans, thyroid scans, thalium scans)

31. Radiologic Technologists (RT’s) cont: • 4. Ultrasound technologists or sonographer: Use equipment to send sound waves into body to record images (ex. Fetal u/s) • 5. Computer tomography technologists: Use CT or CAT scanner to obtain cross-sectional images of body tissues, bones, and organs to help locate tumors

32. Radiologic Technologists (RT’s) cont: • 6. Magnetic resonance (MRI) technologists: use magnets & radio waves to reveal info on organs inside body (used to identify MS & strokes) • 7. Positron emission tomography (PET) technologist: They inject radioactive substances into patient and operate the PET scanner (it uses electrons to create 3-dimensional image of body parts)

33. Epidemiologists: • Identify and track diseases as they occur in populations*** • Determine risk factors that make a disease more likely to occur • Develop methods to prevent or control spread of new diseases • Evaluate statistics related to diseases

34. Biomedical Engineers: • Work with different machines used to diagnose, treat, and monitor patients • Develop artificial organs, heart valves, hip replacements • Design computer systems • Design and produce monitors, machines, instruments, lasers, medical equipment

35. Biological/Medical Scientists: • Study living organisms such viruses, bacteria, etc • Assist in the development of vaccines, medicines, treatments

36. Emergency Medical Services: • 1. Basic job duties: • Provide emergency, pre-hospital care • Provide care to victims of accidents, injuries, and sudden illnesses • Places of employment: fire/police departments, rescue squads, ambulance services, etc.

37. First Responder: • First person to arrive at the scene of injury or illness • Interview and examine the victim • Calls for emergency medical assistance prn (as needed) • Maintains safety & infection control at scene • Provides basic emergency medical care (ex. Airway management, bleeding control, CPR)

38. Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT): • Level one - EMT basic • EMT defibrillator • Level two - EMT intermediate • Level three – EMT paramedic (most advanced)

39. EMT Basic: • Provide basic care • Keep scene safe & practice infection control • Administer initial treatment for medical emergencies (shock, burns, wounds, bleeding, etc) • Clear airway obstructions & administer oxygen • Provide basic life support • Assist with emergency births • Rescue trapped people • Transport victims to medical facilities

40. EMT-Intermediate: • They can do everything an EMT-B can do • Assess patients • Interpret EKG’s • Administer defibrillation prn • Manage shock • Use IV equipment • Administer certain medications • Insert esophageal airways

41. EMT-Paramedics: • Can perform all duties of EMT-B and EMT-I • Conduct in-depth patient assessment • Provide advanced cardiac life support • Perform advanced airway management (endotrachial intubation) • Administer more advanced medications • Operate more complex equipment

42. Skill: Bleeding • Practice standard precautions (wear gloves) • Apply direct pressure to wound with thick dressing or sterile gauze • Elevate wound above level of heart • Apply extra dressings over initial gauze • Use roller bandage to hold in place • Tie off ends of bandage by placing ties directly over dressings • Make sure dressing not too tight by checking distal pulse or capillary refill

43. Health Information & Communication Services: Job duties: Maintain complete accurate patient records, distribute health information, & use computers

44. Health Information (medical records) Administrators: • Operate & use variety of computer programs • Ensure confidentiality of patient records • Manage medical records department • Compile statistics • Plan systems for storing & obtaining information from records

45. Medical Transcriptionist: • Use a computer to enter data dictated on an audiotape recorder by physicians or other HC personnel

46. Unit Secretary: • Record information on patient charts • Schedule procedures • Order supplies • Answer telephones • Operate computers

47. Medical Illustrator: • Use artistic and creative talents to produce illustrations, charts, graphs, & diagrams for health textbooks, journals, magazines, etc. • Related field - Medical photographer: Takes photos or videos procedures, conditions, accidents, etc.

48. Medical Librarian: • Organize books, journals, to provide health information to other HC providers

49. Hospital/HC Facility Services: • Duties: These workers operate support departments of HC facilities • Includes: Administration, business office, admitting office, central/sterile supply, & housekeeping

50. HC Administrators: • Plan, direct, coordinate & supervise the delivery of HC • Hire personnel • Supervise department heads • Determine budget & finance • Perform PR duties • Manage operation of the facility