Which careers could be right for me?
Even once you’ve determined you want to work in healthcare, it’s important to find the right path that fits your interests, values, and strengths.
Even once you’ve determined you want to work in healthcare, it’s important to find the right path that fits your interests, values, and strengths.
Different skills are emphasized in different healthcare professions also. For instance, physicians are especially expected to synthesize a great deal of highly complex information. Dentists work with their hands, and must have extremely well-developed fine motor skills, manual dexterity, and hand-eye coordination. Physical therapists must have excellent coaching skills and superior abilities to motivate others. Other professions emphasize other skills.
Healthcare encompasses the range of services provided to support health and healing, including services aimed at the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. It is currently the largest industry in the United States. Explore the possibilities to find the best path for you. A good general resource to begin researching fields is the website explorehealthcareers.org. Health Professions & Prelaw Advising provides guides also on a variety of health professions.
Here are some questions that may help you decide if a health profession is for you:
There are many possible paths to your goal of a healthcare career. Sometimes people may believe there is only one perfect dream job for them – but the truth is that you could potentially be successful in a wide number of fields.
A parallel plan is a plan you create that you can pursue right alongside your first choice of a career. Parallel planning allows you to efficiently change paths at some point if you discover you do not like or no longer want to pursue your primary career path. Parallel planning is a way to ensure that you find a career that matches your interests, goals, and values.
Current undergraduate students can find resources for getting started, preparing for your career, suggested coursework, and how to apply to graduate programs in the health professions of their choice in our HPPLA Guidebook. You can view the different pre-health sections of the guidebook by clicking below, or if you're just starting out, visit the new students section first.