Years ago, when choosing a profession in the medical field, most people would start their career development by heading down one of a few different educational paths. However, as the medicine and healthcare industries have continued to evolve, there are now many different career paths to follow, each of them leading to several different rewarding healthcare professions.

Today, having a passion for the healthcare industry doesn’t limit you to working in a hospital or medical center. With so many advancements in healthcare technology, there is an equal need for business analysts and IT professionals to help manage them. But whether you have a love of working with patients or prefer crunching numbers behind a computer, their applicable leadership roles in healthcare that you can pursue.

Below we’ll look at a few different “career possibilities in medicine and healthcare ” and what they consist of.

Nurse Educator

For individuals who are passionate about nursing and have the right personality when working with others, there is no better way to advance your career than by teaching others to develop that same passion. Much like the job title sounds, a nurse educator spends their time teaching aspiring nurses about patient care. This can be a very rewarding and fulfilling role to take, especially if you have a lot of experience working as a nurse.

A nurse educator’s primary responsibilities can vary depending on the facility you’re hired to work. Depending on the circumstances, you could be planning and teaching curriculum for undergraduates, overseeing medical students working in labs, or giving lectures at medical schools. To be eligible as a nurse educator, you first need to have an active registered nursing license as well as a master’s or doctoral degree in the field.

Clinical Applications Analyst

Having a love for technology doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work in the medical field. Clinical applications analysts spend most of their time evaluating various types of software systems and helping implement those systems in hospitals and healthcare organizations. In most cases, a clinical applications analyst will work directly with business owners and department heads to ensure their systems are working as they should be and troubleshooting issues in application software as they arise.

Clinical application analysts are vital in hospital settings that rely on mission-critical software to drive different aspects of patient care. A clinical application analyst will conduct needs assessments and outline workflows to ensure the organization has everything they need to operate effectively. One of the requirements to become a clinical application analyst is to have an undergraduate degree in computer or information science as well as working knowledge of business management systems.

Health Informatics Consultant

At the most basic level, a health informatics consultant helps healthcare organizations ensure they are managing their facilities in the best way possible and offer advice on how to make improvements. A consulting role in health informatics is very broad and can lead you down many specialized paths. Whether ensuring organizations are meeting regulatory compliance, anticipating future technology needs, or supporting internal staff with training, health informatics consultants can be an important asset to any healthcare organization.

Due to the broad level of experience that health informatics consultants have, beginning a career in this field requires a considerable amount of academic and professional experience. Attaining a bachelor’s degree in informatics is a standard prerequisite for organizations, and you’ll need to have specialized experience working in IT platforms and coding frameworks, as well as be fluent in healthcare terminology and practices.

IT Administrator

Just because you started a career in healthcare doesn’t mean you can’t segue into information technology. Just like in most business sectors, IT administrators are in high demand in the healthcare industry. Hospitals and other medical facilities have tremendously complex infrastructures to manage, and an IT administrator takes on this role.

IT administrators typically oversee departments of up to 50 IT staff members and implement and monitor all technical solutions for the organization. This includes the setup of computer systems, networks, phone systems, data storage solutions, and records management systems. Due to the complexity and sensitivity of building out infrastructures in a healthcare organization. IT administrators in the healthcare industry are required to have commendable experience and proficiency in multiple web scripting languages, network technologies, operating systems, and PC peripherals and software upgrades.

Choosing to pursue a leadership role in healthcare and medicine is a great decision that offers a lot of flexibility when it comes to specialization. Whether you prefer to work directly with doctors and patients or would rather be behind the scenes running analysis and developing infrastructures, there are many professional directions to choose from, each of them offering their own challenges and rewards as you continue to develop your career path.