Calling all Gorillas in the Medical Field...

[smokemifyagotem]

I was wondering if any of you gorillas work in any aspect of the medical field, and if so could you take a minute or two and help a fellow gorilla out?... Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated

Long story short, I am 32 years old and am looking to make a career change. I have been involved in sales in one form or another since I graduated college and I’ve finally come to recently realize it is just not for me. My heart is just not in it and I need to do something that really interests me. This being said I have always had an interest in science going back to high school, particularly biology. I am now seriously contemplating going back to school to be able to work in the medical field. Here is my dilemma – I have no idea what aspect of medicine I want to get involved in. To be more specific, I don’t even know what types of jobs exists in this field. I have done some research online and there seems to be an endless amount of medical professions to explore, but no concise descriptions of what people in these jobs do day to day.

I am not looking to be a doctor or surgeon, but rather something like some sort of technician, therapist, etc.. A few examples of fields/positions that caught my eye were Radiology, Ultrasound tech, things like this...

If you work in the medical field, would you mind posting a description of what it is you do, as well as what type of schooling is involved (how long in school, type of degree, etc…) All I am looking for are ideas at this point and getting them from real people in the profession as opposed to websites is invaluable. If you are uncomfortable posting any of your professional info on this post you can PM me as well.

Thank you so much for any info you could provide!

Smokem

[CIGARTOYZ]

Originally Posted by smokemifyagotem

I was wondering if any of you gorillas work in any aspect of the medical field, and if so could you take a minute or two and help a fellow gorilla out?... Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated

Long story short, I am 32 years old and am looking to make a career change. I have been involved in sales in one form or another since I graduated college and I’ve finally come to recently realize it is just not for me. My heart is just not in it and I need to do something that really interests me. This being said I have always had an interest in science going back to high school, particularly biology. I am now seriously contemplating going back to school to be able to work in the medical field. Here is my dilemma – I have no idea what aspect of medicine I want to get involved in. To be more specific, I don’t even know what types of jobs exists in this field. I have done some research online and there seems to be an endless amount of medical professions to explore, but no concise descriptions of what people in these jobs do day to day.

I am not looking to be a doctor or surgeon, but rather something like some sort of technician, therapist, etc.. A few examples of fields/positions that caught my eye were Radiology, Ultrasound tech, things like this...

If you work in the medical field, would you mind posting a description of what it is you do, as well as what type of schooling is involved (how long in school, type of degree, etc…) All I am looking for are ideas at this point and getting them from real people in the profession as opposed to websites is invaluable. If you are uncomfortable posting any of your professional info on this post you can PM me as well.

Thank you so much for any info you could provide!

Smokem

Hey Smoke, If you are in to saving lives you could become a firefighte/paramedic. I have been a firefighter for 8 years now and your never to old to start. School is about 2 years depending where you go i know in Florida fire academy is 3 mo and emt and paramedic school is 12mo so by 34 you should be done and have a job. Good benifits great hours and if you find a good department you can make pretty decient $$. Metro Dade Fire Rescue starts at like 60,000 a year. Did I mention the schedual. 24 hours on 48 hours off. It gives me time to have another job. www.cigartoyz.com I love my job and the guys i work with. Oh yeah we also get to save people. So I hope this helps, we all ways need people who want to make a difference

Darian

[cigar_040]

Radiology Technologist here.....

Got an Associate Degree in Applied Science (2years)

As far as a detailed description......it varies to be honest.

PM sent also

[FriendlyFire]

You can become a Social Worker/Therephist/Counselor

In a private office you can charge at least $100 cash a session


do one hour session, 7x aday 5 days aweek = 3500 a week wow

[JPH]

I have a bach in Biology and am now going for my masters in occupational therapy...only 2 semesters left....I'd be more than happy to tell you all about the field's many avenues (mental health, physical disability, pediatrics, geriatrics...many more)...pay, job availability, anything you want brother....let me know.

[FlyerFanX]

Do you have a Bachelors Degree? If so, you could get your Bachelors in Nursing in about a year - my sister just did it. Was tough but she got a job right away - three 12 hour days - not a bad gig!

[smokemifyagotem]

Originally Posted by FlyerFanX

Do you have a Bachelors Degree? If so, you could get your Bachelors in Nursing in about a year - my sister just did it. Was tough but she got a job right away - three 12 hour days - not a bad gig!

Yup, I have a bachelor degree (in Psychology of all things..) Three 12 hr days is a sweet deal.

[FriendlyFire]

Psychology , you see I guessed it righ the first time. go for it

Originally Posted by smokemifyagotem

Yup, I have a bachelor degree (in Psychology of all things..) Three 12 hr days is a sweet deal.

[thrillafrommanila]

X-ray / Cat Scan Tech, AS in Applied Sciences (2 years at a local CC)

Currently and finished X-Training as a CT Tech.

Love my job. Just like you, love to help people.

PM me if you need more info.

[uncballzer]

I'm in med school at the moment, and have worked as nurse aid for 5 years. If you want to get your feet wet to see what the field is like, you can take an EMT course at many community colleges and then start to work on an ambulance.

Another quickie is Respiratory therapist--assist a lot in critical care units with breathing treatments, helping to intubate (put on ventilators) and remove the tube. They also measure blood gases, and lot more but not sure of all specifics at this point.

Physical therapist is a no brainer.
I like occupational therapy better than physical--assists people to get back into their daily living after illness. This can involve helping them adjust to a completely new lifestyle, to helping them find ways to feed themselves. Have to be somewhat creative here and sometimes develop/invent things to help the person out.
There's always nursing. You could take a Nurse Aid class at community colleges. Even LPN and RN can be done at community colleges.

Good luck; this is an amazing field.

[Bigwaved]

I can tell you about the physical therapy, occupatoional therapy and speech/language pathologist fields. All three have moved to a Master or above level degree at this point. I do not know of any in the United States that have a program that has not.