Last week, while studying for my board exam, I found myself at Panera Bread (indulging in their free wifi and coffee refills) talking to a friend of mine who is currently in her last year of pharmacy school.
"I wish I had a friend who was a dermatologist so she can tell me what the best lotion to get is from a local drug store," I said. That's where it started. It started with me, seeking a health professional to give me advice about lotion. But it's not just lotion, it's beyond lotion. I wanted to know the truth behind medications. I wanted to know the best cosmetics to get without spending $100. I wanted to know what I needed to know behind the label. As a Registered Dietitian to be, I'm very familiar with Nutrition Facts...but what about everything else?
Keeping the recession in mind and currently being unemployed, I couldn't help but think about everything else I've bought in the past just because it "seemed" like a good product based on the font, colors, and tag lines to certain products. I no longer want to be fooled. I want to be a smart consumer, and I'd like to be well-informed before making any purchases.
And this? This friendly conversation with my study buddy is what led me to come up with the top 3 reasons why to choose the healthcare field.
1. You get to know the truth behind the "truth."
You get to read all about it yourself, including evidence-based research explaining why things are how they are. You get to understand it all, and share the wealth of knowledge thereafter.
2. Jobs are still high in demand, even in this economic crisis.
People will continue to get sick, and will continue to seek medical help. That's just that.
3. Option of non-traditional job opportunities.
You don't have to just work at a hospital or nursing home, you have options too. It's just the matter of networking and thinking outside the box.
For a list of different health care careers with responsibilities and how to get there, read "Who Needs Med School?", an article I wrote for Experience.com not too long ago.
Unaswered Questions? Go "Health Nuts!"
Labels:
dermatology,
healthcare,
lotion,
non-traditional careers
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3 comments:
Healthnuts,
My name is Barbara O’ Brien and my blogging at The Mahablog, Crooks and Liars, AlterNet, and elsewhere on the progressive political and health blogophere has earned me the notoriety of being a panelist at the Yearly Kos Convention and a featured guest blogger at the Take Back America Conference in Washington, DC.
I’m contacting you because I found your site in a health reform blog search and want to tell you about my newest blogging platform —the public concern of health care and its reform. Our shared concerns include health reform, tort reform, public health, safe workplaces, and asbestos contamination.
If you’re confused by the nation’s debate over health care reform, you are not alone. While nearly everyone agrees our health care system is in trouble, the nation is nearly at war with itself over what to do about it. Some say the entire system needs to be overhauled. Others urge caution, pointing to the costs of reform and warning of high taxes and “big government.”
To increase awareness on these important issues, my goal is to get a resource link on your site or even allow me to provide a guest posting. Please contact me back, I hope to hear from you soon. Drop by our site www.maacenter.org in the meantime.
Thanks,
Barbara O’ Brien
barbaraobrien@maacenter.org
Excellent insights, Monica. Not all the marketing majors out there may agree, but finding the truth about health (and health care) is so important, and also so difficult to do.
Barbara - I will get back to you. Thanks for the inquiry.
Ken - Truth be told, I hesitated a little because I knew that everything I said was against the marketing world, which is why it's so important for healthcare professionals to be involved in the marketing world. Just last summer I had the opportunity to be a Nutrition Intern for a big PR firm. I was able to see what healthcare professionals do to keep everyone "in-the-know" regarding our health specialty. So although the actual truth may conflict with what is being advertised out there, there is hope :).
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