Careers in Paramedical Sciences

Paramedicine is a healthcare profession that deals with assisting individuals, families, and societies in achieving, re-achieving, and preserving optimal health. In recent times, paramedical sciences has emerged as an important pillar of medical sciences.  

Skills Required

• Ability to judge and make proper observation
• Scientific bent of mind
• Being good to patients and put them in comfort
• Be a team player, support other doctors and nurses
• Analytical and logical reasoning
• Ability to inspire confidence in patients
• Strong sense of responsibility and dedication
• Physical stamina to work long and irregular hours
• Patience and cool temperament
• Ability to use various diagnostic equipments
• Ability to take orders and assist superiors
• Plan, organize and maintain schedules
• Have an emotional understanding of patients

Fields of Study

• Paramedic & Emergency Response
• Nursing
• Physiotherapy/ Occupational Therapy
• Speech Therapy & Audiology
• Orthotics & Prosthetics
• Medical Lab Technology
• Hospital Management
• Optometry
• Pharmacy
• Radiography & Nuclear Medicine
• Nutrition & Dietetics

Field of Study	Bachelor’s Degree	Master’s Degree
Physiotherapy	B.P.T	M.P.T or M.P.T (Splz.)
Occupational Therapy	B.O.T	M.O.T
Nursing	B.Sc (Nursing)	M.Sc (Nursing)
Speech Therapy & Audiology	B.Sc (Audiology/Speech)	M.Sc (Audiology/Speech)
Optometry	B.Sc (Optom.) / B.OPTM.	M.Sc (Optom.) / M.OPTM.
Radiology  & Nuclear Medicine	B.Sc (Radio.) / B.M.R.T	PGDP (Radiography/ X-ray)
Medical Laboratory Technology	B.Sc (M.L.T) / B.M.L.T	M.Sc / PGDP (M.L.T)
Prosthetics and Orthotics	B.Sc (Prosth. & Ortho.)	M.Sc(Prosth. & Ortho.)/MPO
Hospital Management	B.H.M / B.H.A	M.H.M / M.H.A
Pharmacy	B.Pharm	M.Pharm / Pharma D
Nutrition & Dietetics	B.Sc (Nutrition & Dietetics)	M.Sc (Nutrition & Dietetics)
Public Health / Public Policy	Any	MPH/MSPH/PGDPHM

Top Colleges in India

• All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
• NIPER, Mohali
• University Inst. Of Pharma Sciences, Punjab
• Bombay College of Pharmacy, Mumbai
• JSS College of Pharmacy, Ooty
• L.M College of Pharmacy, Ahmedabad
• Amrit Kaur College of Nursing, New Delhi
• Bharati Vidyapeeth’s College of Nursing, Pune
• National Institute of Mental Health, Bangalore
• College of Nursing, AIIMS, New Delhi
• Bombay Hospital, College of Nursing, Mumbai
• Apollo College of Physiotherapy, Hyderabad
• Christian Medical College, Vellore
• KEM Hospital, Mumbai
• M S Ramaiah Institute of Physiotherapy, Bangalore
• JSS College of Physiotherapy, Mysore
• SNDT Women’s Univ (Nutrition/Dietitics), Mumbai
• Tripura Institute of Paramedical Sciences, Agartala
• Lotus College of Optometry, Mumbai
• Paramedical College, Durgapur
• IIHMR, Jaipur
• Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
• Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad
• All India Inst. of  Phy. Medicine and Rehab, Mumbai
• Government Institute of Rehab Medicine, Chennai
• K.J. Somaiya College of Physiotherapy, Mumbai

Career Options in Para Medicine 

Accupuncturist

An Acupuncturist is a health care professional who practices the ancient East Asian healing art of acupuncture. The Acupuncturist treats symptoms and disorders by inserting very thin needles into precise acupuncture points on the skin.

Athletic Therapist

An Athletic Therapist (Sports Medicine) helps in assessment, prevention, immediate care and rehabilitation of  musculoskeletal injuries that occur during sporting events, athletic training, or any other form of physical activities.

Dietician & Nutritionist
Dietician & Nutritionist plans food and nutrition programs, supervises meal preparation and serving of meals at hospitals, schools, nursing facilities, health and fitness centres. Other duties include educating people regarding healthy eating habits and dietary modifications. 

Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)

An Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) provides on-site emergency case, by responding to medical emergencies to provide immediate treatment for ill or injured people. The role of an EMT is to identify the nature of emergency, stabilize the patient's condition, and initiate proper medical procedures at the scene and en route to a hospital.

Massage Therapist 
 Massage Therapist performs therapeutic massages of soft tissue muscles and joints of the body. The therapist relieves pain, reduces stress, increases relaxation, and aids the general wellness of clients. Massage Therapists can specialise in more than eighty different types of massage, called modalities. Deep tissue massage, Swedish massage, reflexology, acupressure, sports massage, neuromuscular massage are few of the many approaches to massage therapy.

Medical Assistant
Medical Assistant performs administrative and clinical duties under the direction of a physician. Duties include scheduling appointments, maintaining medical records and billing, preparing patients for examination, drawing blood, and administering medications as directed by a physician.

Medical Lab Technicians (MLT)  and Technologist

Medical Lab Technicians (MLT) does tests by analyzing body fluids, tissues, blood typing, micro organism screening, chemical analyses, cell counts of  human body etc. These tests help doctors to detect, diagnose and treat diseases.Medical Technologist (a.k.a. Clinical Laboratory Technologist) performs laboratory tests to help physicians detect, diagnose, and treat diseases.

Medical Scientist or Researcher 

Medical Scientist or Researcher conducts research aimed at improving overall human health. Medical scientists study biological and systems to understand the causes of diseases and other health problems.

Medical Transcriptionist

Medical Transcriptionist transcribe (type into printed format) a dictated or oral report recorded by a doctor or physician during appointments or surgical procedures. After tying the report, medical transcriptionists review it and make corrections to grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

Music Therapist

Music Therapist plans and organizes music therapy activities which are designed to positively influence patients' psychological, emotional and behavioural status. Music Therapists help their clients improve their health across various domains (i.e. cognitive, behaviour, social skills, motor skills, emotional development, and quality of life) by using music experiences (i.e. singing, song writing, listening to and discussing music) to achieve treatment goals and objectives.

Nurse 

Nurse provides care for injured, sick, disabled and convalescing patients in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, private homes and other medical institutions. Duties include assessing patients health problems and needs, developing and implementing nursing care plans, maintaining medical records, and providing advice and emotional support to patients and their family members. Emergency Nurse provides advanced nursing care for patients in critical or coronary care units with acute conditions such as heart attacks, respiratory distress, or shock. Duties also include performing emergency medical procedures, therapeutic procedures, invasive diagnostics and pre/post operation care.

Occupational Therapist 

An Occupational Therapist (OT) works with those who have physically, mentally, developmentally, or emotionally disabling conditions. This type of therapy is patient specific, involving recreational, creative or educational activities that include time management skills, homemaking, budgeting, shopping and use of public transportation.. Thus, an Occupational Therapist helps people learn to cope with daily life.

Optician
An Optician helps in fitting eyeglasses, contact lenses, and frames for customer according to written optical prescription or specification from ophthalmologist or optometrist. The optician helps the customer decide which eyeglass frame or type of contact lenses to buy.

Optometrist 

An Optometrist performs eye exams to check for vision problems , eye diseases and impairments. The optometrist prescribes eyeglasses, corrective contact lenses and other eye treatments.

Orthodontist 

An Orthodontist examines, diagnoses and treats dental malocclusion (misalignment of teeth) and other oral cavity anomalies. The Orthodontist designs and fabricates braces and other appliances to realign teeth and jaws, to help normal function and to improve appearance.

Paramedic 

Paramedic provides extensive pre-hospital care to sick or injured in emergency medical settings by responding to emergency calls, performing medical services and transporting the patient to the medical facility. Paramedic can give medications orally and intravenously, interpret electrocardiograms, and other complex equipment.

Pathologist 

Pathologist uses laboratory techniques and patient specimens to diagnose presence and stage of diseases; and then write pathology reports summarizing the analysis, results and conclusions of the laboratory testing.  The pathologist has to study the nature, cause and development of diseases.

Pharmaceutical Researcher

Pharmaceutical Researcher is a scientist who works intensively on creating effective drugs for treating diseases. The researcher has a vast spectrum of knowledge from fields of biometry and statistics, chemical technology, endocrinology and pharmacology.

Pharmacist 

Pharmacist dispenses medicines and drugs prescribed by physicians and other medical practitioners to patients and offers advice on their safe use. Experienced pharmacists may advice physicians and other health practitioners on the selection, dosage, side effects of medications.

Pharmacologist 

Pharmacologist investigates and conducts experiments to find out how medicines interact with biological systems. The Pharmacologist undertakes vitro research (using cells or animal tissues) or vivo research (using whole animals) to predict the effect the drugs might have on humans.

Physiotherapist 

Physiotherapist seeks to improve movement dysfunction, promote optimal health and functions of the human body. Physiotherapy is the most important rehabilitative service and a vital therapeutic supplement of the medical profession, which is integral to the treatment of most patients.

Podiatrist 

Podiatrist provides medical and surgical care for people suffering from foot, lower leg and ankle problems. The Podiatrist diagnoses illnesses, treats injuries, and performs surgeries to fix deformities of the human foot. 

Radiation Therapist

Radiation Therapist is part of the oncology team that treats patients with cancer in healthcare facilities or cancer treatment centres.  The therapist provides radiation therapy to patients as prescribed by a radiologist. Duties include - diagnosis, preparing equipment, providing radiation therapy, and maintaining records and reports.

Recreation Therapist

Recreation Therapist plans, coordinates and directs medically approved specialized recreational programs for patients in hospitals and nursing homes to help them with physical, mental and social handicaps for becoming more self-reliant and independent individuals.  Other duties include assisting individuals to improve previously acquired skills and interests; and develop new ones.

Respiration Therapist

Respiration Therapist is involved in assessing, treating and caring for patients with breathing or cardiopulmonary disorders. The Respiratory Therapist conducts therapeutic procedures, works on equipment, maintains patient records,  teaches patients how to use treatments such as inhalers, and also provides emergency care to patients suffering from heart attacks, stroke or shock.

Speech Pathologist & Audiologist

Speech Pathologist & Audiologist deals with speech, language and hearing impairments that disrupt the ability of the sufferer to communicate and interact in various social situations. Thus, a Speech Pathologist works on identifying symptoms of hearing loss, auditory balance and related sensory and neural problems; and provide a course of treatment by using remedial measures and rehabilitation strategies.

Sources and References:

1.) EduGroomers:  http://www.edugroomers.com/healthcare.html

2.) Google Images

For information on career in medicine, refer to my blogpost below:
http://farzadminoodamania.blogspot.in/2012/09/careers-in-medicine.html

Farzad Minoo Damania

Career Counsellor and Corporate Trainer

http://farzadminoodamania.blogspot.com