Did you study medicine to make your family happy even though you don’t like the sight of blood? Are you halfway through your medical degree and now aren’t sure if being a doctor is actually for you? Have you graduated and are struggling to find a job? There are lots of alternatives to being a doctor if you have a medical degree.
You could choose a career in the health profession, or in other sectors, like education, research, technical work, or the media. You may need some extra training, such as aesthetics training with IAPAM, to get you started.
Public Health Worker
Public health protects and promotes the health of the general population. It can involve working on preventing infectious diseases from spreading or preventing environmental health hazards, or you could work on strategies that improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of your local health service.
Health Journalist
Journalism is a very competitive field, but if you have scientific credentials and experience you can get the edge over a lot of journalists who usually come from an arts or social sciences background. Some doctors write medical pieces as an addition to their main career, rather than an alternative. You might need to gain extra qualifications or experience in order to get started on a career in journalism.
Medical Teacher
Medical education could vary from supporting trainee medical students or doctors to educating the public in your home country or abroad. This could be a fantastic choice if you like working with people and like the idea of making an impact on educating a lot of people.
Clinical Forensic Medical Examiner
This could be an interesting role if you have finished your training as a doctor. A forensic medical examiner deals with examining the living. Forensic pathologists are trained to carry out medical examinations on the dead. Either route could be of interest to you.
Crowd Doctor
This is a great choice if you get satisfaction from helping others as a doctor, but don’t like the idea of working in a clinical hospital environment. Crowd doctors provide medical cover to people who are attending large events, such as sports events in stadiums or outdoor festivals.
Medical Photographer
This will let you make use of your creativity and medical skills. Medical photographers use photography as well as video for patient care and providing general information and marketing for health publications.
Medical/ Pharmaceutical Researcher
The medical research field is always changing, so this can be a great career choice. Medical researchers conduct experiments and analyze the results to learn more about the human body and possible treatments for different issues. This could involve working in the pharmaceutical industry, academia, hospital labs, research institutes, or medical research charities.
Sports and Exercise Medicine
Sports and Exercise Medicine means dealing with medical conditions and injury in people, often athletes, who often participate in physical activity. You might be treating someone with a gym injury or an international sports star who has been hurt on the field.
