How to select a Health Profession

This is a pretty personal decision, so only very general advice can be given. Over the years, students have considered:

1. Their suitability for the Health Profession (for example: the minimum GPA requirements for some Health Professions are much higher than for others; severe allergies to animals might preclude Veterinary Medicine; patient death is a much more common occurrence in some Health Professions than others).

2. How much education is required beyond the Bachelor's degree (for example: some require 2 years, others up to 8).

3. Job market for the Health Profession (job outlook for Health Professions is pretty good overall, but some are red-hot due to shortages).

4. How much time the Health Profession leaves for family or other outside interests.

5. Amount of patient contact (some Health Professions are literally hands-on, whereas with others you will rarely see a patient).

6. Location of likely employment (some very specialized Health Professions might mean that you are limited to working and living in a large urban area).

7. Type of activity (for example: fine manipulation like Dentistry, whole body adjustments like Chiropractic, working with children like Pediatrics, working with animals like Veterinary Medicine, working with cutting edge technology like Radiologist).

8. The Health Professions of family members (for example: a parent who is a Dentist or Doctor).

Because the college-level preparation for many Health Professions is nearly identical, it is entirely possible to make up your mind about WHICH Health Profession to pursue at the last moment. With good planning, you can simultaneously qualify for application to Dental, Medical, and Physician Assistant school, for example.

UW Oshkosh's Career Services provides a number of services that will help you to explore the possibilities and become comfortable with your choice.  They are the experts to help you at this stage of the game!

Shadowing-a-Professional is another way to get a realistic view of a Health Profession; click here to learn more.

Need more structure?  Try these 5 steps:

1. Examine the MANY Health-Care Career options at http://wihealthcareers.org/Career_occ_toc.cfm.  You will find useful, Wisconsin-specific information about some 60 different health care jobs: the education needed, schools in our state that will train you, average income, links to national career organizations, etc.
2. Identify three (3) career choices that sound interesting today.  Research the job outlook, job environment, and pay scale for all three careers.  In addition to the "wihealthcareers" site just mentioned, a US Government web site at http://www.bls.gov/oco/oco1002.htm will be very useful.  Make a chart of your findings to organize your thoughts.
3. For each of those three career choices, identify three (3) schools in the region or nation that you would like to attend, today, if you were admitted.  It's just fine to base your preference on residency or proximity to family members.  Research the coursework, degree, and extracurricular experience you need to qualify for admission to your chosen schools. You can get links to specific schools from the "wihealthcareers" web site or just by Googling "medical schools" or some similar search.  Make a chart of your findings to organize your thoughts.
4. Make an appointment with your Academic Advisor and bring your charts along.  It's extremely valuable to talk about your ideas "out loud" with a neutral party.  You can also discuss your decision-making with someone at the Counseling Center or Career Services.
5. College is by nature a time of exploration and growth. Realize that your interests are quite likely to change as you progress through college, and that's OK.  It's not so important which Plan you have; instead, it's important to have a Plan!

Last updated on 04/26/2007.  Contact webmaster.