GOOD DAY

GRADE 10
Healthcare
Healthcare
 refers to the organized provision of medical care
to people and communities.
 Healthcare careers do not just include doctors,
nurses, and other frontline clinicians who often
come to mind first when people think of healthcare
jobs. Administrators, therapists, chiropractors,
paramedics, and technology professionals all have
a place in helping people live well.
Healthcare
 Due to its size and diversity, healthcare welcomes
new professionals with many different skills,
interests, and personalities.
 People who work in this sector have hearts to
serve others and intellectual interests in Math and
Science.
Healthcare
 Some healthcare professions require many years of
formal education. Anesthesiologists, surgeons, and
ophthalmologists, for instance, need up to 12 years of
higher education.
 However, other healthcare professionals need only a
few months to start their careers. Students can earn
certifications in high-demand fields such as EKG tech
and cardio-phlebotomy tech in about 10-21 weeks.
Types of Healthcare Careers
 Healthcare professionals enjoy opportunities in
clinical work, therapy, leadership, and public
health. Responsibilities, activities, and pay grades
vary tremendously, meaning the industry
welcomes new professionals with diverse skill sets.
The picture below introduces some of the jobs
healthcare professionals can pursue.
Types of Healthcare Careers
Clinical Healthcare
These are the doctors, nurses, and assistants who
work with patients to diagnose and treat health
issues. They often provide preventative care to help
patients maintain good health. A few examples of
clinical specializations include the following:
Clinical Healthcare
Cardiology
Dentistry
Emergency medicine
Gerontology
Pediatrics
Psychiatry
Radiology
Therapy and Rehabilitation
These services help patients recover their
independence after an injury, illness, or surgery.
Here are some main focus areas:
Pain Management
Occupational Therapy
Physical Therapy
Speech Therapy
 Healthcare Administration
If you want to help people and have a knack for
leadership, healthcare administration could be a great
career choice. According to the
Healthcare Leadership Alliance, there are five main areas of
expertise in this field:
Hospital administration
Medical practice administration
Nursing administration
Healthcare financial management
Public Health
 While careers in clinical healthcare treat
individual patients, public health professionals
focus on groups. Public health studies the well-
being of populations and communities as a whole.
Most jobs in this field require at least a master’s
degree.
Public Health
There are five traditional core disciplines in a public
health master’s program:
Biostatistics
Environmental health sciences
Epidemiology
Health policy and management
Social and behavioral sciences
Benefits of a Career in Healthcare
Healthcare is a high-demand field. According to
the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), healthcare is
the fastest-growing industry in the U.S. The BLS
projects that healthcare jobs will grow 14% from
2018-2028.
Benefits of a Career in Healthcare
Healthcare is also a high-paying field. In the BLS’ list
of the 20 top-paying professions, 16 came from the
healthcare industry. Some of the highest-paid
Americans work as surgeons, dentists, midwives,
podiatrists, and pharmacists. Even massage
therapists, licensed practical nurses, and health
information technicians can still earn more than the
average employee.
Benefits of a Career in Healthcare
For many people, salaries and job growth take a
backseat to the question of job satisfaction. Most
healthcare workers find their professions fulfilling,
interesting, and satisfying. According to data from
the Pew Research Institute, 62% of healthcare
professionals said they derived a sense of identity
from their jobs.
Benefits of a Career in Healthcare
Medical professionals frequently talk about levels
of care. They are divided into the categories of
primary care, secondary care, tertiary care, and
quaternary care. Each level is related to the
complexity of the medical cases being treated as
well as the skills and specialties of the providers.
1. Primary Care: Essentials
 Most people are very familiar with primary care. This is
your first and most generalized stop for symptoms and
medical concerns.
 For instance, you may see your primary care doctor
when you notice a new symptom or are concerned that
you contracted a cold, the flu, or some other bacterial or
viral disease. You may also seek out primary care for a
broken bone, a sore muscle, a skin rash, or any other
acute medical problem.
1. Primary Care: Essentials
 Also, primary care is
typically responsible for
coordinating your care
among specialists and
other levels of care. There
are, however, times when
that doesn't always
happen the way it should.
1. Primary Care: Essentials
 Primary care providers (PCP) may be doctors,
nurse practitioners, or physician assistants. There
are some primary care specialties as well. For
instance, OB-GYNs, geriatricians, and pediatricians
are all primary care doctors; they just happen to
specialize in caring for a particular group of
people.
1. Primary Care: Essentials
 Studies have shown that primary care providers
benefit the healthcare system as a whole by
offering enhanced access to healthcare services,
better health outcomes, and a decrease in
hospitalization and use of emergency department
visits.
1. Primary Care: Essentials
 Most health insurance policies require you to
designate a primary care provider. In most cases,
you can choose an OB-GYN, geriatrician, or
pediatrician for this role.
2. Secondary Care: Specialists
 When your primary care provider refers you to a
specialist, you are then in secondary care.
Secondary care simply means you will be taken
care of by someone who has more specific
expertise in what is ailing you.
2. Secondary Care: Specialists
Specialists focus either on a specific system of the
body or a specific disease or condition. For
example, cardiologists focus on the heart and its
pumping system. Endocrinologists focus on hormone
systems and some specialize in diseases like
diabetes or thyroid disease. Oncologists have a
specialty in treating cancers and many focus on a
specific type of cancer.
2. Secondary Care: Specialists
Secondary care is where most people end up when
they have a medical condition to deal with that can't
be handled at the primary care level. Your
insurance company may require that you receive a
referral from your PCP rather than going directly to
a specialist.
2. Secondary Care: Specialists
There are times when problems with specialty care
develop. One reason may be that you have been
referred to the wrong kind of specialist. For
example, your initial symptoms may indicate one
thing when in reality it is another condition that
requires a different specialist.
2. Secondary Care: Specialists
 You may also experience problems while seeing
more than one specialist if each is treating a
different condition. In these cases, your care may
not be fully coordinated. The specialists should
work with your primary care health team to
ensure everyone knows what the other is
recommending.
3. Tertiary Care and Hospitalization
 Once a patient is hospitalized and needs a higher level
of specialty care within the hospital, he may be referred
to tertiary care. Tertiary care requires highly specialized
equipment and expertise.
At this level, you will find procedures such as
coronary artery bypass surgery, renal or hemodialysis,
and some plastic surgeries or neurosurgeries. It also
includes severe burn treatments and any other very
complex treatments or procedures.
3. Tertiary Care and Hospitalization
 A small, local hospital may not be able to provide these
services, so you may need to be transferred to a medical
center that provides highly specialized tertiary level
services.
 Studies have shown that in the management of certain
chronic conditions such as diabetes and chronic kidney
disease, it is still important for the primary care provider
to be involved when a patient enters tertiary care.
Having the PCP involved may enhance long-term self-
management by the patient.
4. Quaternary Care
 Quaternary care is considered to be an extension
of tertiary care. It is even more specialized and
highly unusual.
 Because it is so specific, not every hospital or
medical center offers quaternary care. Some may
only offer quaternary care for particular medical
conditions or systems of the body.
4. Quaternary Care
 The types of care that might be considered to be
quaternary would be experimental medicine and
procedures as well as highly uncommon and
specialized surgeries.