The field of health care is not all about doctors and nurses in white lab coats. These days, there are many career options aimed at maintaining and improving peoples general well-being.
Primary health care – the basic level of care usually given by doctors – is at the core of the sector. Besides doctors who work in general or family medicine, there are also opportunities to become radiologists, lab technicians, occupational therapists, dieticians and physiotherapists, for which you need a university degree.
But there are other opportunities to become involved in caring for the well-being of people. Training for many of these falls outside the formal structures of tertiary education. It is important to make sure that the training institute is reputable and that the course focuses on skills for the working world.
Among these alternative options is personal training. This involves working on a one-on-one basis with gym enthusiasts to ensure they get the most out of their workout. Other practitioners who help to improve physical, and spiritual, well-being are tai chi and yoga teachers.
Life coaches are people who do not necessarily have formal psychology or psychiatry backgrounds. They work with their clients to help them find focus and motivation in their lives so that they are better able to meet their goals.
Another new development is the rise of alternative and complementary therapies. This opens many new career options that do not follow the conventional thinking about healing. These include homeopathic medicine, reflexology, kinesiology, and Ayurvedic medicines. Kinesiologists use muscle testing to detect stress and imbalances in the body. The thinking is that muscles are related to neurological responses and can, therefore, be manipulated to improve overall well-being. Reflexology involves massaging and stimulating of the feet, based on the idea that the pressure points on the soles correspond with different areas of the body and spirit.
South Africas HIV/Aids pandemic means that there is a growing need to address the problem in an holistic way, and this presents many challenges for health care.
Alongside the primary health-care response there is a growing need for wellness counsellors to work with infected and affected people. These counsellors need a functional medical knowledge as well as knowledge of nutrition to help sufferers remain as healthy as possible. Wellness counsellors also have an important role to play in supporting families through the psychological trauma of living with a loved one infected with HIV/Aids and to counsel them when their loved one dies.
The bereavement and trauma counselling field is a growing sector, offering a lot of career opportunities. It has become vital in helping people deal with the grief and trauma arising from death and violent crimes.
Alternative jobs in health
Radiologist: Creates and interprets X-ray images of parts of the body, which are used in diagnosing illness or medical problems.
Medical lab technician: Conducts laboratory tests to help detect, diagnose and treat diseases.
Occupational therapist: A therapist who uses creative crafts and hobbies as a way to treat or rehabilitate physically or emotionally disabled people.
Dietician: An expert on food and nutrition who does research or planning for diets that meet special dietary needs of individuals, with the aim of achieving optimum nutrition and good health.
Pysiotherapist: Treats injury or dysfunction with exercises and other physical treatments.
Personal trainer: Devises exercise programmes for clients and assists in working out healthy diet plans.
Tai chi teacher: A practitioner in a traditional Chinese mind-body relaxation exercise routine consisting of intricate exercise sequences performed in a slow, relaxed manner.
Yoga teacher: A practitioner in philosophical and physical ways of life that emphasise harmony of body and mind and are based on Eastern metaphysical beliefs.
Life coach: Helps others make important decisions, focuses on their goals and acts as a kind of personal trainer of the psyche.
Homeopathic medicine practitioner: Uses an alternative approach to medicine based on the belief that natural substances, prepared in a special way, restore health.
Reflexologist: Works with ancient Chinese techniques that uses pressure-point massage to restore the flow of energy through the entire body.
Kinesiologist: Works with the scientific study of human movement and the movement of implements or equipment that he or she might use in exercise, sport or other forms of physical activity. It is linked to better understanding the connection between mind and muscle.
Ayurvedic medicine practitioner: Bases healing on an Indian medical and wellness system that is more than 5 000 years old. It places emphasis on the prevention of illness through balance attained by right thinking, diet, lifestyle and the use of herbs.
HIV/Aids counsellor: A trained counsellor who assists patients infected with HIV/Aids and their families in dealing with the medical and emotional trauma of living with the disease.
Trauma and bereavement counsellor: A trained counsellor who helps support those who have suffered from traumatic experiences and grief arising from loss in their lives.