Choosing the right career path is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. While a majority of students who apply to a Caribbean medical school want to become a brilliant doctor, but when it comes to choosing a career in clinical medicine, it involves specializing in a variety of fields such as surgery, radiology, cardiology, nephrology, psychiatry, endocrinology, neurophysiology and more.
But if you are unsure that a career practicing medicine is what you want, don’t panic. Working in the field of clinical medicine after graduating from a Caribbean medical school is not the only path you can embark on. Fortunately, an MD degree, in tandem with the right skills and knowledge can open doors to a plethora of nonclinical career options. From medical research to health administration, health policy, and health advocacy, Caribbean medical graduates have plenty of options beyond working in a hospital or taking care of patients.
Let’s dive into them.
- Medical Writing
Believe it or not, medical writing is a perfect option for those who want to utilize their medical knowledge but don’t want to be involved in treating patients and creating treatment plans. If you have graduated from a Caribbean medical school, you can pursue a myriad of opportunities in medical writing, As graduating from medical school doesn’t only provide you with a solid medical background, but it also hones your writing skills. Being a medical writer, you can find career opportunities in research institutes, medical schools, and pharmaceutical companies. Medical writers work with physicians, professors, researchers, and technicians to create documents that clearly describe the results of clinical trials, product use, and other useful medical information. As a medical writer, you can also find opportunities to write medical articles for health websites, magazines, and medical schools.
- Public Health
Medical school graduates also find exciting career opportunities in numerous public health organizations. As there is a large number of organizations such as the World Health Organization that are concerned with the health of people. If you find infectious diseases, and epidemiology interesting, then becoming a public health specialist is the right career choice. There are many agencies that need doctors to conduct research, develop public health campaigns and public health policies that improve the health of a specific community. As a public health specialist, you can devise laws and policies related to health care, financing, drug abuse, vaccination and disease prevention.
- Healthcare Consultants
It is another rewarding career option for medical school graduates that don’t want to pursue a career in clinical medicine. There are many healthcare companies that hire consultants to design their healthcare products and promote their products. As a healthcare consultant, you can develop effective strategies based on the standard business process for the betterment of organizations such as rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, medical centers and more. You can work as an analyst for insurance companies and law firms to provide budget recommendations and improve their profitability and services.
- Forensic Medicine
If being a physician doesn’t fulfill you, studying medicine in a top Caribbean medical school also allows you to enter in a diverse field of forensic medicine that combines law and medicine. This field provides numerous career opportunities for medical school graduates such as a forensic pathologist, forensic nurse, forensic toxicologist, forensic radiologist, and forensic odontologist. Forensic medical professionals determine the cause of death, identify victims, wounds, injury claims, and provide expert testimony for criminal prosecution cases.
- Healthcare Administrator
Becoming a healthcare administrator is another nonclinical career option for Caribbean medical school graduates that don’t want to pursue a career in clinical medicine. Being a healthcare administrator, you will be responsible for the planning and implementation of medical and healthcare services. You have to ensure the smooth operation of a healthcare organization and work hard to improve the overall efficiency and financial effectiveness of the hospital. Health care administrators also supervise assistant administrators and deal with staff scheduling, hiring and salary issues, and patient billing.
- Medical Research
If you have a passion for innovation, choosing a career in medical research is the right fit. As a medical researcher, you will an opportunity to plan and conduct experiments and analyze results to develop new drugs and medical devices. You can find employment opportunities in hospital laborites, research institutes, higher education institutes, and more.
- Clinical Informatics
Clinical informatics is a very interesting field which promotes integration and application of information technology in the healthcare field. Medical school graduates can utilize their medical knowledge and clinical experience to develop a range of digital tools and software to increase the efficiency of hospitals and healthcare facilities. They also manage services for a specialist area such as cardiology, gynecology, emergence medicine and more. They assist in the development of computer programs and software to transform data into useable actionable information.
The Bottom Line
A solid medical background and profound clinical experience will open an array of opportunities for medical school graduates. So, it’s okay if you don’t know what exactly you want. Identify what you like and dislike about your medical training and clinical shadowing programs so far. This will help you decide the career that best fits your personality and skill set.
