Five Reasons to Study Healthcare

“To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. We can think of no better application of these words than when it comes to healthcare workers. Every day, these valued professionals help other people live healthier lives working toward the overall betterment of society. If you’re thinking of joining them, here’s a closer look at five reasons to pursue studies in healthcare.

1. You’ll have the opportunity to help others.

There’s no denying that working in the healthcare industry is fast-paced, intense and demanding. So why do so many people do it? For many, the answer is simple: healthcare professionals have the chance to make a difference in the lives of others on a daily basis and, in doing so, directly contribute to making the world a better place.

On his own path to becoming a physician, Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, MD, writes, “My own decision in college to shift focus from studying philosophy to medicine occurred in 1970 after witnessing a plane crash in the Rockies. The helplessness of watching 31 people onboard die led to a critical moment of clarity for me. After desperately trying to help those in and around the burning wreckage, I knew that I wanted to join a profession committed to helping others.”

For others, the motivation may not be as acute. Physical medicine and rehabilitation physician Ford Vox, MD, tells the American Medical Association that his decision to become a doctor was more of a process than any single moment when a light dawned on him. But the fulfillment found in helping others sustains him. “To be fully in command of a body of data about a given patient, fluent in the current state of knowledge of a disease process and all aspects of its treatment, and to distill from all of that exactly what [the patient’s family] needed to know and needed to hear at that moment -- it felt good,” Vox shares.

Nor is the opportunity to help others limited to doctors. Social worker Tyler McCord tells Psychology Today, “One of the most fulfilling aspects of working in the mental health field is being able to provide support to others during the most challenging moments in their life. Moreover, this profession provides the privilege of offering compassion, inspiring hope, and teaching others the necessary skills required to overcome their current circumstances.”

In other words, regardless of the specifics, future healthcare professionals share at least one underlying reason in pursuing their careers: the desire to make a difference.

2. There’s a huge variety of careers.

Doctors are often the first professionals that come to mind when we think about healthcare jobs, but within the field of medicine, there’s a huge amount of diversity.

One second-year medical student told Health Careers, “Medicine offers such a mix. I wanted something where I could talk to a huge range of people, be challenged to leave my ‘comfort zone’ and be humbled by what I saw. I also wanted a dynamic job that changed and improved over time, where ‘cutting-edge’ scientific innovation has a practical application in ‘real-life’ problem-solving. As far as I could see, no other career offered this variety.”

However, there are many other jobs in healthcare aside from doctors. For example, if working with people is high on your list, careers such as mental health, therapy, primary healthcare, and health education offer plenty of opportunities to do so.

Looking for more behind-the-scenes type work? Medical and health services management, pharmacy, insurance underwriting, diagnostic technology, and public health are among your options.

3. It’s a fascinating field.

In addition to being a challenging field, healthcare is also a fascinating one -- especially at present.

Deloitte’s 2019 Global Health Care Outlook report proposes, “Aging and growing populations, greater prevalence of chronic diseases, exponential advances in innovative, but costly, digital technologies -- these and other developments continue to increase health care demand and expenditures. Health care stakeholders -- providers, governments, payers, consumers, and other companies/organizations -- struggling to manage clinical, operational, and financial challenges envision a future in which new business and care delivery models, aided by digital technologies, may help to solve today’s problems and to build a sustainable foundation for affordable, accessible, high-quality health care.”

There are near-endless opportunities like this, in fields including population health sciences and ‘One Health’, to change the face of healthcare for the better, and therefore a need for skilled, talented and enthusiastic healthcare practitioners to lead the way.

4. You’ll enjoy job security and high wages.

Healthcare workers are sought after, and demand for skilled professionals is anticipated to continue to rise for the foreseeable future.

In the US, for example, jobs for medical and health services managers are expected to grow at a rate of 20 percent between 2016 and 2026, far outpacing the job outlook average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). These managers, also called healthcare executives or healthcare administrators, plan, direct and coordinate medical and health services -- and they are paid well for their efforts. In 2017, the median pay for medical and health services managers was $98,350 per year.

According to a recent report by Inc., meanwhile, “the medical industry absolutely dominates” as the industry laying claim to the highest-paying jobs. “Not only is healthcare all over the list of highest-paying jobs in the U.S., but according to the BLS, the sector's future is bright. Employment in the field of healthcare is projected to grow by 2.4m jobs from 2016 to 2020, or nearly 20 percent,” Melanie Curtin writes.

5. The University of Glasgow can help you succeed.

While exciting healthcare careers are out there just waiting to be discovered, are you prepared to make the most of the opportunities before you? This is where the University of Glasgow comes in.

Offering online postgraduate degrees in many healthcare subjects, the university strives to create the next generation of industry “world changers”. With programs in global mental health, health professions education, health technology assessment, ‘One Health’, population health sciences, and public health, the University of Glasgow offers access to excellent and cutting-edge teaching -- all on your own terms.

University of Glasgow

Think online studies are isolating? Think again. Online learning at the University of Glasgow is collaborative and interactive thanks to the use of a flexible and stimulating range of formats, including everything from videos to live seminars.

Perhaps writer, comedian, and former NHS doctor, Adam Kay best sums up the benefits of the NHS and healthcare careers in his bestselling book, This is Going to Hurt. "Medicine is the best job in the world -- nothing comes close to the privilege of being able to play that role in people’s lives,” he insists. If you’re eager to derive the same extraordinary feeling from a healthcare career of your own -- with a bit of help from the University of Glasgow -- learn more here.

University of Glasgow