One thing that will carry you through to a career in health care is true excitement about today's research and tomorrow's discoveries. Here are some really "hot" areas in some well-known fields--and in some lesser-known ones.
College is where hands-on learning really starts, where good programs get you thinking about real-world problems, not just textbook exercises. Part of what college gives you is a chance to experience what doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals really do every day. Working in laboratories, assisting with patients, and interning at hospitals during college are ways of learning the challenges and joys of contributing to the world through health and medicine. Internships and co-op programs are great ways to learn how to be part of a research team and receive the mentoring that will let you know what kind of work you will most want to do. So what defines the cutting edge in health and medicine? Here's where the hot things are being done.
Viruses, etc.: bird flu and more What do Avian flu, the common cold, chicken pox, herpes, rabies, Ebola, and AIDS all have in common? They are viruses. These microscopic terrors--whose exploits on TV series such as House and in science fiction movies and games like Resident Evil make them humanity's worst enemies--are currently the most fascinating creatures in the medical world.
In addition to viruses, microscopic bacterial spores like anthrax are also crucial areas of national research. Not quite alive and not quite dead, viruses are combinations of proteins and DNA that are perfectly adapted for getting into and out of living bodies in order to reproduce. The stealthy nature of viruses also makes them ideal tools for transferring genetic material into human cells for therapy! The idea is to have viruses infect a person with "helping genes" and molecules rather than with deadly ones. Sound exciting?
Today, medicine is primarily concerned with the diseases that viruses cause in humans, especially the emerging diseases that we have no experience fighting--and much of the work is being done in college and university laboratories. Studying the spread of viral diseases requires the cooperation of environmentalists, botanists, zoologists, government officials, and epidemiologists. Together, they attempt to chart the "vectors" of these diseases--that is, how they get from person to person via air, human contact, or insect and animal hosts. Doctors and other public health professionals turn this knowledge into prevention strategies. They demonstrate that while the cutting-edge work may be good material for TV dramas, it is the practical job of educating people and getting them to help themselves that carries the day. The discovery of a smallpox vaccine was a great achievement, but it would have meant nothing without the coordinated efforts of the tens of thousands of public health professionals and nurses worldwide who together have eliminated smallpox as a disease. But the threat of viruses in the future is very real and gives this area of study real urgency. You could play a role in the work that remains to be done.
Genetics and molecular medicine: fighting back A biology student at Marquette University spent one summer working with a faculty member to discover how the thyroid hormones are attracted or repelled through complex DNA switches. This research required careful work, and similar challenges are met daily by undergraduates in college and university labs across the United States.
Molecular medicine refers to the ability of researchers to work at the level of the molecules that make up our body. The three interdisciplinary fields that make up molecular medicine are genetics, immunology, and pharmacology. Research in genetics begins with an understanding of the DNA that inhabits every one of our cells. It goes on to study how our biological development and our environment cause different genes to "express" themselves in the proteins that make up our growing bodies. The discoveries of geneticists have provided indications of what diseases we are susceptible to, as well as hints for their cure. From basic studies in medicine, biology, and biochemistry, genetics has expanded into new fields such as medical ethics and genetic counseling, among others.
The immune system can make a trillion antibodies (specific molecules) to fight disease. Immunology studies how this works, so that when the body is threatened, pharmacology can attempt to fight the disease with drugs.
Combining state-of-the-art chemistry, computer modeling, statistics, and physiology, pharmacology sifts through millions of potential drugs each year in order to find the few that are both safe and effective. The result is a $250 billion industry and extraordinary opportunities for you in a host of related fields.
Managed care: caring for 100 million Americans Managed care companies, usually Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), have changed the landscape of medicine and nursing. HMOs represent the shift from a welfare model of health care to a business model. In the new model, a company bets that it can care for a population for a certain amount of money; if it uses less money, the company makes a profit.
What does this mean for health care? First, it means that hospital stays, the most expensive form of care, are continuing to get shorter. The need for other forms of care--home nursing, physical therapy, outpatient care, and even alternative medicine--is increasing. Second, it means that computer skills and an understanding of business and statistics are critical for making healthcare decisions today.
Nursing, especially, is growing and changing in the new managed care environment. There is, in fact, a major shortage of nurses. Nurses with business, administrative, and computer expertise are well-positioned for leadership roles in the future. Public health professionals, who have always seen the world from a prevention perspective, are also being tapped for managerial and administrative positions. The transition from welfare model to business model is both difficult and challenging, but for those who can navigate the difficulty of the change, it can be exhilarating.
Sports science and medicine: Shaq's podiatrist Would you like to do more than play sports? Sports medicine is a general term that includes athletic trainers, physiologists, nurses, dieticians, physical and occupational therapists, optometrists, and counselors. Sports medicine incorporates the latest technology, such as medical imaging (MRIs), with traditional regimens (eating and exercising for maximum health). Beyond being a trainer or therapist to superstars, sports medicine professionals are involved in the prevention, rehabilitation, and cure of injuries to non-athletes, as well as in the promotion of good health practices to the general population.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), members can be found in hospitals, sports medicine clinics, on the sidelines of professional and amateur sporting events, and even backstage at ballets. Many clinical members are world-renowned for their research in the effects of exercise on cardiovascular health and chronic diseases. Sports medicine is exciting because it focuses not just on "getting better" but on getting "better than normal."
The field also embraces the business of sports and the design of health facilities. Springfield College, for example, offers a major in Sports Management that combines sports and business. One Springfield student spent 15 weeks interning with the Boston Red Sox and found it so much fun that he's now employed by the team full-time.
Cancer research: fighting a ubiquitous killer Despite the investment of billions of dollars of research into the treatment and prevention of cancer over the past 25 years, cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. One out of four people dies of it. The last 10 years have seen an explosion of research findings about how cancer is caused, how it can be treated, and how it can be prevented. We have learned that many genes and molecules play critical roles in turning regular cells into cancerous ones. And a set of new technologies such as the gamma knife have been successful in destroying tumors deep inside the body and brain.
The last few years have seen many new developments. Researchers have recognized that a tumor needs blood to grow, and some therapies have targeted the vessels that supply the blood. If they can find a reliable way to choke off these vessels, the tumor can be stopped in its tracks. While these new "antiangiogenesis" drugs were seen as silver bullets against cancer 10 years ago, clinical trials found them to be less promising, but still helpful alongside chemotherapy. We have much to learn.
Both cancer research and careers in oncology (cancer treatment and prevention) are expected to continue to grow in the next decade. A whole new field of genetic testing for cancer risk is about to open. The more we find out about cancer, the more questions it raises about how our bodies and our cells work. Cancer research is a fast-paced, high-impact, and life-saving career--and it might be the one for you.
What you can do now
Get passionate! These areas are just the beginning. Getting and staying informed about new and hot areas is not just a good career move--it will keep you motivated as you learn to be an expert in your field. Reading magazines such as Science & Medicine and Scientific American can keep you informed on current trends. For more in-depth reports, try the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Websites worth a visit include World Health News at www.worldhealthnews. harvard.edu for current topics. Medline Plus by National Institutes of Health at medlineplus.gov is a good source for pointers on specific topics.
Get skilled! If you haven't noticed, almost every hot area these days involves computers. The more experience you get with them, now and throughout college, the better prepared you'll be to integrate different fields and stay on top of the latest technologies. And be flexible. Don't limit yourself to a specialized field right from the beginning. The worlds of medicine and health care are constantly changing and recombining.
Linda Sharpe, a columnist for www.monster.com, offers this advice to students like you: "Anyone in school now should cut a wide swath through the course catalogue" (that is, take lots of different courses). Check out Monster's healthcare career forum on the Web at healthcare.monster.com.
If you want to check on current salaries, a great starting point is www.rileyguide.com/salary.html. And keep an eye on other hot areas in health and medicine: bionics, medical imaging, geriatrics, social medicine, psycho-neuroimmunology, environmental medicine, and bio-terrorism.
Get going! Look into internships, co-ops, summer research, and other hands-on learning opportunities at colleges near you. Maybe not your first year, but often by your second, you can be involved in a critical research enterprise or contribute to a hospital's healthcare program.
If you're interested in a research or other professional career, put yourself on a fast track and investigate 3-2 programs. Visit colleges, talk with undergraduates about their experiences, and get a sense of what they are really doing and what they're passionate about. It'll get you excited, too!
Article by Joseph Dumit and courtesy of www.careersandcolleges.com