What is a career?
Components and steps in making a health career plan
A career is an occupation or profession that requires
special training.
Health careers are designed to familiarize students
with the various careers in the medical profession and allied
health services. Students will learn skills necessary for their
career path, which in this case is in healthcare. These include
working with others, communication skills, legal and ethical
responsibilities, cultural considerations in healthcare industry,
problem solving, decision making, accepting personal
responsibility, and self-management.
Health career Planning refers to an individual’s plan to
make a career choice, growing in the chosen career or
making a career shift. Career planning involves the very
important step of self-assessment.
Self-assessment is necessary to understand one’s
capabilities and drawbacks. The various career options
should be explored in detail to find a fit between one’s
abilities and the opportunities provided by a career option. It
involves continuous learning and improvement to build and
grow in the chosen career path.
Why pursue a health career?
• Good salary • Job Security • Do work that interests you •
Find a health career that fits your educational plans • A
clear path to advancement • Work with people (or not)
1. Self-Assessment - Discover your personal strengths through
self-assessments (values, interests, personality, testing, skills,
etc.
2. Career Exploration - You can explore different careers and
work environments through career fairs, online research,
meetings, internships, alumni connections, professional
resources.
3. Decision Making - Before you decide on taking a career
that works for you, you can evaluate and narrow down
your options through listing the pros and cons, comparing
your personal strengths and interests, and deciding which
career fulfills both current and future goals.
4. Plan of Action - Plan achievable goals and develop
strategies to reach your goals, organize your goals into
smaller steps, identify actions for each step, utilize helpful
people and resources, review and adapt your plan
regularly.
HEALTH CAREER PATHWAYS
Career pathways are clusters occupations that are
grouped because of shared skills. All pathways include a variety of
occupations that require different levels of education, skills, and
training. Selecting a career pathway provides you with an area of
focus, along with flexibility and a variety of ideas to pursue for
personal development.
What are examples of health career pathways?
1. Disease Prevention and Control
People who specialize in this career path focus on
communicable and non-communicable diseases. Their work
includes immunization, screening of newborns, promotion of
breastfeeding, infant diseases prevention, adolescent
healthcare, and life skills.
Sample Careers:
• Community Health Work • Education and Research
2. Personal Healthcare
Professionals in this field perform healthcare related tasks
in a personal care level. These include monitoring patients;
administering and assisting in personal care and hygiene;
performing housekeeping duties; and advising clients on
related healthcare issues like infant care, hygiene and
nutrition.
3. Maternal and Child Care
These health workers deal with complex public health
issues that affect women, children and their families. These
include providing information on reproductive health, family
planning, healthcare of pregnant women and their children,
and improvement of health delivery system through
advocacy, education and research.
Sample Careers:
• Midwifery • Community Health Educator
• Outreach Specialist
4. Mental HealthCare
These medical professionals specialize in dealing with
interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships and life skills.
These include cognitive and psychosocial development,
promotion of healthy self-esteem through feelings and anger
management and identifying warning signs or red flags of
learning disorders, such as ADHD, anxiety, mood disorders,
stress, and bullying.
Sample Careers:
• Social Work • Clinical Psychology • Psychiatry
5. Community Healthcare
Specialists in this area focus on the maintenance,
protection, and improvement of the health of all community
members.
Sample Careers: • Barangay/Community Health Work •
Rural Sanitary Inspection
6. Environmental Healthcare Management
These health workers try to establish the correlation
between and among the physical, chemical, biological,
social, and psychosocial factors in the surrounding
environment. These include monitoring the quality of
environment and impact of human activities on ecosystems,
and developing strategies for restoring ecosystems.
Sample Careers: • Air quality monitoring • Soil science
analysis • Hazardous and solid waste management •
Environmental noise control • Radiological assessment
 7. Drug Prevention and Control
People whose careers revolve around this area seek to
reduce community and individual problems related to
alcohol and drug abuse through evidence-based programs
and policy advocacy.
Sample Careers:
• Drug Enforcement • Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation
8. Nutrition
Specialists in this area find ways to balance individuals’
food and nutrition and their impact on patients’ health.
These include meal planning, food preparation and
economics.
Sample Careers:
• Clinical Dietetics • Food and Nutrition Management •
Public Health Nutrition • Education and Research
9. Health Education
Those who work in this field are tasked with promotion of
healthcare and training of health workers on managing
change in healthcare. Their work involves assessing individual
and community needs, planning, implementing and
evaluating health programs, promoting the understanding of
various health-related behaviors plus coordinating health
education services.
Sample Careers:
• Education and Research • Community Health Work
10. Dental Health
Dental health workers deal with various oral conditions
which include chronic mouth and facial pain, oral sores,
periodontal (gum) disease, tooth decay and tooth loss, other
diseases and disorders that affect the oral cavity, and risk
factors for oral diseases which include unhealthy diet,
tobacco use, harmful alcohol use, and poor oral hygiene.
Sample Careers:
• Dental Hygiene • Dental Nursing • Dental health support
11. Occupational Safety
Careers in this path are related to the safety, health and
welfare of people engaged in work or employment. These
include protecting workers from sickness, disease, and injury
arising from possible hazards of their employment and
workplace.
Sample Careers:
• Occupational Health and Safety Technician • Health
Inspector • Industrial Hygienist
12. Emergency Medical Services
People assigned in this work specialize in out-of-hospital
medical care. Their skills include first-aid procedures,
emergency medical treatment and transport of patients,
rapid emergency medical response and immediate medical
attention.
Sample Careers:
• Emergency Medical Aid • Paramedic
MEDICAL AND ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSION
Along with medical professions, there are hundreds of
allied health professions which complete the workforce in
contributing to the whole-person care of patients, support to
healthcare professionals, and the efficient operation of
healthcare organizations.
Medical and Allied Health Professions
The medical profession is a group of individuals
qualified to practice medicine. Allied health professions, on
the other hand, are lines of work that still deal with
healthcare, but are distinct from medicine.
They have distinct and specialized knowledge and
skills that actively work with people accessing health and
disability that are offered services across a range of settings.
These professions include clinical laboratory or medical
technology, physical therapy, occupational therapy,
dietetic services, medical record personnel, radiologic
services, speech language pathology and audiology, and
respiratory therapy.
Who are the medical and allied health professionals?
Health Care Provider- a person who helps identify,
prevent, or treat an illness or disability.
Health Care Practitioner/ Provider- an independent
healthcare provider who is licensed to practice on and
provide general and/or specialized care to a specific area
of the body.”
Allied Health Professionals- a trained healthcare
provider practicing under supervision of a physician or
healthcare practitioner. They include pharmacists, dental
hygienists, physical therapists and nurses.
Allied health professionals are healthcare practitioners
with formal education and clinical training credentials
through certification, registration and/or licensure. They
collaborate with physicians and other members of the
healthcare team to deliver high quality patient care services
for the identification, prevention, and treatment of diseases,
disabilities, and disorders.
These professions may be categorized into either
technicians or Therapists/Technologists. Technicians are
those who undergo training to perform specific procedures.
They are required to work under the supervision of
technologists or therapists. This category includes physical
therapy assistants, medical laboratory technicians,
radiological technicians, occupational therapy assistants,
recreation therapy assistants and respiratory therapy
technicians.
Therapists or technologists have more intensive
training, which includes acquiring procedural skills. They
evaluate patients, diagnose conditions, develop treatment
plans, and understand the rationale behind various
treatments in order to judge their appropriateness and
potential side effects. They also assess patients’ responses to
therapy and make appropriate decisions about continued
treatment or modification of treatment plans. Furthermore,
they are licensed to perform these tasks. Allied health
professionals provide services and engage in activities which
include:
a. prevention - keep illness or injury from happening.
b. assessment/evaluation - appraisal of the condition based
on the patient’s subjective report.
c. identification/diagnosis - analysis based on signs,
symptoms, and laboratory findings.
d. treatment - management and care of a patient or the
combating of disease or disorder.
e. rehabilitation/habilitation - treatment designed to recover
from injury, illness, or disease towards a normal condition as
possible.
f. advocacy - a method by which patients, their families,
attorneys, health professionals, and citizens’ groups can work
together to develop programs that ensure the availability of
high-quality healthcare for a community.
g. promotion of health and well-being - the process of
enabling people to increase control over their health and its
determinants, and thereby improving their health
h. education - the process of sharing and gaining
knowledge.
I. research - the diligent inquiry or examination of data,
reports, and observations in a search for facts or principles
What are the allied health professions that we presently have
in the Philippines?
These are the common allied health professionals practicing
in the country with available education and professional
training.
1. Audiologist – identifies and rehabilitates hearing
impairments and related disorders
2. Chiropractor - diagnoses and treats neuromuscular
disorders, with emphasis on treatment through manual
adjustment and/or manipulation of the spine.
3. Clinical psychologist - assesses, diagnoses, treats and
helps prevent mental disorders.
4. Dietitian / Nutritionist - promotes good health through
proper diet and treatment of diseases.
5. Emergency Medical Technician – also known as
ambulance technician; responds quickly to any emergency
and life-threatening situation to immediately treat serious
injuries, physical or mental trauma to increase a patient’s
chances of survival.
6. Guidance Counselor - assists students with personal, family,
education, and career decisions and concerns; also helps
them develop job-finding skills and other life skills needed to
prevent and deal with problems.
7. Health Educator - specializes in health education and
promotes the development of health knowledge, life skills,
and positive attitudes toward the health and well-being of
students.
8. Massage Therapist - performs the scientific manipulation of
the soft tissues of the body for the purpose of normalizing
those tissues; uses manual techniques that include applying
fixed or movable pressure on affected parts of the body.
9. Medical assistant – performs, under the direction of a
physician, various routine administrative and nontechnical
clinical tasks in hospitals, clinics, and other similar facilities.
10. Medical technologist – performs a variety of tasks on
body fluids, from simple blood tests to more complex tests to
uncover abnormalities in the body, and underlying causes of
illnesses, such as HIV/AIDS, diabetes, and cancer which are
not easily detected through physical examination
11. Midwife - professionals with the expertise and skills in
helping women maintain healthy pregnancies, assist in or
perform childbirth delivery, and help in women’s recovery
process through the postpartum period.
12. Nurse - trained to provide care for people who are sick or
injured; monitors patients’ health and records symptoms,
assists physicians during examinations and treatment, and
administers medications.
13. Occupational therapist - uses purposeful activity and
interventions to maximize the independence and health of
any client who is limited by physical injury or illness, cognitive
impairment, psychosocial dysfunction, mental illness, or
learning disability
14. Orthoptist/Prosthetics – makes and fits prosthetics or
artificial parts for the human body
15. Paramedic - gives emergency medical treatment or
assists medical professionals in emergency situations
16. Pharmacist - prepares and dispenses medication
prescribed by licensed health professionals; also provides
information to patients regarding drugs, and consults with
healthcare professionals on advances in drugs or medicine
17. Radiologic Technologist/Radiographer - healthcare
professionals who perform imaging procedures, such as x-ray
examinations, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans
and Computed Tomography (CT) scans (health careers.org)
18. Physical Therapist - examines, evaluates, and treats
physical impairments through use of special exercise,
application of heat or cold, and other physical modalities
19. Speech Language Pathologist - diagnoses and treats
patients with functional and organic speech defects and
disorders
20. Phlebotomist - professionals with special training in
phlebotomy or drawing blood from patients
21. Radiation therapist - administers radiation therapy
services to patients and observes patients during treatment;
other duties may include tumor localization, patient follow-
up, patient education, and record keeping
22. Respiratory therapist - specializes in the promotion of
optimum cardiopulmonary function and health; regularly
deals with various chronic respiratory diseases, such as
asthma and emphysema
23. Social Worker - investigates, treats, and gives aid to
people with social problems and helps people with mental
illness, serious health conditions, financial difficulties,
substance abuse problems, domestic or child abuse,
unwanted pregnancy and other social problems
There are also allied medical professions whose specialized 8. Medical radiation scientist - performs complex diagnostic
training is available in other countries. imaging studies on patients and plans and administers
radiation treatments.
1. Cardiovascular technologist - uses imaging technology to
help physicians diagnose patients with cardiac (heart) and 9. Music therapist - uses music within a therapeutic
peripheral vascular (blood vessel) ailments relationship to address a client’s needs, such as facilitating
movement and physical rehabilitation, motivating the client
2. Clinical officer - performs general medical duties such as
to cope with treatment, providing emotional support, such
the diagnosis and treatment of disease and injury,
as an outlet for expressing their feelings through music
recommendation and interpretation of medical tests,
performance of routine medical and surgical procedures, 10. Nuclear medicine technologist - performs imaging
and referral of patients to other practitioners procedures using radioactive drugs and materials to make
diagnostic evaluations of the anatomic or physiologic
3. Dental hygienist - specializes in the removal of calcaneus
conditions of the patient’s body, and facilitates therapy with
deposits and stains from patients’ and provides additional
the use of unsealed radioactive sources
services and information on prevention of oral diseases.
11. Orthoptist - investigates, diagnoses and treats defects of
4. Diagnostic medical sonographist - uses ultrasonic imaging
binocular vision and abnormalities related to eye movement;
devices to produce diagnostic images, scans, videos, or 3D
involves seeing patients of all ages from infants to the elderly
volumes of patients’ anatomy
12. Pedorthist - are foot orthotic and orthopedic footwear
5. Kinesiotherapist - develops and monitors exercise
experts trained in the assessment of lower limb anatomy and
programs to help people regain muscle strength and
muscle and joint function
function lost due to injury or disease
13. Perfusionist - assists in performing procedures that involve
6. Neurophysiologist - specializes in the diagnosis of
extracorporeal circulation, such as during open-heart
conditions affecting the nervous system such as
surgery or hypothermia
neuromuscular diseases, epilepsy, and nerve entrapments
14. Surgical technologist - a member of the surgical team
7. Medical dosimetrist - designs treatment plans for patients
who serves as a scrub technician or as a circulator
by means of computer and/or manual computation to
determine a treatment field technique that will deliver the
prescribed radiation dose while taking into consideration the
dose-limiting structures
HEALTH CAREER ORIENTATION PROGRAM
A Health Career Orientation is an activity –based career
exploration to broaden your knowledge about careers in the
health field. Health career orientation helps you to:
• evaluate and assess such factors as personal needs,
interests and skills
• provide an opportunity to identify and explore health
careers
• learn about the duties and responsibilities of health
professionals
• acquire an awareness of a wide variety of educational
training and resources for both academic and vocational
fields
• pursue health career pathways for future education/
training
Guidelines to Help You Plan and develop your Health Career
Plan
• What are my short-term and long-term education and
career goals?
• Why did I choose these goals?
• What education/training is required for me to achieve my
goals?
• What institutions or facilities provide this training? Which
institution or facility is most appropriate to my interests,
lifestyle, and preferences? Why?
• What courses will I take during grades 11 and 12 to prepare
me for my education or training?
• What co-curricular, volunteer, or community experiences
will help me achieve my goals?
• What do I have to do to achieve my goals?
• (e.g., save money, get work experience)
• What are the potential challenges I may face in the
achievement of my goals?
• What will I do to meet these challenges?
• What is my timeline (e.g., 2 years, 5 years, 10 years) for
achieving my goals?
• How will I monitor my success as I work to achieve my
goals over the next _____ years?
• Seek advice from at least one person (e.g., a parent,
another student, a counsellor, a mentor).
SUMMARY
A career in health will give you the opportunity to
make a difference in people’s lives. A wide range of
healthcare career pathways will provide you with what area
you want to focus on, flexibility, and a variety of ideas and
opportunities to pursue your personal development.
You need to identify your interests and skills, expose
yourself to the different available careers, and decide on a
career that works for you and your plan of action.
The medical profession comprises a group of qualified
and dedicated individuals whose vision is to ensure that
every person is healthy, free from any form of illness or
disease. They may be physicians with their own specialized
field, or allied health professionals who complement them,
such as nurses, physical therapists, medical technologists,
among others. To start a career in health, you must go
through several years of formal education, an extensive
clinical training, and finally, certification to be officially
recognized and duly licensed to practice as a health
professional.
 Health career orientation will help you identify and
explore health careers, and acquire awareness of a wide
variety of educational training and resources for both
academic and vocational that motivate you to pursue a
career in health.
Glossary
Allied health professions - healthcare professions that
complement the medical profession, such as nursing,
pharmacy, medical technology, physical therapy
Career - an occupation or profession, especially one
requiring a special training followed as one’s lifework
Career pathways - clusters of careers and occupations that
are grouped because of shared skills
Health careers - designed into familiarizing students with
various careers in the medical professions

Health career Planning - an individual planning in making a

career choice, growing in the chosen career or making a
career shift. Career planning involves a very important step
of self-assessment.
Health career Orientation - an activity-based career
exploration to broaden your knowledge about careers in the
health field

Medical profession - body of individuals qualified to practice

medicine