PLANNING FOR A HEALTH CAREER
CAREER PATHWAYS are clusters occupations that are
WHAT IS A CAREER?
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.
HEALTH CAREER PLANNING refers to an individual’s
plan to make a career choice, growing in the chosen
career or making a career shift.
WHY PURSUE A HEALTH CAREER?
o Good salary
o Job Security
o Do work that interests you
o Find a health career that fits your educational
plans
o A clear path to advancement
o Work with people (or not)
WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS AND STEPS
IN MAKING A HEALTH CAREER PLAN?
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
grouped because of shared skills.
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:
o Community Health Work
o 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:
o Midwifery
o Community Health Educator
o 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:
o Social Work
o Clinical Psychology
o Psychiatry
o Guidance Counseling
5. COMMUNITY HEALTHCARE
Specialists in this area focus on the maintenance,
protection, and improvement of the health of all
community members
Sample Careers:
o Barangay/Community Health Work
o 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:
o Air quality monitoring
o Soil science analysis
o Hazardous and solid waste management
o Environmental noise control
o 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:
o Drug Enforcement
o 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:
o Clinical Dietetics
o Food and Nutrition Management
o Public Health Nutrition
o 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
bahaviors plus coordinating health education
services.
Sample Careers:
o Education and Research
o 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:
o Dental Hygiene
o Dental Nursing
o 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:
o Occupational Health and Safety Technician
o Health Inspector
o 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:
o Emergency Medical Aid
o Paramedic
MEDICAL AND ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSION
MEDICAL PROFESSION is a group of individuals
qualified to practice medicine.
ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONS are lines of work that
still deal with healthcare but are distinct from medicine.
WHO ARE THE MEDICAL AND ALLIED
HEALTH PROFESSIONALS?
ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONALS are healthcare
practitioners with formal education and clinical training
credentials through certification, registration and/or
licensure.
ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONALS 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.
TECHNICIANS are those who undergo training to
perform specific procedures. They are required to work
under the supervision of technologists or therapists
THERAPISTS or TECHNOLOGISTS have more intensive
training, which includes acquiring procedural skills.
THERAPISTS or TECHNOLOGISTS evaluate patients,
diagnose conditions, develop treatment plans, and
understand the rationale behind various treatments in
order to judge their appropriateness and potential side
effects.
THERAPISTS or TECHNOLOGISTS 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. ORTHOTIST/PROSTHETIST – 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 training is available in other countries.
1. CARDIOVASCULAR TECHNOLOGIST - uses
imaging technology to help physicians diagnose
patients with cardiac (heart) and peripheral
vascular (blood vessel) ailments
2. CLINICAL OFFICER - performs general medical
duties such as the diagnosis and treatment of
disease and injury, recommendation and
interpretation of medical tests, performance of
routine medical and surgical procedures, and
referral of patients to other practitioners
3. DENTAL HYGIENIST - specializes in the removal
of calcaneous deposits and stains from patients’
and provides additional services and information
on prevention of oral diseases
4. DIAGNOSTIC MEDICAL SONOGRAPHIST - uses
ultrasonic imaging devices to produce diagnostic
images, scans, videos, or 3D volumes of patients’
anatomy
5. KINESIOTHERAPIST - develops and monitors
exercise programs to help people regain muscle
strength and function lost due to injury or disease
6. NEUROPHYSIOLOGIST - specializes in the
diagnosis of conditions affecting the nervous
system such as neuromuscular diseases, epilepsy,
and nerve entrapments
7. MEDICAL DOSIMETRIST - designs treatment
plans for patients 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
8. MEDICAL RADIATION SCIENTIST - performs
complex diagnostic imaging studies on patients
and plans and administers radiation treatments
9. MUSIC THERAPIST - uses music within a
therapeutic relationship to address a client’s
needs, such as facilitating movement and physical
rehabilitation, motivating the client to cope with
treatment, providing emotional support, such as
an outlet for expressing their feelings through
music
10. NUCLEAR MEDICINE TECHNOLOGIST -
performs imaging procedures using radioactive
drugs and materials to make diagnostic
evaluations of the anatomic or physiologic
conditions of the patient’s body, and facilitates
therapy with the use of unsealed radioactive
sources
11. ORTHOPTIST - investigates, diagnoses and treats
defects of binocular vision and abnormalities
related to eye movement; involves seeing
patients of all ages from infants to the elderly
12. PEDORTHIST - are foot orthotic and orthopedic
footwear experts trained in the assessment of
lower limb anatomy and muscle and joint
function
13. PERFUSIONIST - assists in performing
procedures that involve extracorporeal
circulation, such as during open-heart surgery or
hypothermia
14. SURGICAL TECHNOLOGIST - a member of the
surgical team who serves as a scrub technician or
as a circulator
HEALTH CAREER ORIENTATION PROGRAM
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:
o evaluate and assess such factors as personal
needs, interests and skills
o provide an opportunity to identify and explore
health careers • learn about the duties and
responsibilities of health professionals
o acquire an awareness of a wide variety of
educational training and resources for both
academic and vocational fields
o pursue health career pathways for future
education/ training