Unit

4 Planning for a Health Career

Lesson
Components and Steps in
1 Planning for a Health Career

Fig. 1. Professionals responsible for health care.

Introduction
People are called to be in a specific profession when they grow up. Some would prefer to be on the
educational field, business field, medical field and more.

People who chose to be on the medical field are responsible for serving other people with medical
concerns. We commonly know them as doctors, nurses, and dentists. These people give services allied
to health.

Lesson 1: Components and Steps in

 Planning for a Health Career

Learning Targets
In this lesson, you should be able to:
● identify the different components and steps in making a
personal health career plan; and
● prepare a personal health career following the prescribed
components and steps.

Learn about It!

Health Career Planning is one way of
helping students be aware of the terms
and conditions when a student decided
that he/she wanted to pursue a
profession in a medical field. With the
help of health career planning,
students are introduced and familiarized with the different careers that deal
with medical concerns.

Every career in every field is not always straightforward. There are a lot of
things to remember before pursuing a particular profession. In the medical
field, a lot of realization and reflection are supposed to happen to come up
with a better decision in life. There are components and steps in making a
personal health career plan.

1. Self-Assessment
In choosing a career, your strengths will help you define what and
where you are good at. Your talents, skills, personalities, and
interests will help you choose a career that you will achieve, show
good performance and enjoy.

People would usually pursue something that they want. It’ll be hard
for someone to do something that he/she doesn’t want. Poor
performances are highly visible to people who didn’t give themselves
a chance to choose a career where his/her self-assessment fits.

Fig. 2. Studying himself in front of the mirror.

 2. Career Exploration
Some people would prefer to explore themselves on different career
descriptions, environments through reading online articles, asking
people about their experiences, some would go to job fairs, others
would voluntarily involve themselves on various fields and
internships.

Doing a career exploration is for people who are still confused about
what they want to do. Career exploration would help them
understand themselves better and would make them realize their
strengths and weakness. With that, they can filter the careers that
would fit them better.

Fig. 3. Job Fair.

Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mariettaga/6192647237

3. Decision Making
Decision making requires self-evaluation and critical analysis of one's
strengths and weaknesses. When people think deeply, they can make
decisions that would fit his/her personalities, interests, talents and
skills.

The SMARTER system can be useful for decision making in your career goals
 4. Taking Action
When a person has come up with the best decision and self-
evaluation, confidence is needed to take action already and pursue
the career chosen. Take one step at a time to process everything
properly and not to make unnecessary actions.

Fig. 4. Moving forward.

In coming up with your chosen career, it’s always best to think about
yourself only. Try to avoid and be pressured with other’s decision in life.
You’re strengths and weaknesses are different from those of other people.
You may ask help and guidance from other people but it will always be the
best to depend on whatever you want and will enjoy in life.
 Check Your Understanding

A. Write true if the statement is correct, otherwise, write false.

1. Health career planning is preparing for a career allied to health

services.
2. Decision making is done when the career is pursued already.
3. Self-assessment is evaluating your strengths and weaknesses as
a person.
4. Rush decisions would help you in finding the best career.
5. Job fairs and online research are some steps that you consider
when doing a career exploration.

B. Put a check (✓) if the statement is helping a person to come up

with a good career plan then put a cross (x) if it does not.

1. Imitating your friend’s decision.

2. Evaluating your strengths and weaknesses.
3. Trying to fit on a career that most people prefer.
4. Comparing what you’ve chosen to other people.
5. Searching and asking other people’s experiences with different
care
 Health Care

Best for Me
You always think and decide for yourself whenever you are asked to choose
something. You weigh and check what would fit you better. You’r decisions
are your reflection in life. It helps you to be who you are someday.

Materials:
● paper
● pen
● 1x1 ID picture

Procedure:
1. Paste your 1x1 ID picture on the middle of the paper.
2. Draw a body on it.
3. Write around yourself the things that you do when you are deciding
on something important.
4. Highlight the steps that helped you to decide on something best for you.

Guide Questions:
1. What are the steps that you wrote?
2. Do you usually use these steps even when you are deciding on
something that’s not important? Why or why not?
3. How do these steps help you?

Lesson

2 Health Career Paths

Fig. 1. Health Career Pathways

Introduction
There are different careers offered that came from various fields. Some would
be on the educational, business, medical and more. People evaluate and assess
themselves on which particular area they would excel and perform well.
Talking about the medical field, careers offered are indeed health-related
services. These people are responsible for serving people that have medical
concerns.

Learning Targets

In this lesson, you should be able to

● describe health career pathways;
● know the different health career pathways, and
● identify the components of health career pathways.

Learn about It!

The medical field is a broad field with

different careers offered related to health
care. These careers focus on serving people
with medical concerns; however, the talents
and skills of a person still depend on the
area of
health careers. If you have decided to pursue the medical field, you still need to
filter and analyze your skills and talents so that you would know which area of
the medical field you belong.

The Health Career Pathways are ways for a person to understand more of the
different professions in the medical field.

1. Direct Patient Care - the careers under this pathway are professionals
who deal and assist patients personally. They are the ones who
 personally diagnose and treat the patient. Professions under the direct
patient care are usually found in hospitals, clinics, health and therapy
centers. Examples are
● doctor
● nurse
● dentist
● nutritionist
● physician
● pharmacist
● therapist and
● speech pathologist

2. Imaging and Diagnostics Pathway - the careers offered on this

pathway commonly deal with medical concerns through the use of
technology. Some of the jobs under this pathway do not have any direct
interaction with the patient. They are usually operating machines and
checking and studying different laboratory tests for diagnosis. They are
found in laboratories. Examples are
● medical laboratory technician,
● cardiovascular technologist,
● dental laboratory technician,
● MRI technologist, and
● radiology technician.

Fig. 3. Radiographers studying a person’s bone.

3. Health Care Facility Support - the careers under this pathway are
usually not that mentioned or chosen by people. However, the
responsibilities of the people under this field are significant because they
help the operation of hospitals, centers, and laboratories. Careers
offered on this pathway are responsible for maintaining quality services
and environment. Examples are
● equipment technicians,
● service facilities managers,
● hospital maintenance,
● hygienist, and
● transport technicians.
4. Health Informatics - careers in this pathway focus on patient’s
documents, medical records, administration services, hospital unit
coordination, booking of appointments and more. They do not have any
direct patient care; however, they help those careers who have direct
patient care to focus more on treating and assisting the patients by
handling and processing the papers and documents needed. It is to
allow them to have more time to be spent on the patients rather than
doing multiple works.

Usually, health informatics are the people you go to when you want to be
assisted or be familiarized on the different services offered by the
hospital. Examples are
● medical billers,
● administrators,
● data analyst,
● medical secretary,
● office manager, and
● registrar.

Fig. 4. Health Informatics

5. Research and Development - careers under the research and

development focus on the study, research and development of different
medical approaches that would help both health service providers and
patients. They are working with science and technology to improve and
develop the latest advancements in health care. Examples are
● lab technicians,
● biometrician,
● biomedical engineer and chemist, and
● toxicologist.
 Fig. 6. Lab Technicians

Each pathway has discussed the roles and responsibilities of every career. All
the professions have their unique ways of serving people on medical matters. It
is always best to assess and evaluate on which career your skills, talents,
interests and even your personality would fit.

Check Your Understanding

A. Write true if the statement is correct, otherwise, write false.

1. Health career pathways help people to familiarize on different

careers under health care.
2. Health career pathways have the same roles and responsibilities.
3. People involved in every health career pathway are seen in every
hospital.
4. A nurse is an example of direct patient care.
 5. Professions under research and development are working on
science and technology.

B. Put a check (✓) if the profession is related to any health career

pathways then put a cross (x) if it does not.

1. MRI technologist
2. Librarian
3. Medical billers
4. Speech Pathologist
5. Writer

Health Care

What Do I Think

Each health care pathway has professions and careers offered that focus on
specific roles and responsibilities. There are different health services done by
the people involved in various occupations. Every time you visit a hospital or a
clinic, you meet these people and accommodate you according to your needs.
In a piece of paper, answer the following guide questions and be ready to share
them in class.

Guide Questions:
1. Which specific health career are you most interested in?
2. Which of your qualities do you consider are suitable for the career you
have chosen?

Reflective Questions
1. What is Health Career Pathways?
2. What are the different health career pathways?
3. How do these help people in choosing careers in the medical
field?
4. Why are there different roles and responsibilities?