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From delivering babies to designing medical devices, there are many routes into healthcare beyond the traditional doctor-or-nurse pathway. These alternative routes require taking up alternative courses. Below are a few examples of courses to consider.

Midwifery

Becoming a midwife can be a hugely rewarding job. You’ll spend your career bringing new life into the world. A midwifery course can teach you how to provide care and support to mothers through pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period. It includes lessons in anatomy, pharmacology and cultural safety, as well as hospital placements working within different obstetric departments. You can then choose which area of midwifery you want to work in.

Mental health

There are various mental health programs that you can take to help you provide support to individuals with anxiety, depression and other mental health disorders. This includes courses in counseling and psychology for traditional mental health support roles, as well as courses like a Certificate IV in mental health to provide community services and frontline work. Such a career can provide diverse opportunities and a lot of job satisfaction. Take your time to compare courses to set yourself up for the right routes. 

Occupational therapy

Occupational therapists help individuals to participate in everyday activities after experiencing injury or illness. Getting into this career typically involves taking a specialist occupational therapy course, which covers areas like anatomy, psychology and sociology. Occupational therapists work with clients of all ages from babies to the elderly – after completing your course you can choose your specialism. You’ll find OT jobs at hospitals and rehabilitation centers, although much work is likely to be community-based and may involve meeting clients in their home. 

Radiography

A radiography course could teach you how to produce diagnostic images like x-rays, CT scans or MRI scans. On top of learning how to safely use this technology, you’ll learn all about human anatomy and how to evaluate images properly. There are many different branches of radiography that you can work in from helping carry out ultrasound scans of babies to working with bone fracture injuries. It could be a good course to consider for those that want to work in a hospital setting, but are not attracted to the more fast-paced roles of being a doctor or a nurse. 

Healthcare administration

Behind every organization is a heap of admin. Hospitals and clinics often require teams of administrators to carry out tasks like scheduling appointments, managing medical records, handling budgets, topping up supplies or working with healthcare insurers. If you’ve already got experience in admin, you may be able to transfer your skills to a healthcare setting without necessarily taking up a separate healthcare administration course. However, a dedicated program like a Master of health administration can teach you about the unique office tasks within the medical sector and potentially fast-track you into this niche area of admin. 

Biomedical engineering

Want to design medical technology? A biomedical engineering course could set you on the way. This field of engineering combines biology, design and material science and can lead to a huge range of careers – particularly working at medical tech startups or working with established medical device companies to test and improve products. It’s a non-patient-facing role that still ultimately helps to save lives. A regular engineering course may still help you to get into the medical technology sector, however you’re more likely to get hired with a specialist degree.

Prosthetics and orthotics

This is a branch of biomedical engineering that focuses on the design and production of custom limb prosthesis and orthopedic braces. As a prosthetic clinician, you’ll work in a hospital or rehabilitation center with doctors and occupational therapists to help restore mobility and function to patients with various health problems from amputations to gait issues. Courses such as an MS in orthotics and prosthetics can teach you all the important things you need to know including anatomy, CAD/CAM design and fitting – often including placements working with prosthetics and orthotics clinicians. Experience with technology like 3D printers may help you to get into this alternative medical field. 

Speech and language therapy

As a speech and language therapist, you’ll work with patients who are experiencing difficulty with communication or swallowing. This can include working with children who have late speech development or speech problems, or it could involve working with adults who may have developed speech or swallowing problems as a result of diseases or injuries. A course in speech and language therapy involves learning about linguistics, neurology and biology. It may include placements at a hospital or a rehabilitation center where you can get experience working face-to-face with patients. 

Medical law and ethics

Those interested in a law career related to healthcare could consider specializing in medical law and ethics. This branch of laws delves into important topics such as consent, privacy, research ethics, clinic governance and malpractice liability. There are courses that focus on this area of law. There are many potential job avenues that you can explore with a medical law and ethics degree including working at law firms, hospitals, government bodies, advocacy organizations or insurance companies. 

Chiropractic

Becoming a chiropractor could be another unique pathway to consider in healthcare. This form of alternative medicine focuses on pain management and mobility restoration through musculoskeletal therapy. Getting official qualifications is legally required to practice as a chiropractor – a course will teach you elements like anatomy and how to safely perform treatments like joint manipulation, while often including placements to observe and learn hands-on. 

Conclusion

Taking one of these courses could be a great route into an alternative area of healthcare for those that don’t want to become a doctor or nurse. Consider where your skills and interests lie and which of these courses aligns best with them. Make sure to take your time comparing courses from different colleges and institutions – some may have placements while others may not, and the quality of the courses could vary (you can get a good idea of the quality by reading reviews left by students).