Medical Careers That Don't Deal With Blood

Management

Health care managers and administrators oversee delivery of medical services. They set work schedules, manage finances, stay current on laws and regulations and represent their facility at investor meetings or on governing boards. They also keep medical staff and department heads updated on important issues. Nursing home administrators supervise nursing homes, while clinical managers lead specific hospital departments such as nursing or surgery. Most employers require health care administrators to have at least a bachelor’s degree in the field, though many have a master’s degree as well.

Physical Therapy

Physical therapists help patients recover from injuries or surgeries. They guide patients through supervised exercises to improve mobility of joints and muscles, rebuild strength and ease pain from ailments that limit movement. Physical therapists work for hospitals, rehabilitation centers, sports medicine clinics, colleges and in patients’ homes. Some specialize, working exclusively with children or the elderly. Others focus on patients with neurological or cardiopulmonary conditions. Occupational therapy is a closely related field that emphasizes helping the permanently disabled learn to function on the job or in school. Practitioners in both fields need a master’s degree.

Information

Patients never see health information specialists, but the work these technologists do is fundamental to care. Health information technology professionals manage patient records, administer computer information systems and put billing codes on procedures. Doctors, nurses, hospitals and clinics use health information data to choose treatments and determine whether therapies work. Physicians’ offices, hospitals, insurance companies and government agencies employ health information workers in positions such as billing and coding specialist, patient information coordinator or insurance claims analyst. To enter the field, get an associate’s degree or postsecondary certificate in health information technology. Certification from the American Health Information Management Association may boost hiring and advancement.

Pharmacy

Careers in the local pharmacy are blood-free. The quickest route into the field is as a pharmacy technician, taking prescription slips from patients, counting tablets and fielding phone calls from customers. In most states, techs need just a high school diploma, because training happens on the job. Techs may also need to pass a state licensing exam. Pharmacists dispense medication and counsel patients on side effects. Pharmacists typically must finish a five-year combined program that results in bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in pharmacy. They work in retail drugstores, hospitals or nursing homes. Health maintenance organizations and pharmaceuticals manufacturers also employ pharmacists.

Doctors

Yes, some medical practices let you avoid blood. There’s one big caveat, though: All doctors, regardless of specialty, have to complete hospital rotations in internal medicine. If you can handle med school but want to stay away from blood on the job, consider a career as a psychiatrist or hospitalist. Psychiatrists treat emotional and mental disorders. Once they finish medical school, they must complete a four-year hospital residency in psychiatry. Hospitalists are doctors who guide chronically or critically patients through their stay in the hospital, helping them understand treatments and delivery of care. A one-year fellowship in the field can train hospitalists to collaborate with hospital staff and research ways to improve care.