More Than Medicine: Human-Centered Careers That Shape the Future of Care

No matter how old you are, healthcare has most likely undergone many changes in your lifetime. The public may not know about all these changes, but they affect patients and healthcare professionals. Such changes typically come about because of people within healthcare.

However, healthcare progress is always hinged upon people who prioritize the human side of healthcare. Some healthcare career paths prioritize the human side of healthcare more than others. Follow along as we highlight some of the best human-centered healthcare careers.

The Future of Healthcare Lies in the Next Generation’s Hands

Today, aspiring healthcare professionals occupy thousands of college classrooms and lecture halls. They all have one thing in common: they want to make a career out of helping people. However, some career paths prioritize the human side of healthcare more than others, such as:

1. Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner

Few healthcare roles are as human-centered as psychiatric nurse practitioners. Psychiatric nurse practitioners help diagnose, treat, and medicate patients dealing with mental health issues. You must first earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, become a registered nurse, and get a Master of Science in Nursing.

You can also become a psychiatric nurse practitioner with a Doctor of Science in Nursing. The long journey it takes to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner means you must gain a lot of practical experience. By the time you’re a psychiatric nurse practitioner, you’ll have gotten plenty of hands-on experience with patients.

This, paired with your psychology-focused studies, will prepare you to treat psychiatric patients. One of the benefits of studying psychology is that you learn a special level of compassion. You can put your psychology education to great use and help improve your patients’ quality of life.

2. Chief Nursing Officer

Chief Nursing Officers (CNOs) hold some of the most important administrative healthcare roles. They manage and oversee the nursing staff at a hospital or clinic. In doing this, they not only help direct the nurses, but they also directly impact patients.

You can only become a CNO if you have lots of practical nursing experience. Great CNOs know how to impart their wisdom and pass great traits down to their nursing staff. This lets them shape the future generation of nurses and ensure they prioritize patient care.

Strong CNOs know how to balance the administrative side of the job with the quality-control side of things. Their job is just as much about scheduling and administration as it is about ensuring compliance and good practices.

3. Health Advocate

Health advocates, or patient advocates, go above and beyond to ensure patients receive the best possible care. This is essential in a world where some people feel like healthcare providers always have one hand on the doorknob. As a health advocate, you must help coordinate patient care and, most importantly, speak up for patient rights.

They can especially benefit people dealing with long-term illnesses. Sadly, patients with chronic illnesses sometimes struggle to get approved for certain treatments, operations, and medications. A health advocate can serve as a liaison between the patient and the healthcare or insurance provider.

Health advocates can also point their patients in the right direction and help them make decisions. This compassionate career path focuses solely on helping people. It’s a great option if your interest in healthcare is solely rooted in ensuring good patient outcomes.

4. Telehealth Coordinator

It’s easy to forget how amazing telehealth is now that everyone is used to it. Of course, many patients still require in-person care, but telehealth can benefit many people. Telehealth coordinators ensure this as they make remote healthcare as easy as possible.

They coordinate schedules, arrange appointments, and help troubleshoot problems for patients. This may not seem human-centered, that is until you think about the implications. Telehealth benefits patients who cannot easily leave their homes for simple appointments and follow-ups.

Coordinators directly help people who otherwise would be stuck in the dark, unable to get care due to a lack of access. This job requires patience and compassion, as you must walk people through the process, and many patients aren’t technically proficient. Telehealth coordinators can give patients peace of mind and ensure they receive care they may otherwise struggle to get.

5. Occupational Therapist

Occupational therapists work closely with their patients to help them overcome injuries and disabilities that hinder daily life. They help patients build, recover, and retain the physical skills needed to carry out tasks and jobs. It is quite human-centered as you’re often dealing with patients in vulnerable positions.

Not only must you help them recover and retain abilities, but you must also help them feel like themselves again. Losing certain physical abilities can take a toll on your mental health. As an occupational therapist, you can help improve a patient’s quality of life and confidence.

Part of what makes occupational therapy so unique is that each patient has different needs. Experienced, compassionate occupational therapists know how to figure out the best treatment plan for each patient. This requires lots of care, compassion, patience, and understanding, as you’ll see how each case is different.

6. Healthcare Data Analyst

Healthcare data analysts use raw data to learn about and improve the state of healthcare. They use patient records, hospital records, surveys, and more to find trends and learn about healthcare. All of this information and hard work ensure they can improve the healthcare system.

It may not entail working directly with patients, but the outcome can benefit them. For example, they can use their findings to appeal to healthcare providers and make a case for why a certain device or treatment plan doesn’t work. Similarly, they can use data and patient surveys to support new treatments and technologies and make them more commonplace.

The reports they create and the recommendations they make can contribute to widespread changes that benefit patients. This healthcare role is deeply rooted in technology, and critical to the future of the industry.

You Can Contribute to a Brighter Healthcare Future

Nothing can hold you back from contributing to great patient outcomes and improving your healthcare institution. As long as you focus on the human side of healthcare and embrace progress, you can make a difference. Whether you approach it from a data-driven standpoint or advocate for patients, you can see your hard work pay off in great outcomes.