Free Career Analysis Report Essay Sample

Introduction

Despite changes in economic times, the healthcare industry is one of the careers areas where hiring and job recruitment either remains constant or rises. Compared to other career fields, the jobs in the healthcare industry are estimated to rise faster to at least 3.2m by the end of 2018 (Healthcare Careers). It is approximated that as the current generation ages, the new generation will require more healthcare professionals than ever. Jobs in healthcare are characterized from those requiring minimum qualifications such as merely completing high school to those requiring spending years in university studying and experimenting (Tierney, 1991). One of the assumptions in the field is that jobs in health care are either directly or indirectly related to saving lives, sustaining healthy lives and enhancing lives. Individuals who intend to work in the healthcare industry should always be ready to take up the initiative of being able to save lives and handle life related situations (LTH Tan and KL Ong). Secondly, healthcare is one of the fundamental aspects that guard human lives. Ranging from healthcare insurance practices to handling emergency conditions and chronic diseases, healthcare professionals are a significant part of the society. Another fundamental assumption made in the field is that, healthcare professionals have to put up with a code of conduct that guides their conduct while handling health care related tasks. In this respect, this report aims at analyzing healthcare as my potential career field. To facilitate this, I conducted research in respect to the topic of discussion to arrive at conclusions. Majorly, I referred to news and articles in secondary sources such as journals and textbooks. Further, I attended a career guidance session where I received more information on the career. A combination of both primary and secondary sources assisted in the compilation of this report.

Research Results

Option One: Dentist
Dentistry is simply dealing with medicine and treatment for teeth problems. Most dentists are self-employed and always charge for the service they provide depending on the complexity of the problem. For one to be a dentist, it is required that one goes through a dentistry college after high school. At the university level, dentists have to spend on average, eight years of study. At the end of the period, they graduate with DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery). For admission to a dental school, they should pass the DAT (Dental Aptitude Test) which depicts a candidate's's academic success in undergraduate courses that include physical and biological sciences (Healthcare Careers). As noted, advancement opportunities depend on an individual’s discretion; those who are self-employed dentists can choose to expand business and hire other dentists to assist them. Those employed wait for older dentists to retire for a higher level.

Option Two: Psychiatrist

As a medical doctor, a psychiatrist is usually trained in the preclusion, diagnosis and the corresponding treatment of mental problems. While their entry level income depends on the facility they are hired at, psychiatrists have to work hand in hand with nurses, psychologists, and other clinical professionals. Psychiatrists are not limited to working in hospital facilities. They can work in business, institutions such as schools and churches, pharmaceutical industries, etc. One has to become a doctor before becoming a psychiatrist. This involves completing a ‘pre-med’ major in four years at a medicine college. Before joining the medicine school, individuals have to take the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) (Healthcare Careers). Advancement opportunities in this field are achieved when individuals build their practice. However, in an organizational setting, they can still move up.

Option Three: Surgeon

Surgeons are specifically trained to operate or perform surgery on patients. Just like other health professionals, surgeons work hand in hand with nurses, doctors, assistants, etc. while working on all surgical procedures. They are considered as the highest paid in the healthcare industry. However, entry income depends on the healthcare facility where they have been hired and their area of specialization. First, one is required to become a medical doctor before they can become surgeons. Surgery is one of the longest career paths. Studying for surgery can take up to a minimum of 8 years and a maximum of 12 years depending on the area of specialization (Healthcare Careers). After a degree in undergraduate studies, individuals enroll in medical school studies and after that a residency program where they train for their specific areas of surgery. Concentrating on one area of surgery is one of the ways of advancing in this career. Once one becomes more proficient in a specific area, they get more referrals and thus, more pay. This raises their job levels. However, they can also start their surgical clinics.

Criteria

Decision Matrix
In order to assess the viability of the best choice of my career, I developed a decision matrix to help me establish the most appropriate job. This decision matrix is based on comparisons of the three job options that I have while looking at the criteria that I have discussed earlier. These criteria include work schedule, income prospects, geographical location and job description. The four aspects have been weighted according to how they define each job. However, it should be noted that the healthcare industry has more fields of working and that the three are just part of them. Hence, the criteria may differ in other jobs. In addition, the three fields; dentistry, psychiatrist, and surgery are my best considerations for job opportunities. Thus, the comparisons made on the decision matrix are according to the nature of these jobs in relation to what I prefer or think is more appropriate for me. The decision matrix is presented below

Analysis

With regards to a flexible work schedule, good income prospects, good geographical location and a supportive work environment, dentistry is the career that best fits my expectations in the healthcare industry. For a dentist, I can first decide whether to work as private and independent doctor or decide to join a healthcare center to practice my skills. In case I decide to start up my office where I can handle tooth problems, my schedule will be very flexible given the fact that I have to work on appointments and I can place them to suit my schedule (Tierney, 1991). This will give me enough time to handle domestic matter at the same time handle my clients. In case I choose to work in a health facility, my services will also be based on appointments making my working schedule flexible as I can easily coordinate my work obligations and domestic responsibilities. Notably, balancing the domestic and workplace environments is one way of living a stress-free life and helps to handle matters more effectively with the necessary intensity and professionalism. As noted earlier, the entry salary of a dentist depends on where they choose to work. For a private and independent dentist, the salary depends on the number of patients that they handle over a given period. For a dentist hired at a hospital, on average, they receive not more than $70000 (Healthcare Careers). With this salary range, I can be able to achieve some of my lifetime goals such as building a good house and purchasing a car. After that, as an independent dentist I can invest more in expanding my business. This is a means through which I can develop myself by efficiently handling my job with the highest level of professionalism. Notably, when I gain more expertise in the field, I can advance myself including my services and hence attain my salary prospects of above $80000 (Kendall, 1991). When working in a healthcare facility, it is most likely that the geographical location meets my expectations. The best healthcare facilities, where I prefer to work, are all located at almost the same distance from my place of stay. Nevertheless, they are not as far as such. In fact, it would be my pleasure because they are within the climatic region that I prefer. Being a dentist, one should always be prepared to handle very delicate situations and use sophisticated instruments to deal with different situations. First, one needs to diagnose a problem by talking to the patients and running tests to determine the cause of the problem and the extent to which it has affected the patient’s health. After identification of the problem and the extent, the dentist is then required to conduct surgical procedures to the patient’s teeth. Such procedure includes extracting teeth and filling up cavities. This process requires the use of sophisticated machines such as X-ray scanners (Healthcare Careers). After all this, the dentist can then prescribe specific medication to the individual with means to manage pain especially after the surgical procedure. To do this work, most of the time dentists work autonomously. However, they may seek the services of hygienists and surgical assistants including technicians. Consequently, this implies that dentistry is the kind of job that one has to make very well-informed decision especially when they are working as independent and private dentists. With the necessary skill, however, dentists can seek the services of other parties as mentioned before. In addition, it can be seen that a dentist has quite a number of responsibilities that they must ensure are completed in a professional way (Healthcare Careers). Dealing with the life of a patient is very delicate and require the taking of maximum duty to ensure that duties are well executed. More significantly, at glance, despite a good income prospect, dentistry is very challenging. Understanding dental formulas and the cause and extent of a tooth problem is difficult. It requires commitment and readiness plus skill to handle tooth problems.

Conclusions

In summary, I have found out that the best job that suits my expectations is a dentist. I can state that; being a dentist meets my criteria for evaluating the most appropriate job that I can take in the healthcare industry. Based on the fact that the job has a good income prospect with a flexible working schedule, I have established that dentistry is my dream job compared to being a surgeon or a psychiatrist. In addition, the geographical location of every prospective working station is within my preferences of having a climate that is health-sustaining and within a distance that is can easily access. Above all, the job description is supportive given that it upholds autonomy and the need to make informed decisions. Despite few challenges in the handling of delicate situations, I believe this is my best choice.

Argument graphic

Below is the argument graphic describing my claim, reasons and evidence of choosing dentistry as my career option in the health career field.

References

Healthcare Careers: Redefining Your Future. Retrieved from <www.healthcarecareers.org/>. Accessed on 10th February, 2015.
Kendall, L. B., (1991). Opportunities in Dental Care Careers. Michigan: VGM Career Horizons. University of Michigan.
LTH Tan and KL Ong: The Impact of Medical Technology on Healthcare Today. Hong Kong Journal of Emergency Medicine.
Tierney, G., (1999). Opportunities in Holistic Health Care Careers. New York: McGraw Hill Publications.