Choosing a Career Path: Medical Professionals Do More than Work in Hospitals

If you think of a doctor practicing medicine, you’re more than likely going to think of a hospital setting. But, of course, hospitals aren’t the only places physicians practice medicine.
The fact is, there are numerous places where physicians and healthcare providers practice medicine. And, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the popularity of remote diagnosis and bringing medical treatment outside of traditional settings, the reach of the healthcare world has only broadened in the last few years.
Medical professionals, including nurses, physicians, and all other healthcare workers, aren’t limited to hospital environments at all. This is especially true today as more and more people are choosing at-home care through their primary care providers. Alternatively, more people are opting for a full BLS certification course and practicing Basic Life Support in many areas.
If you’re interested in pursuing a career in healthcare and would prefer not to work in a hospital setting, here, we’ll discuss a few different places where you’ll find working physicians and healthcare workers.
Private Clinical Practice
Most often, a practicing medical doctor will begin his or her career in a hospital setting or choose to get their start by looking at urgent care positions or the like. But after some time, one might choose to open his or her own private practice clinic or work with a locum tenen company.
Private clinics are open to taking patients from the local community, which doesn’t exactly make them “private” in that regard. The term “private” refers to an exclusively owned business by a medical professional in this context.
Medical doctors of all types and backgrounds can have a private practice clinic, and these can range from ear, nose, and throat specialists to cardiology specialists to general practice.
In addition, those who practice medicine at Urgent Care facilities often own the facility themselves or by a team of medical doctors. In fact, several states such as California, Texas, Colorado, New Jersey, and Ohio (to name just a few) have laws in place requiring Urgent Care facilities to be owned by a practicing physician instead of a corporation. Sometimes physicians will actually
Government Facilities
The government employs many physicians as well. And though you might think that many of these physicians are prior military personnel, and some of them are, not all physicians who work for the federal government have a military background.
Government research facilities also employ numerous professionals in the healthcare and medicine space. Such professionals might include pathologists, microbiologists, neurologists, and many others.
The downside to working as a physician in the government might be the stress involved and the common need to relocate around the country and abroad depending on the nature of the job, but the salaries and pension that come along with working for the government offer some of the best benefits around.
Universities
While most medical doctors have to stay in school for an extended period of time, sometimes upwards of a decade or longer, many also choose to stay in academia and put their skills to the use of finding cures for diseases or teaching.
You can find physicians who work in university research labs, as well as those who teach classes at medical school. Some physicians also teach classes in graduate and undergraduate studies in a particular field such as biology, anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, and many other fields of science.
University medical doctors also may work on campus as a campus physician or nurse, though this is typically a role for a nurse practitioner or an advanced practice medical professional such as a physician’s assistant.
Humanitarian Missions
You may have also heard of “Doctors Without Borders.” This international humanitarian organization is built up of a team of doctors who transcend international borders and bring medical assistance to those who need it most in the world’s impoverished regions.
Like Doctors Without Borders, many other humanitarian missions reserve space for medical professionals to come and assist patients in places around the globe, often those stricken with horrific conditions in which the spread of disease is significant. You can find these missions around the world in places like Mexico, South America, Africa, and several places throughout Asia.
Numerous healthcare workers, including nurses, physician’s assistants, medical doctors, and all of those in between, can be found on humanitarian missions around the world.