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Health and Medical Services
From The Student RoomTSR Wiki > Careers > Career Options > Health and Medical Services
From the headlines in newspapers you might think that health and medical services in this country are in a bad way. That doesn’t really tell the whole story. The NHS, for instance, is struggling in terms of money and too few staff but if you’re committed to hard work, the opportunities are there. Complementary treatments, such as acupuncture and herbalism, are popular with many people. Orthodox doctors are becoming slightly less suspicious of a few of these ’alternatives’.
Opportunities availableThere are hundreds of different jobs within the NHS (the largest employer in Europe), and outside it. Opportunities are increasing in quite a few work areas, including nursing and radiography and more places are available to study medicine than ever before. Good health care assistants, especially in the private sector, are in short supply. Self-employment is possible, particularly in complementary medicine. Opportunities also exist on the non-medical side, such as for dental surgery managers and hospital administrators.
Entry requirementsYou’ll need specific degrees for many jobs including doctor, dentist and physiotherapist. The right personality and relevant work experience (including voluntary work with children and the elderly) are important. There are numerous opportunities for people with fewer qualifications, such as nurse and paramedic. A few jobs have no particular entry requirements, such as porter, dental nurse, medical records clerk and some jobs within complementary medicine.
Future trendsNone of the experts agree! Some say we’re living longer, others say our diet and lack of exercise is making us ill, and others are concerned about the strange viruses that keep appearing. Whatever the truth, there will probably be increased work opportunities, although it’s possible that increasing numbers of operations and lab-based research will be carried out abroad. | 
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