Areas of work, specialisms and alternatives

Clinical

22 Jun 2023, 13:18

Medical and healthcare careers for graduates: clinical

people in lab coats and stethoscopes

There is a huge range of clinical careers within the medical and healthcare sector. For further information about these and related careers, check the Job descriptions section of this site.

Dentistry

Dentists use both preventive and restorative measures to treat problems that affect the mouth and teeth. You can work in general practice, both in the public dental service or independently, and once qualified it is possible to pursue a specialisation. There are also career opportunities within dental hospitals or in lecturing.

Medicine

Medicine is a five-year degree programme, at the end of which graduates complete a one year internship in a designated hospital. Following their year as an intern, junior doctors generally enter a specialised training scheme.

Nursing

Nurses provide preventive, curative, rehabilitative and supportive nursing care across a wide range of healthcare settings and in different roles. The emphasis is on caring, communication and understanding the patient's experience of illness.

Occupational therapy

Occupational therapists work with people who have a temporary or permanent mental, physical or developmental difficulty to help them develop, recover or maintain the skills needed to reach an optimum level of functioning. This covers the activities of daily living, home safety, leisure activities, community integration, equipment and environment modification. They are employed in hospitals, nursing care facilities, social services, industry and private practice.

Physiotherapy

Physiotherapists are concerned with enhancing mobility and quality of life, and maximising potential. They are employed in sport facilities, private practice, hospitals, elderly care, universities and in industry. Their responsibilities include examining and diagnosing injuries, devising treatment plans, advising on injury prevention, performing manipulations and massage.

Radiography

Radiation has a primary role in medicine both in diagnosis and as a form of radiotherapy treatment. Once qualified, you could find employment both in the health and private sector. Diagnostic radiographers use radiography, X-ray, ultrasound, MRI etc in the diagnosis of disease. Therapeutic radiographers work as part of an oncology team delivering of radiotherapy treatment to cancer patients.

gradireland editorial advice

This describes editorially independent and impartial content, which has been written and edited by the gradireland content team. Any external contributors featuring in the article are in line with our non-advertorial policy, by which we mean that we do not promote one organisation over another.

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