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Just great... if you decide to enter one of the many health-related fields. After all, there isn’t a career path that has as many opportunities for highly paid professionals as medicine.

You’ve been to the doctor. You’ve visited the school nurse. You’ve watched one of the many popular medical shows (some reality based, some purely fictional) on television. You’ve probably even noticed the pharmacist at your local grocery carefully studying a prescription behind the counter. But have you ever stopped to think that maybe you could one day wear a stethoscope around your neck and tell someone to stop eating so much junk food?

First of all, the benefits go way beyond the endless supply of white smocks you get to wear. The health care industry features some of our nation’s highest paying jobs with career options that are almost limitless and go far beyond taking someone’s temperature or removing a bad tooth. So deep and wide are the opportunities, in fact, that we will barely be able to scratch the surface in this article. Sports medicine, for instance, is a fast growing field that focuses on the treatment and prevention of sports related injuries and conducts research into athletic training and performance. Among the many specialized areas of sports medicine are nutrition, exercise physiology, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, and biomechanics. Closely related fields include exercise science, where the knowledge and understanding of physiology and anatomy are applied to physical activity by aerobics instructors, coaches, and athletic trainers; and sports psychology, which is used to help athletes with the mental conditioning that is required to achieve peak performance. Salaries vary widely according to your particular area of interest and your education level, but be sure to take classes in health, nutrition, biology, and physical education in high school.

For those who prefer four legged patients, veterinarians diagnose and treat sick or injured animals and work to prevent the spread of disease from animals to people or to other animals. There are more than 67,000 active veterinarians in the United States working in clinics, at research facilities, with government agencies, or as teachers at universities. While most practicing veterinarians focus on small animals like family pets, about 25 percent also treat livestock including pigs, cattle, and sheep. Recent median annual earnings for veterinarians were about $72,000 per year. In addition to biology and chemistry, most veterinary colleges require students to take classes in the social sciences and business.

Like we said, this article could nearly fill a library with the many opportunities available – from chiropractic physicians, who treat spinal misalignments and the nervous system, to dentists, who care for teeth and the tissues in the mouth, to optometrists, who diagnose vision problems and test for eye diseases. So take the time to read career advice articles in magazines and on-line to explore your options further. And to learn more about what classes you’ll need to take in high school to pursue a medical career, ask your guidance counselor, science teacher, or the school nurse.

SIDEBAR: They Do WHAT?
Some unique (or unique sounding) medical careers

• Histotechnician — Stains tissue specimens for microscopic examination
• Phlebotomist — Collects blood sample
• Cytopathologist — Diagnoses lesions that may be cancerous
• Orthotist — Makes and fits orthopedic braces
• Perfusionist — Operates a heart-lung machine during heart surgery

SIDEBAR: Still in High Demand: Family Doctors and Nurses
Family practitioners treat everything from broken bones to ordinary, seasonal ailments. For more serious conditions they refer patients to a specific type of surgeon (musculoskeletal system, heart, nervous system, etc.) or to a specialist who treats ailments like immune disorders. Doctors work long hours and spend many years in advanced training but they are amply rewarded with salaries that range annually from $137,000 for family doctors to $282,000 for surgeons.

Although their responsibilities vary widely, in general nurses treat illnesses and injuries, provide follow-up care, record medical histories and symptoms, perform tests, and offer medical advice to patients and their families. Nurses often specialize in areas like geriatrics (elder care), public education, surgical procedures, oncology (cancer), emergency care, and many others. Nurses are also well paid with salaries ranging from $52,000 to over $64,000 per year.

SIDEBAR: Lisa Loves Her Pandas!
Lisa Stevens is the curator of primates and pandas at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C. She oversees her program’s daily operations, planning, and personnel management. But, as you can imagine, it’s her work with pandas that gets the most attention from the general public. On Track recently asked this Michigan State University zoology/pre-veterinary medicine graduate a few questions:

OnTrack: How did you get interested in working with animals?
Lisa: I was curious about animals for as long ago as I can remember. As a child my family lived in Southeast Asia. Living in the tropics gave me an opportunity to explore nature on a daily basis. When I was 10, I took horseback riding lessons and … was hooked forever on horses. I would watch the veterinarian when he came to treat the horses and began to be interested in medicine as well as animals. I liked to read about animals and watched all the nature shows on TV.

OT: What classes should students take in high school for a career in animal science?
Lisa: Students should study biology, chemistry and math. Hands on experience with animals in many settings (are also) very important. Use your summers to work or volunteer in settings where there are animals. Read about animals and conservation for fun.

OT: Everyone loves pandas. Tell us a little about them.
Lisa: Giant Pandas are bears that eat bamboo. Pandas also have very big heads with high foreheads. Beneath are the massive muscles they need to chew bamboo. (They have) large heads with black eye spots which make the eyes look even bigger than they really are. Plus, they can sit up and eat their food like we do. These features make pandas irresistibly adorable to us!

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