Medical Technician
The term medical technician covers several different jobs: medical laboratory technicians, medical records and health information technicians and emergency medical technicians. All three jobs have excellent prospects.
Medical laboratory technicians analyze fluids, tissues, and cells and enter the results into patients' records. You can learn many of your skills on the job, but you will need to study for a diploma to progress your career. Many medical laboratory technicians choose to specialize to increase their salaries.
Emergency medical technicians (EMTs), like paramedics, are first responders to a scene after a 911 call. Emergency medical technicians transfer patients to the emergency department and inform emergency room staff of patients' status and treatment. There are varying levels of emergency medical technician, all of which require registration and certification.
Health informatics is now vital to healthcare delivery and medical information technicians are enjoying one of the fastest growing occupations in the US today. The recording of a patient's treatment is vital for billing, insurance and legal coverage. This is the role of the medical information technician. While you can learn a lot about medical information on the job, most medical information technicians are trained to at least associate's level. Courses covered include computer databases, anatomy, physiology, medical terminology, legal aspects, coding and statistics, database management, quality improvement methods, and computer science. You prepare to become a medical information technician at high school by choosing subjects such as biology and computer science. |
