OB-GYN

My topic for today is going to be Obstetrician Gynaecologist or more commonly known as an OB/GYN. This job entails the care/treatment of most things relating to the female reproductive system. A common misconception of a OB/GYN is that all they do all day is deliver babies and do pap-smears (a test which is meant to help determine whether the patient has cervical cancer), but this isn't true at all. On top of doing that, they do surgeries such as caesarean sections, hysterectomies, laparoscopies, etc.

Bedside manner is a very important thing to have if you want to become a gynaecologist as being an OB/GYN is a very hands-on and involved job. They talk to their patients extensively whether just for a check-up or while performing a mother's first sonograph.

Holding a baby as they take their first breath of air can be an amazing experience so if you love children (especially babies), have a good bed-side manner, and have a interest for the reproductive system (it's really complex), then maybe being an obstetrician gynaecologist is just the job for you.

Click here for a list of things this OB/GYN loves about her job.

Blood-Free Jobs

For all of you who aren't a 100% with blood, and are rather squeamish, I'll be talking about some medical related jobs that involve relatively small amounts of blood involved.

Dietitian- Dietitians fill a variety of roles. What their main objective is, is to help maintain a healthy living-style for their patients. People may need a dietitian for many different reasons. For example, they might need to lose weight due to disease or just for a healthier lifestyle. They help people under their guidance make the proper changes to their diets.

Sonographer- A medical sonographer is a person you use sonography equipment to direct sound into a person’s body. This allows them to get and image and record what they find. Other jobs similar to this are an ultrasound technician, a radiologist, and so forth. Being a sonographer would be a job fitted to people who enjoy and are good with working with technology.

Physical Therapy- A physical therapist helps their patients increase their mobility and decrease pain experienced. They help plan out a therapy schedule for the patient. The patient will normally visit the PT for an extended period of time mattering on the injury. Physical Therapist don't have to work in a hospital environment but can work in junction with other therapist (occupational and speech). 

These jobs aren't all the blood and gore as what a surgeon has to endure, but they are just as important for the medical system to run smoothly. I'd suggest you read up more on these jobs and others. 

Cardio!

Today I'm talking about cardio, not like the working out cardio, but cardiothoracic surgery. So this is a topic that I will probably have A LOT to say about this. As I said in my first post, I would someday perhaps want to be a cardiothoracic surgeon. It is a really hectic field in medicine but it is so cool. Like imagine cutting someone open and taking out their heart except it's legal. (okay that isn't the best way to describe it...but still)

Cardiothoracic Surgery is a surgical specialty which treats diseases affecting organs in the thorax (or chest). This includes, the heart, lungs, and the oesophagus. It is a relatively new profession but has grown in popularity since World War II. Although being criticized for a variety or reasons, professionals can't help but say that cardiothoracic surgery is a renowned field in the medical community. It is however one of the most expensive fields to go into, as the training time takes really long time. You have to study for a premedical degree (±4 years) and then another 4 years at medical school, followed by a 5-year residency and a 2 year fellowship. Obviously those years are an outline meaning the lengths can vary.

Once you become a cardiothoracic surgeon it will be all worth it. Not only will you get to do what you love, and save lives but you will have a HUGE paycheck. No lie. They are up there with the top-paid medical related jobs. If that isn't a bonus to an amazing job that (may i add) you get to cut people open, I don't know what is.

Pediatrics

Paediatrician/Pediatricians- A doctor who manages a child's mental, physical, and emotional well-being.

Since pediatricians work with babies up to usually 18 years old, they have to extremely qualified. They have to study for around 4 years in medical school and then do an internship for another three years and then do a fellowship of 2-3 years. The amount of years differs mattering on which university and what program and so forth. In total it can take up to eleven years to be a fully qualified pediatrics attending. 

There is a large range of sub-divisions in 'peds' which could be rather interesting. (I'll drop a link at the end of this post so you can check them out.) I would suggest looking into pediatrics if you are good with children and enjoy working with them. Also if you don't mind working really hard and taking the time to become a pediatrician.

Pediatrics Specialties

Grey's Anatomy

So I thought I would go a bit off topic today and do something a little bit different. I'm going to talk about Grey's Anatomy. So I've only started this series recently. I'm only on Season Six. Yes, I know you may be thinking, season six isn't starting recently. Well it is, I'm not even half way through which is great and it's still running which is better. Grey's Anatomy is a medical based drama following the lives of Meredith Grey and her colleagues. You get to watch them go from their intern year at Seattle Grace Hospital and their journey of becoming doctors. It's pretty cool because it shows you like different procedures but also their personal lives. It's really awesome, so if you have sometime I suggest checking it out. I forgot to mention but it's about surgeons (like the different kinds) but even if you are thinking of a different medical route or not even anything in medicine it's really good.

Another show I would suggest is House but most people have watched that (if not, well you can now). Some other medical related TV series are Scrubs, Private Practice, General Hospital, ER, The Night Shift, and more. I personally can't vouch for these shows as I have not watched them but you can check them out and comment what they are like.

Nursing Intro

Hey guys. Today I'm going to be talking about Nurses. So let's get started!

When someone decides they want to be in the medical field, they don't usually first off think of being a nurse. Often or not they want to be a surgeon because they are out there cutting up people and saving lives (seems weird those two actions being in the same sentence). Nursing is often looked down on but it is SUCH an important job. People who would be better suited for nursing are those who enjoy talking to people as a nurse is more "up close and personal' with their patients. Here are a few qualities you should probably have if you want to become a nurse...

1. Good Communication Skills- I cannot stress this enough but communication is key in nursing. You need to be able to speak to patients to find out what they need, how they are feeling, and so forth.
2. Patience- Okay I know I said communication is key but I'm going to have say that again for this. Patience is really important, so if you blow a fuse quickly, maybe nursing just isn't for you.
3. Time- Nursing (and any field in medicine) means dedicating a lot of time. Not only when you actually start being a nurse but leading up to it.
4. Endurance- If you don't like being on your feet for extended periods then maybe think about getting an office job. Not meaning to be blunt, but you have to do a lot of standing and moving around.

To end of this post, here a few quizzes which might help you if you want to be a nurse:

Are You Suited to Being a Nurse Quiz

Personality Quiz to Help with Nursing Specialties

Subject Requirements

So today I am going to be going through the basic requirements you will most likely need if you want to follow something in medicine. I put emphasis on 'basic' because this will not guaranty your entry into the medical field. You should further look at the requirements for what exactly you want to be and which universities.

• Physics 
• Life Science 
• Mathematics 

It is very important to take these subjects if you want to be in medicine. In South Africa the requirement percentage is considerably less than internationally. Here you need a minimum of 60% in your subjects but elsewhere you need at least have an average but 80% above to have more of a chance of admission in university. Personally either way I would say to aim for 80% and higher.  

Welcome

Hey all and welcome to my blog. This is my first time blogging so bear with me. To start off, let me tell you a little bit about myself.
My name is Aku and in the future I hope to become something in the medical field. I'm not sure what I want to be as there are many medical related career paths which I could follow. I'm sort of thinking down the path of a surgeon but that is like a hectic job. If I decide I want to become a surgeon, then I will probably become a cardiacthoracic surgeon. If not maybe like an OB/GYN.
Since lately I have been researching information on these different careers, I decided to share some of the info with all of y'all. Hopefully by going through my blog, you will gain some information on some careers in medicine.

Cardiothoracic Surgeon- A surgeon who works mainly with problems of the heart and chest area.
OB/GYN- An obstetrician and gynaecologist works with the delivering of babies and other things related to women's health.