Is there a health degree that is more hands on?

[videogamesrock]

Are there any health degrees that are more hands on clinical versus book studying? My cousin is looking at learning something that he can complete in 18 months with less testing on medical and more patient involvement. I've looked at Phlebotomy and Physical Therapy Assistant. Any other ideas?

[AngelaP]

What about CNA?

[videogamesrock]

What about CNA?

Sorry I forgot to mention he's already a CNA but would like something with more pay.

[ajs1976]

what about x-ray or imaging tech?

[Prloko]

Are there any health degrees that are more hands on clinical versus book studying? My cousin is looking at learning something that he can complete in 18 months with less testing on medical and more patient involvement. I've looked at Phlebotomy and Physical Therapy Assistant. Any other ideas?

Ultrasound Tech maybe? I know back a couple years ago, they were paid pretty well.

[videogamesrock]

Ultra sound and x-Ray pay well, how test intensive are they?

[ajs1976]

Ultra sound and x-Ray pay well, how test intensive are they?

My information is probably outdated, but x-ray tech was about half classroom and half hands-on training. My aunt used to teach at an x-ray school and I looked into it when I was in highschool 20+ years ago. The classroom part was a lot of A&P and applied physics.

[KittenMittens]

Are there any health degrees that are more hands on clinical versus book studying? My cousin is looking at learning something that he can complete in 18 months with less testing on medical and more patient involvement. I've looked at Phlebotomy and Physical Therapy Assistant. Any other ideas?

More hands on? Depends on how far he wants to go, and how much pay he is seeking, but occupational therapy is very hands on. The higher the pay, the more book studying you'll do, but there are certainly fields that will end up more "hands on" than others.

But to get to that level, there will always be a certain level of theory that needs to be covered.

Some other fields to look into are: Kinesiology, Physical Therapy, dental hygiene, etc.

X-Ray Technician would be hands on but involves a lot of math and physics.

There are invasive cardiovascular technology/technician kind of roles, where it's hands on but you'd need a good grasp of physiological, and anatomical related principles.

Even in nursing you can find "hands on" positions.

It's hard to say overall though - anything that has more pay is going to involve more theory involved.

[videogamesrock]

Would after completing any of the above mentioned program, the Health Studies Concentration at COSC open any doors down the road?

[KittenMittens]

Would after completing any of the above mentioned program, the Health Studies Concentration at COSC open any doors down the road?

To some degree, but I don't think it's necessary for getting into any of the types of programs you mentioned. If this is what you're talking about: Health Studies - Charter Oak State College

It appears that it covers some important courses i.e. anatomy & physiology (2 semesters worth), & microbiology, but almost universally most programs tend to like courses in:

anatomy and physiology (probably 1 - 2 semesters for 3 - 8 credits without lab or with it), microbiology with lab, statistics (maybe do ALEKS Statistics), if you still have even more interest, then look into biochemistry (no lab), and then maybe genetics (no lab) imho. And also the general pre-req science courses Chem I & II w/ lab, Bio I & II w/ lab

In this order, it would probably get harder with microbiology, biochemistry and genetics being "hard" for "different reasons." Microbiology is a lot of memorizing of stuff like bacteria, fungi, viruses, etc., plus labs take a lot of time for only one credit, biochemistry is a lot of technical molecular pathways i.e. krebs cycle, glycolysis, etc. and genetics is technical because of the concepts of DNA replication and the different protein transcription factors you'd have to memorize.

Here's a good thread on this matter: http://www.degreeforum.net/excelsior-tho...post184216

And here's a sample outline of courses you can take: https://www.amc.edu/academic/PhysicianAs...sions.html

The important thing is that you don't need to complete a degree in science as long as you fulfill your program requirements which are typically the same for both undergraduate and graduate level programs. Focus on maintaining a high GPA (above 3.7), and getting As on all the science courses, as GPA is extremely important for getting in and doing well. If anything do a degree that you find easy, and can do well on.

From what you've described, occupational therapy is a very attractive and well paying job as well and it's typically in very high demand (around $76,000 salary). Also check out PA school (linked above), it's basically mini-med school, over 1.5 - 2 years or so, and you'll make about $100 - $120,000 out of the program. Both of these can/are very hands on if you go into the right specialty i.e. sports medicine/orthopedic surgery kinda stuff. For PA programs, they do typically need about 1000 hours of volunteer/clinical experience before getting in but it's a very attractive option if motivated enough. Also check out the SDN forums regarding health programs. Keep in mind though that PA school (Physician Assistant) is not a "low level" thing by any means. It's not like a medical assistant by any means, you're essentially have the same clinical skills as a doctor except with less theory. You can say that it's medical school + residency on crack, but I think it's a better option for many than going into family practice/internal medicine for financial/time reasons.