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Medical Careers that Require One Year of Schooling or Less

Medical Careers that Require One Year of Schooling or Less

Person working at pharmacy

A medical career can appeal to many different people. This type of work often happens in a fast-paced environment, and people working in this field get to help people with health problems. It can be exciting and rewarding work, but some careers in the medical field require you to complete a lot of schooling. However, not all jobs require years and years of education. For example, a pharmacy technician program only requires nine months of schooling. Check out some of your job options that require less than one year of education below.

 

Do You Want to Work in the Medical Field?

There are a lot of great reasons to work in the healthcare field, but this field of work is not for everyone. Before you jump into this type of career, you will want to consider if it is the right option for you. It might be right for you if you enjoy helping others, you like to understand how the human body works, you are good under pressure, and you have a strong work ethic. Working in the medical field will also require you to have some type of education or training. If you are willing to put in the time to learn what you need to, this career field could be a good option for you.

 

Medical Careers with Less Than One Year of Schooling

You cannot become a doctor with just one year of schooling, but there are plenty of entry-level careers in the medical field that do not require a lot of schooling. Check out three of these different options below.

Medical assistant checking blood pressure
  • Pharmacy Technician – A pharmacy technician is someone who will assist a pharmacist with various tasks. Duties of a pharmacy technician include customer service, labeling prescriptions, packaging prescriptions, answering phone calls, billing insurance, organizing inventory, and more. The exact job duties will depend on your place of employment, but it can be a great option for working in the medical field. Most people who want to become a pharmacy technician attend pharmacy tech classes. A pharmacy tech program can be completed in nine months. It will teach students about basic anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, pharmacy calculations, pharmacy law, pharmacy principles, and more. This program will also likely include a pharmacy technician externship so that the student can get some hands-on experience working in their field. A pharmacy tech program is a quick one, but it could prepare you for a great job.
  • Medical Assistant – A medical assistant is someone who works in a hospital, healthcare facility, or doctor’s office. The job duties of a medical assistant include basic medical procedures and administrative tasks. Medical assistants often report to nurses working in a specific healthcare facility. A medical assistant may perform job duties such as measuring vital signs, helping the doctor with medical exams, scheduling patient appointments, preparing samples for lab tests, and more. A medical assistant program can be completed in nine months. This type of program with teach you about basic anatomy, medical office procedures, basic pharmacology, patient care, clinical procedures, and more. You may also learn about specialized medical exams and fundamentals of medical insurance. You will have theory hours, lab hours, and externship hours in this type of program, but it can still be completed in less than a year.
  • Patient Care Technician – A patient care technician is someone who helps provide basic medical care to those people in a long-term healthcare facility. This position can be somewhat similar to that of a medical assistant, but it is slightly different because a patient care technician is more focused on the needs of the patient. A medical assistant often performs more administrative duties. To become a patient care technician, many people attend a patient care technician program. A patient care technician program can be completed in as little as six or seven months. It will include courses that cover subject material like the fundamentals of patient care, patient care lab skills, specialized medical exams, and more. You can also expect to do a patient care technician clinical, which will give you real experience working as a patient care technician in a supervised environment. This could be a quick program to take to get started working in the medical field in less than a year.

Attending a medical assistant, patient care technician, or pharmacy technician program could set you up for a great career. The best part is that you do not have to go to school forever to start any one of these careers. FVI School of Nursing and Technology or FVI has a program for each of these three career options. Reach out to us if you would like to learn more about any one of these programs.

For more information about graduation rates, the median debt of students who completed the program, and other important information, please visit our website:
https://fvi.edu/consumer-information/

 

Sources and References:

  1. https://www.fvi.edu/pharmacy-technician/
  2. https://www.verywellmind.com/top-reasons-to-work-in-the-healthcare-field-1736367
  3. https://www.fvi.edu/Blog/pharmacy-technician-responsibilities/
  4. https://www.fvi.edu/Blog/what-you-will-learn-in-pharmacy-technician-classes
  5. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/medical-assistants.htm
  6. https://www.fvi.edu/Blog/medical-assistant-responsibilities/
  7. https://www.fvi.edu/medical-assistant-program/
  8. https://www.fvi.edu/Blog/what-is-a-patient-care-technician-and-what-do-they-do/
  9. https://www.fvi.edu/patient-care-technician-program
  10. https://www.fvi.edu/Blog/become-a-patient-care-technician/
  11. https://www.fvi.edu/Blog/what-courses-will-you-take-in-a-pharmacy-technician-program/