Direct Patient Care Pathway
Do you enjoy working directly with patients and providing face to face, hands-on care?
Careers in health care are abundant and involve different types of roles and responsibilities. In efforts to define each health care career more clearly, they are categorized into groups known as “health care pathways”.Direct patient care or “hands-on” patient care is just one of five health care pathways. Careers that fall into this category involve a high level of patient interaction. If your primary interests lay in maintaining or improving the health of patients over a period of time, you should explore the careers listed below.
Job possibilities in this sector of health care are seemingly endless. Careers include those such as home health, nursing, rehabilitation and therapy, care management, emergency services and so many more. All of these careers involve direct patient contact and care on a daily basis.
Below you will find a list of the different careers that fall under this umbrella. Choose one that interests you or explore many options if you are not yet sure which direction to take. As your journey continues and you determine which career is the right one, you will find career plans (step by step guides designed to help you achieve your goals) and additional resources for each job.
To learn more about each of these patient oriented health care careers, click on the links below.
Careers in Direct Patient Care – Careers that involve therapeutics…
- Advanced Practice Nurse
- Anesthesia Technician / Technologist
- Anesthesiologist Assistant
- Art Therapist
- Athletic Trainer
- Audiologist
- Certified Nursing Assistant
- Chiropractor
- Dental Assistant
- Dental Hygienist
- Dentist (DDS)
- EMT / Paramedic
- Forensic Nurse
- Genetic Counselor
- Geriatric Care Manager
- Health Psychologist
- Hemodialysis Technician
- Industrial-Organizational Psychologist
- Licensed Practical Nurse
- Life Care Planner
- Medical Assistant
- Nutritionist/Dietitian
- Nurse Manager
- Occupational Therapist (OT)
- Occupational Therapy (OT) Assistant
- Ophthalmic Medical Assistant
- Ophthalmologist
- Perfusionist
- Personal Trainer
- Pharmacist
- Pharmacy Technician
- Physical Therapist
- Physical Therapy Assistant
- Physician
- Physician Assistant (PA)
- Psychiatric Technician
- Psychologist
- Public Health Nurse
- Radiation Therapist
- Recreational Therapist
- Registered Nurse
- Respiratory Therapist
- Social Worker
- Speech Pathologist
- Surgical Technologist
- Veterinary Technician
- Veterinarian (DVM)
- Vocational Rehab Counselor
If you haven’t come across a career that you are looking for, you may be interested in researching additional health care careers that fall under the other four health care pathways: imaging and diagnostics, informatics and business, facilities support, and research and development.