No Blood Healthcare Career Paths
If you really like the idea of helping people in the healthcare environment but can’t stand the sight of blood, your goal of working in the field is still in the realm of possibility. You just need to find a health career that has no blood involved.
Some of the most exciting no blood healthcare career paths in many locations will be in pharmacy technology, massage therapy, and medical billing and coding. Following is the type of work involved in these three fields as well as key course topics found in a usual training program and other skills needed to for the job:
Pharmacy Technology
Type of work: Pharmacy technicians work alongside licensed pharmacists in places like nursing homes, hospitals, pharmacies. They assist the pharmacist in formulating, labeling and dispensing medications and maintaining patient information. Pharmacy techs may also help by performing other routine tasks.
Courses and Skills Required: In typical pharmacy technician training, you are likely to take courses that focus on anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, chemistry, and pharmaceutical calculations and measurement. Hence, strong science math and science skills are required. Excellent customer skills are also required.
Massage Therapy
Type of work: Massage therapists can work in many environments, including hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, health clubs, sports medicine facilities, spas, resorts, or in their own private offices. They use massage techniques and mechanical devices to help alleviate muscle tension, increase flexibility to prevent injuries, release toxins that can cause illness, and promote general health and well-being.
Courses and Skills Required: In typical massage therapy training, you are likely to take courses that focus mainly on therapeutic massage but also ethics, medical terminology, and anatomy and physiology. With the exception of maybe handling the finances within your own practice, no math skills are required for the job. Besides having a healing touch, the massage therapist must have a warm personality.
Medical Billing and Coding
Type of work: Medical billing and coding professionals can work in the offices of medical facilities or insurance companies. They organize claims for payment by listing a usual, reasonable and customary (UCR) fee and then matching the patient’s problem and treatment with the corresponding codes from the International Classification of Diseases, 9th edition (ICD-9) and Current Procedural Terminology, 4th edition (CPT-4) respectively. These ICD-9 and CPT-4 codes are recognized by insurance companies. If working on the insurance company end, the medical billing and coding professional reviews the UCR fee, interprets the codes, and makes payments according to guidelines.
Courses and Skills Required: In medical billing and coding course training, you can expect to study anatomy and physiology and computerized billing and medical coding principals in depth. You can also learn basic accounting skills, which requires only basic math knowledge. However, working with numbers in this manner does demand a person who is detailed oriented and focused. In addition, although medical billing and coding professionals help patients more behind the scenes, they will occasionally have to explain patients’ insurance benefits or ask for their insurance information. Therefore, good communication and customer service skills are required.
As you can see for all three positions, dealing with blood in the healthcare field is not a requirement for every position. If you want to learn more about pharmacy technology, massage therapy, and/or medical billing and coding training, request information from school near you today through HealthCareers.net.
