Want to heal people one-on-one? Consider a career in patient care
Working in patient care, you get to see the direct results of your efforts. You might be the first attendant at an emergency as a paramedic, or building up long-term relationships with people in podiatry or optometry.
Whatever it is, practical placements will help you to hone your skills and find an area of healthcare that excites you.
Meet Grace Hoffman, Optometrist
Grace always wanted to work in healthcare. “As a Palawa woman, I was privy to the inequity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples health outcomes and I knew I wanted to contribute to close the gap,” she says.
Optometry caught her eye in high school, when she was working at an optometrist practice. “Sight is such a valued sense and I think it’s so amazing that sometimes a simple pair of glasses can be so impactful.”
But it’s not always a simple pair of glasses! There are plenty of specialities to consider. Grace was able to get a close look at all of these during her master’s in QUT’s Optometry Clinic, and long work placements which she could tailor to align with her interests.
These days, she’s seeing up to 10 patients a day at Specsavers in Rockhampton.
“Optometry is a patient-centred career … I think that one of the skills that gets overlooked is being a strong communicator.”
Grace’s career path
- Bachelor of Vision Science / Master of Optometry, QUT
- Optometrist, Specsavers (Rockhampton)
Skills boost
Working on these skills will boost your career in patent care
- Communications
- Data science
- Anatomy
- Ethics
Show me the money
Here are the salaries you can expect from different careers in patient care
- Nurse: $105k-$110k
- Optometrist: $105k-$120k
- Paramedic: $95k-$110k
- Pharmacist: $95k-$110k
- Podiatrist: $100k-$120k
- Radiation therapist: $90k-$100k
- Radiographer: $95k-$110k
Average salaries according to seek.com.au
Keen on podiatry?
We’ve got a whole job kit about the profession you should check out!
Courses to study
- Bachelor of Nursing
- Bachelor of Medical Imaging (Honours)
- Bachelor of Paramedic Science
- Bachelor of Radiation Therapy
- Bachelor of Podiatry
- Bachelor of Vision Science
If you’re keen on patient care, you might also be interested in pharmacy.
Meet Gwendolyn Gorogo, Nurse
When you picture a nurse, you might imagine someone doing the rounds on a hospital ward. While Gwendolyn’s done this part of the job, she says the profession is way more diverse than that!
Gwendolyn has just spent 18 months on Thursday Island in the Torres Strait, working for the Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service. She got to experience working shifts on the hospital’s general ward, and spending time with walk-in patients in the primary healthcare centre. Her favourite assignment was the wound room in the primary healthcare centre.
“You can yarn with the patients and you get to see the progress of the wound. When the wound starts looking like it’s getting better – oh, the satisfaction!”
As an Aboriginal and PNG woman, Gwendolyn says QUT’s Oodgeroo unit was a major drawcard, while practical placements were a key part of her degree.
“When I graduated and when I did my first job on the ward, I already had those skills.”
“If you’re thinking of doing nursing, just give it a go. You will find out if nursing is for you during the first or the second placement.”
Gwendolyn’s career path
- Bachelor of Nursing, QUT
- Graduate program, Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service
Read more
- Job Kit: Radiochemist
- Study paramedicine and become a rural health hero like Alannah
- Meet a nursing student
This post was brought to you in partnership with QUT, and first appeared in Careers with STEM: Study Health at QUT.
