The Different Job Roles Within The Healthcare System – The healthcare system within the UK is responsible for treating every patient in the country, and it is free thanks to the universal healthcare system provided by the National Health Service (NHS). As you can imagine, there is a lot that needs to happen for this healthcare system to work effectively. Therefore, you will notice that there are plenty of job roles in this sector.
So, what are the different job roles within the healthcare system? Here are the people working face-to-face and behind the scenes in the UK Healthcare system.
Doctors
Medically trained doctors are responsible for diagnosing and prescribing treatment for patients in need of treatment. You can see these individuals at your local GP surgery. However, if these professionals deem your medical concerns to be too severe, they may refer you to the hospital. Depending on your condition, you can receive prolonged medical treatment or surgery.
Doctors in the UK must complete a five to a six-year undergraduate degree, complete a graduate course over four years, and then complete a year-long internship at a hospital that is registered by the medical board of the UK. All in all, it should take the average citizen between eight and ten years to qualify to be a doctor in the UK fully.
Nurses
Once a patient has been admitted to the hospital, they may have a list of other care needs. These include monitoring health signs, therapies, feeding, and assisting with other care routines such as personal hygiene. In the UK, these duties are carried out by a dedicated nursing team.
These professionals must liaise with the doctors to ensure that patients go through a daily routine that helps them recover effectively. To qualify as a nurse in this part of the world, you will need to finish a bachelor’s degree in nursing at a university or register with the nursing and midwifery council.
Health Economists
As you can imagine, treating so many patients in a hospital environment can prove costly. To complete their daily operations, a hospital must pay for tools and equipment, medical solutions, energy, and wages for all the staff within the building. As such, the industry needs healthcare economists to calculate the financial matters that relate to treating patients in the UK.
Becoming a healthcare economist in the UK will help to complete a Modelling Cost-Effectiveness in Healthcare online certificate course from prestigious universities like the London School of Economics. This course will teach applicants about economic principles in healthcare, how the industry will last in the future, and specific inequalities within the current healthcare model.
Health Administration
With so many patients coming in and out of a hospital or GP office, there is a lot of data to process. A healthcare administrator is responsible for planning and coordinating healthcare regimes based on the information provided by doctors and nurses.
Paramedics
Paramedics are required to treat more serious health issues in the immediate area. A paramedic is a medically trained professional that can perform necessary medical procedures while on the move in an ambulance or in a patient’s home. This can include clearing patient airways, providing drug treatment, administering initial cardiac treatments, and treating head injuries.
On top of all this, the paramedic is also responsible for making emergency healthcare decisions and taking critical patients to the hospital for further medical treatment. Becoming a paramedic in the UK involves achieving a bachelor’s degree in paramedic science. Students must also register with the Paramedics board after achieving their degree. A standard paramedic course or apprenticeship in the UK takes up to three years to complete.
Conclusion
Now that you have more information about the job roles inside the NHS Healthcare system, you can see that not all healthcare roles require you to be hands-on in a treatment sense. However, you will always need a basic understanding of medical knowledge or some medical qualifications to work anywhere in this profession.
The healthcare system in the UK is always in need of new recruits, so chances are you may fit into one of these roles. There are also other jobs in this sector, so make sure you do further research if you truly want to help in the UK healthcare system.
Poppy Watt