Usually, when people think of medical careers, they immediately think of nursing or doctors. However, there are other careers in the medical field just as rewarding that are more behind-the-scenes, and you may not have ever known that they were working at your local doctor’s office or hospital. Read on to learn more about two Associate Degree programs that Hocking College offers that you might not know existed.
The first career you might not know about is Healthcare Informatics, which is "the integration of healthcare sciences, computer sciences, information science, and cognitive science to assist in the management of healthcare information." (SABA and McCornmick, 2015, pg. 232.) People in this field are experts in collecting, organizing, sharing, and storing patient and other medical data.
When you work in this position, you're still helping patients, but indirectly. People in these positions often work in hospitals, clinics, insurance companies, manufacturers of medical devices, and pharmaceutical companies.
The Healthcare Informatics program's courses are very hands-on, where students use the actual software and technology that they would be using on the job. This program is asynchronous to fit into your schedule, and all of Hocking's courses have all-inclusive pricing, so there are no hidden fees or surprises.
Students in this program can sit for the Certified Billing Coding Specialists (CBCS), the Certified Electronic Health Record Specialist (CEHRS), the Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA), and the Certified Associate in Healthcare Information Management Systems (CAHIMS).
The second career is in Laboratory Sciences; specifically Medical Laboratory.
Students who graduate from the Laboratory Sciences - Major in Medical Laboratory program become Medical Lab Technicians (MLT). An MLT is someone who collects samples and performs lab tests that doctors ordered for their patients. These results are then sent back to doctors, which help them diagnose diseases.
MLTs work in hospitals or independent laboratories. Hocking College’s MLT program is very hands-on and experience-based, teaching everything that students will need to graduate from the program and begin working immediately. Students also have two 8-week sessions where they work side-by-side with lab techs.
This program also has all-inclusive pricing, which alleviates hidden fees and provides students with everything they need for classes: including books, three sets of scrubs, nursing shoes, and fees for the certification exam.
To learn more about these programs, contact the admissions office by emailing admissions@hocking.edu or calling 740-753-7050.