If you want to pursue a career in the healthcare industry, but don’t have the time or money to give up your job to study, then there could be an alternative. Health education courses, including some degrees, are available online. Obviously, you can’t study something practical like medicine, unless you have a laboratory in the basement, but nursing is often offered online, along with many other options like pharmacy, nutrition, counselling and dental assistant.
You should always check the credentials of any online university you sign up with carefully. Otherwise, you could end up paying a lot of money for a course that is not accepted by any local employers. Check with your local hospital to see if they have heard of the institution and if they would accept an application from you if you had a degree from them. There are plenty of established universities that offer online degrees, so it just depends how much time you want to put into studying each week as to which is most suitable for you.
Practical work
As with full-time health education courses, you will find that you will be expected to carry out some practical work. As you are studying online, you may need to set this up yourself, so ask around to see if friends or family know anyone who works in your chosen field. You’re much more likely to be accepted for work experience at a hospital or healthcare establishment if you know someone who works there, rather than as a complete stranger. When you do arrange your work experience, collect contacts while you are there, especially other students, and keep in touch with them as their input could help your own studies.
Online resources
There are lots of health education resources on the Internet, whether you are interested in studying or just looking to do some research. Often the first thing people these days do after being diagnosed with a certain disease or condition is look it up online. Additionally you can also use Internet resources to check out conditions that haven’t yet been diagnosed, to see if you should call a doctor. If you are concerned about the health or behaviour of someone close to you or one of your children, there are many Internet sites that provide health education about what the problem might be and how best to tackle it.
Talking to your children about health education issues such as puberty, sex and alcohol can often be difficult for parents, and again the Internet can help here too. There are sites that give you tips and tools about how and when to approach the conversation, how to answer difficult questions and how much information you should give to children of different ages.
