What to Study to Save the World: Healthcare

Medical doctors and nurses are the face of the healthcare industry, and for good reason. They provide direct patient care and are responsible for saving millions of lives worldwide every single day. Medicine and nursing are also popular pursuits for high school graduates, which is why we offer research programs like Fundamentals of Cancer Biology year-round. However, healthcare has many facets beyond direct patient care that significantly impact humanity yet are often overlooked as viable career paths.

So, we’re shining some light on a few fields of study young academics can pursue that contribute to preventative care, innovative medical research, and the overall betterment of healthcare quality in our communities.

Focus on Community with Public Health

The field of public health focuses on protecting and improving the health of entire populations–from neighborhoods to countries–by “promoting healthy lifestyles, researching disease and injury prevention, and detecting, preventing, and responding to infectious diseases.” Public health is both a science and an art and comprises several disciplines, including biostatistics, health policy, epidemiology, social sciences, and environmental health. Students who pursue this field will need to earn a master’s degree to qualify for most jobs in the industry. However, many public health-related career paths lead to fulfilling work in hospitals, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and research institutions. 

Through outreach and education programs, students can study health education to promote wellness and prevent disease in at-risk communities. Health educators can specialize in all areas of health, including environmental, physical, social, sexual, mental, and even spiritual. Students can also major in epidemiology and become doctors who investigate disease outbreaks and develop strategies to prevent and control them. Health policy analysts, public health researchers, and environmental health specialists are also key components of the public health field.

While doctors and nurses treat patients after they’re already sick or injured, public health policies and initiatives are so essential because they focus on preventative measures that improve the quality of life for populations in the short and long term.

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Raise Dietary Standards Through Nutritional Science

Students interested in helping people live longer and better by improving their dietary habits can pursue nutrition science, another field of healthcare that contributes to preventing disease. The cornerstone of physical health, nutrition science examines how our body uses food and its nutrients for energy, growth, and repair. This knowledge helps doctors provide effective patient care for various life stages, like pregnancy, via personalized treatment plans and counseling. It also informs public health programs that address nutritional deficiencies in at-risk communities.

Good nutritional practices boost immunity, improve energy levels, and generally optimize quality of life by reducing the risk of chronic diet-related diseases like diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and some cancers. Students in this field can look forward to various areas of study, including:

• Endocrinology 

• Immunology

• Neuroscience

• Food Science and Safety

• Nutritional Biology and Metabolism

• Genetics

• Molecular and Cellular Biology

• Nutrigenomics

• Microbiology

• Energetics

Pursuing an education in nutrition science can lead to career opportunities in hospitals, clinics, and private practice where Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDN) or Certified Nutrition Specialists (CNS) provide nutrition counseling and medical nutrition therapy and participate in scientific research.

Emphasize the Importance of Oral Health with Dental Hygiene

One of the most overlooked aspects of physical health is oral health. According to the World Health Organization, 45 percent of the world’s population, or 3.5 billion people, suffer from oral diseases. And over the past 30 years, global cases of oral disease have increased by 1 billion due to a lack of access to, or knowledge of, preventative dental hygiene treatment and practices. This, of course, is a massive problem because the mouth is the window to the body's overall health. 

Poor dental hygiene can lead to kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, respiratory infections, Alzheimer’s disease, pregnancy and birth complications, and stroke, among other serious illnesses. Recent research has even shown that a lack of consistent oral care can lead to poorer brain health, increasing the risk for cerebrovascular disease and microstructural damage. Therefore, oral health experts who educate the general public about dental hygiene maintenance are essential pillars of the healthcare industry. 

Dental hygienists do much more than assist dentists through surgeries and procedures. They’re primarily responsible for maintaining their patients' oral health through regular professional cleanings, gum disease and oral cancer screenings, treatment plan development, and nutritional counseling. Hygienists study pathology, oral anatomy, physiology, and preventive dentistry to pursue careers in research, education, clinical practice, and public health. The career field is also promisingly lucrative, with dental hygienists earning six figures in most states.

The healthcare industry offers many promising career opportunities for students who want to positively impact the world. While pursuing clinical care as a doctor or nurse is a noble and rewarding path, medical or nursing school can be staggeringly expensive, and there are many other more affordable paths for students with a passion for healthcare to explore.