Non clinical, non medical and non traditional career pathways
Written by Dr Ashe Coxon (GP & Career Development Practitioner. Director and Founder of Medical Career Planning)
Non fellowship, non traditional and non clinical roles are becoming increasingly common as career choices for all health professionals. There are many reasons why health professionals are following these areas and these may include professional interest in the areas, diversification, portfolio careers, skills expansion or the desire to practice non clinically.
Before embarking on a non clinical or non traditional career, there may be some big questions you need to ask yourself (Particularly if you are considering leaving medicine completely) and it is always recommended that you discuss these decision with a professional, especially if your decision effects your registration or employment.
To begin, here are some important, key questions to ask yourself. There are of course many more questions, but having a clear answer to the below questions will give you greater clarity.
1. Do I want to get General Registration? (Particularly for those who are yet to get this eg Medical students and interns)
2. Do I want to continue being registered as a doctor?
- The Medical Board of Australia has clear guidelines on registration standards and it is always recommended to be aware and how they may impact you when making a decision to pursue non-clinical work.
3. Do I want to work with patients?
- There are non-fellowship roles in which you can continue to work with patients; and
- There are non-clinical roles in which you do not have patient contact
4. Why do I want to go into non-clinical medicine?
The non-clinical medical landscape is rapidly changing with new and exciting opportunities and industries occurring and opportunities that even the most experienced career development practitioners may not be aware of! So bear in mind that there may even be opportunities that arent mentioned in this course, and to keep networking, doing your own research and being curious!
Below is some examples of roles which fall into the category or non clinical, non fellowship or non traditional. Not all of them are non clinical and you can't work in all of these without a fellowship, but there are all slightly non traditional.
The below list is going to highlight a few of the more common roles (and won't cover all roles as there is just SO MANY!) If you wish to find out more about any of these areas (Or read about more opportunities that aren't covered in this blog) including if fellowship is required, what the industry is like and how to find a job in the area then there is a in depth course available on Medical Career Planning website called 'Non Fellowship and non traditional medical careers'
https://www.medicalcareerplanning.com.au/courses
Clinical Involvement
- Career Medical Officer
- Clinical Investigation supervisor (Supervising Exercise stress test/ Stress Echocardiograms etc.)
- Cosmetic Medicine
- Cruise ship doctor
- Custodial Health/ Detention Centre Medicine
- Expedition and Wilderness Medicine
- Occupational Medicine roles
- Panel Physician
- Surgical Assisting
Non-Clinical Involvement
- Board and Committee Roles for companies, health districts, hospitals etc.
- Department Veteran Afairs
- Digital Health
- Entrepreneur in health care or adviser for health care business
- Health Informatics
- Insurance
- Management Consulting
- Medical Advisory
- Management roles
- Medical Education
- Medical Writing
- Pharmaceutical including Medical Devices
- Public Health
- Research
- Therapeutic Goods Administration
The non clinical and non medical world is rapidly changing and there may be options available that aren't on this list so if you are interested in this area keep up to date via the MCP Facebook page, CCIM page book page, LinkedIn, seek, indeed and job alerts!
If you wish to learn more about these areas then the non-traditional, non clinical and non fellowship course provides more information https://www.medicalcareerplanning.com.au/courses , or book in to speak with one of our skills career practitioners www.medicalcareerplanning.com.au or email on [email protected]
