An Open Call For Contributions

Hello! If any of you out there have had experiences applying or working in the healthcare field, please shoot me a message! I would love to hear from others and post some more insight to this blog.

Lab Technologists

I recently met a registered medical laboratory technologist through work, so I decided to do some research on the career and post what I found.

What Does a Lab Technologist Do?

• Perform laboratory analyses and provide information to physicians
• Help physicians to diagnose and treat patients, as well as monitor and prevent disease
• Use medical devices to observe biological samples
• Determine the validity of the results they obtain
• Design new procedures to reflect the rapid pace of change in their workplace. 

How Do I Apply?

• There are two routes of going about it: college (apply on the Ontario colleges website) and university (apply on OUAC)

University Route

• Three universities in Ontario offer a program: Michener, UOIT, and Windsor
• You can get in right from high school. You need to take English, math, and science courses to apply. Check out each school for more details.
• The minimum GPA cutoff is high-70s

College Route

• Click here for an extensive list of programs
• In general, you need to take senior-level science courses in high school. The medical lab programs seem to be one of the more competitive programs at college
• Check out each program to see what is involved in the admissions process

A New Chapter

I've decided that this blog will remain dedicated to different careers in healthcare. I am going to start a new blog about my own personal journey through life and my new OT career path!

Please check it out here!!

An Update on My Life!

Hello world! I am super excited to say that I've accepted an offer to McMaster for my Masters in Occupational Therapy!!! I can't wait to meet everyone in September and to get back to school! I left the interview not knowing how it really went, but I guess I must have done well after all.

I think I might try to write more about the OT career from this point on as this is the career choice I've made (and I've written about almost as many healthcare careers as I can think of). I'm not sure exactly what direction this blog will take.

If any fellow future Mac OT students are reading this, shoot me an email!!! :)

Healthcare Professionals - Income

One thing I found important when I was trying to plan a career in healthcare was salary. I know it's not the most important, but it's definitely something to look at! I will update this as I come across new careers and numbers.

Average Income per Year in Ontario
Registered Nurse: $70 000
Occupational Therapist: $70 000
Physiotherapist: $70 000
Dietician: $70 000
Cardiac Perfusionist: $80 000
Naturopath: $75 000
Osteopathic Physician: $185 000
Pharmacist: $90 000
Massage Therapist: $40 000
Respiratory Therapist: $65 000
Physician Assistant: $80 000
Pathologist Assistant: $80 000
Medical Imagers: $60 000
Chiropractors: $70 000
Chiropodist: $55 000
Dentist: $120 000+
Speech-Language Pathologist: $65 000
Audiologist: $65 000
Social Worker: $50 000
Genetic Counsellor: $75 000
Cytotechnologist: $50 000
Veterinarian: $72 000
Optometrist: $120 000
Paramedic: $50 000
Midwife: $65 000
Doctor: $340 000
Denturist: $45 000
Lab Technologist: $50 000
Optician: $41 000
Denturist: $50 000

Medical Imaging

I'm going to try to group all of the medical imaging programs together in this post and break them down by category.

Ultrasound

• What it is: imaging technology that uses high-frequency sound waves to display real time images of the soft tissue structures in the human body
• Used to differentiate between normal and pathologic findings and to monitor pregnancies for fetal abnormalities, fetal growth and well-being
• What Does an Ultrasound Tech Do?: performs ultrasound examinations, acquires sonographic images of the normal human anatomy as well as any abnormal or pathologic conditions and completes a technical report of their findings
• How Can I Apply?: Michener, Algonquin, Cambrian, and St Clair all offer the ultrasound program. You can apply on the Ontario Colleges website
• Check out each of the schools' individual requirements. Some of them just require a high school diploma with high school science courses, and others require post secondary education
• Michener interviews top-ranked applicants

Radiation

• What It Is: the production of images of internal organs and structures by passing a small, highly controlled amount of radiation through the human body, and capturing the resulting image on an image recording device.
• What Does an Radiation Tech Do?: perform diagnostic imaging examinations, including mammography and computerized tomography and are responsible for accurately positioning patients and ensuring that a quality diagnostic image is produced.
• How Can I Apply? Confederation, Mohawk, Algonquin, Cambrian, Fanshawe, and Michener offer radiation technology or radiation therapy programs
• Check out the prerequisites from each school. Most require a high school diploma, but Michener requires 1 year of university. All school have science course prerequisites required.

MRI and cardiac sonography programs require applicants to either be a registered healthcare professional or have another degree in medical imaging.

Dietician

What Does a Dietician Do?

Here are just a few examples:

• educating and advising clients on how food and healthy eating habits can prevent illness and achieve and maintain optimum health
educating and advising a wide range of patients on how therapeutic diets and dietary therapy can improve the management of their conditions
calculating individual’s nutritional requirements using standard equations based on assessments of blood chemistry, temperature, stress, mobility and other relevant factors
analysing the nutritional content of food
devising eating plans and manipulating recipes
delivering group sessions to a variety of audiences, including children and patient groups
educating other healthcare and non health care professionals about food and nutrition issues;
working with large companies to support well being programmes for staff
advising catering departments about specific dietary requirements
running clinics in hospital outpatients departments or general practitioners’ (GP) surgeries for patients who have been referred by hospital consultants, GPs or health visitors
advising athletes and sports persons on how diet can optimise performance and recovery from injury

How Do I Become a Dietician?

 

The process for becoming a registered dietician is kind of confusing from what I gather, so I will do my best to try and explain it here. There are two basic routes, as depicted by the following lovely flowchart: 

 

 

Track 1: Integrated Internship Route

• Complete an undergraduate degree in dietetics with an internship. These programs are available at the following schools: UBC, Saskatchewan, McGill, Montreal, Laval, Moncton, Ottawa
• It looks like most of these programs admit students into the third year of an undergrad. You need to have at least 2 years of university credits, certain prerequisite courses, references, a paper, and get invited to an interview. Check out the above links for further info.
• Admission is highly competitive, but not as competitive as entry into a Masters program

Track 2: Post-Degree Internship Route

• Click here for a full list of schools that offer the program. In Ontario, Guelph, Ryerson, and Western offer them
• You need to have a 4 year honours degree from an accredited dietetic program completed within the last 3 years
• Minimum GPA of 75%
• Need to have taken statistics and research methods, possibly other prerequisites (check out the school websites)

For more information on how to become a registered dietician, please click here

Cytotechnology

This is yet another healthcare career that I've never heard of. Check it out!

What Does a Cytotechnologist Do?

•  Study cells and cellular anomalies
• Using a microscope, they examine slides of human cells for any indication that a cell is abnormal and/or diseased (i.e., cancerous or precancerous lesions, infectious agents or inflammatory processes)
• Often play a crucial role in helping patients to recover from illness by identifying a disease while it is still at a treatable stage
• Examine slides microscopically, mark cellular changes that indicate disease and submit a report to the pathologist for final evaluation

How Do I Become a Cytotechnologist?

• Michener is the only school in Ontario that offers this program. Cytology programs are also offered at SIAST, Rosemont, NAIT, Dalhousie. I'll list the prerequisites for the Michener program here
• You must be a Canadian certified Medical Laboratory Technologist or have an undergraduate degree in science
• If you have an undergraduate degree, you must have taken 1.0 courses in anatomy, and 1.0 courses in physiology with a minimum grade of 70%
• You must have a minimum GPA of 70%
• Top-ranked applicants are invited to an interview
• Admission offers are determined using the following formula: CGPA (35%), professional and academic experience (15%) and the Multi Mini Interview (50%)
• Application for Michener is due February 1st on the Ontario Colleges website

Genetic Counselling

What Does a Genetic Counsellor Do?

• Genetic counseling is a process to evaluate and understand a family’s risk of an inherited medical condition
• A genetic counselor is a healthcare professional with specialized training in medical genetics and counseling
• For A LOT more information, click here

How Do I Become a Genetic Counsellor?

• Toronto offers a Masters program. Application is due early January here
• The minimum GPA required is a B+
• Must have a 4 year university degree
• 2 letters of reference

I've tried to find a few other programs in Canada that offer a Masters in Genetic Counselling, and this is what I got:

• UBC
• McGill

Speech-Language Pathology

What Does A Speech-Language Pathologist Do?

• Assessment and treatment of language disorders to improve ability to understand spoken and written language, convey ideas verbally and in writing, and communicate in social situations
• Assessment and treatment of cognitive communication disorders to improve the reasoning, problem solving, memory, and organization skills required to communicate effectively
• Assessment and treatment of speech disorders to improve articulation (pronunciation) and to help those who stutter improve their fluency Assessment and treatment of voice disorders to improve vocal quality, pitch, and loudness
• Assessment and treatment of swallowing disorders to ensure that patients/clients are on safe diets and not at increased risk for choking or food/liquid build-up in the lungs
• Patient/client and caregiver counseling on communication and swallowing disorders, patient/client abilities and challenges, and strategies to improve function and help compensate for difficulties
• Consultation with other professionals to provide comprehensive programs of care (e.g., audiologists, dietitians, nurses, occupational therapists, physicians, physiotherapists, psychologists, social workers, and teachers)
• Clinical and academic research to investigate complex processes underlying human communication, explore the impact of various factors on communication and swallowing, and develop new approaches to treat people with communication and swallowing disorders.

How Can I Apply?

• Western and Toronto are the two schools that offer this program in Ontario. Application is due early January on ORPAS
• You need a 4 year university degree
• You need the following prerequisite courses:
• child development/psychology
• general linguistics
• phonetics
• elementary statistics and/or research design
• human physiology
• 2 academic references
• A statement of intent
• 14 hours of clinical experience (minimum)
• A clinical reference

Pathologists' Assistant

This is one of the more interesting and random programs I've found while researching careers in healthcare. There is only one school in Ontario that I've found offering it, but I will try to list other schools I find in Canada too. One note on this program...it is pretty expensive! Tuition is over 20 grand per year.

What Is A Pathologists' Assistant?

• Basically, you do everything a pathologist does up to but excluding diagnosis
• Preparation, gross description and dissection of human tissue surgical specimens
• Preparation of human postmortem examinations 
• Instruction of anatomy and physiology, gross pathology, photography and gross dissection skills for surgical specimens as well as autopsy techniques
• Training of pathology residents/fellows, pathologists’ assistant students and other pathology lab personnel (as needed)
• Research
• Procurement of samples for biospecimen banking
• Performance of administrative, budgetary, supervisory, teaching and other such duties as may be appropriate and assigned

How Do I Apply?

• You must have completed a minimum of a 4 year honours degree in science
• You must have taken biochemistry, biology, chemistry, math, organic chemistry, and a course with an essay requirement
• Additional courses at the undergraduate level in anatomy, histology, microbiology and physiology are strongly recommended
• 2 letters of reference
• Essays on the following (1000 character limit per question)
• Personal Statement (tell us about yourself)
• What experiences have led you to pursue graduate studies in the PA Program?
• What are your future aspirations?
• copy of your CV
• Apply by April 1st here

Other Schools Offering This Program

• Manitoba
• Calgary

For more information on this program, please click here
Here is a cool link to a blog I found by a Canadian PA!

Audiology

What Does an Audiologist Do?

• perform hearing assessments to determine the degree and type of hearing loss
• administer diagnostic tests to determine the sources and causes of hearing disorder
• use state-of-the-art technology to evaluate and treat hearing loss in children and adults
• fit amplification systems such as hearing aids or cochlear implants
• screen the hearing of newborns 
• provide aural rehabilitation to individuals with hearing loss and their families to reduce communication problems and facilitate adjustments to hearing loss
• prevent hearing loss by educating the public and other professionals about the effects of noise on hearing

How Do I Become An Audiologist?

• There are only 2 schools in Ontario (Western and Ottawa), and 3 other schools in Canada (UBC, Dalhousie, and Montreal) that offer audiology. Ottawa's and Montreal's programs are only offered in French
• Applications are due early January on ORPAS for Ontario schools

For Western:

• Applicants must have a 4 year university degree with a minimum B average in the last two years
• Prerequisites: 0.5 developmental psych, 0.5 statistics, 0.5 anatomy/physiology/neuroscience, 0.5 psychology/social sciences/linguistics
• Need to have a minimum 14 audiology clinic hours and reference from clinic
• Need to have 2 academic references

Dentistry

Dentistry is one of the most super-competitive programs out there right now (at least in healthcare)!

What Does a Dentist Do?

• Dentists diagnose, prevent, and treat problems with teeth or mouth tissue
• They remove decay, fill cavities, examine x rays, place protective plastic sealants on children’s teeth, straighten teeth, and repair fractured teeth
• They perform corrective surgery on gums and supporting bones to treat gum diseases
• Dentists extract teeth and make models and measurements for dentures to replace missing teeth
• They provide instruction on diet, brushing, flossing, the use of fluorides, and other aspects of dental care
• They also administer anesthetics and write prescriptions for antibiotics and other medications
• Dentists use a variety of equipment, including x-ray machines; drills; and instruments such as mouth mirrors, probes, forceps, brushes, and scalpels

How Do I Become A Dentist?

• There are only two dental schools in Ontario: Western and Toronto
• You probably shouldn't even consider applying unless you have a GPA higher than 80%. The cut off to apply is 3.0, but applicants typically do not get in with a GPA lower than 3.75
• Need to have a least a 3 year degree for Western or a 4 year degree for Toronto
• Prerequisite requirements include chemistry, life sciences, humanities, and physiology
• You need to write the DAT
• Top-ranked candidates are interviewed

The DAT

• There are 4 sections: manual dexterity, survey of natural sciences, perceptual ability, and reading comprehension
• It is a 5 hour test and is scored based on how well you do compared to other people who wrote the test
• The manual dexterity portion isn't required by certain dentistry schools - check the DAT website
• The cost to write the DAT is over $200

Notes

• Tuition for dentistry is wildly expensive. It's about $40 000 per year with all fees included!

Veterinary Medicine

If you've always dreamed about becoming a doctor and also are an animal lover, maybe you should consider veterinary medicine!

What Does A Veterinarian Do?

• Diagnose animal health problems
• Vaccinations
• Medicate against infections or illnesses
• Treat wounds and injuries
• Set fractures and perform surgery
• Advise owners about animal feeding, behaviour, and breedingMost veterinarians diagnose animal health problems, vaccinate against diseases, medicate animals suffering from infections or illnesses, treat and dress wounds, set fractures, perform surgery, and advise owners about animal feeding, behavior, and breeding.
  
  Scholarships
  Most veterinarians diagnose animal health problems, vaccinate against diseases, medicate animals suffering from infections or illnesses, treat and dress wounds, set fractures, perform surgery, and advise owners about animal feeding, behavior, and breeding.
  
  Scholarships
  Most veterinarians diagnose animal health problems, vaccinate against diseases, medicate animals suffering from infections or illnesses, treat and dress wounds, set fractures, perform surgery, and advise owners about animal feeding, behavior, and breeding.
  
  Scholarships
  Most veterinarians diagnose animal health problems, vaccinate against diseases, medicate animals suffering from infections or illnesses, treat and dress wounds, set fractures, perform surgery, and advise owners about animal feeding, behavior, and breeding.
  
  Scholarships
  Most veterinarians diagnose animal health problems, vaccinate against diseases, medicate animals suffering from infections or illnesses, treat and dress wounds, set fractures, perform surgery, and advise owners about animal feeding, behavior, and breeding.
  
  Scholarships
  Most veterinarians diagnose animal health problems, vaccinate against diseases, medicate animals suffering from infections or illnesses, treat and dress wounds, set fractures, perform surgery, and advise owners about animal feeding, behavior, and breeding.
  
  Scholarships

How Do I Become a Veterinarian?

• There are only 5 veterinary schools in Canada, and only one of those is in Ontario. They are: PEI, Guelph, Calgary, Saskatchewan, and Montreal. I'm just going to mainly focus on Guelph here.
• Write the MCAT. There is no minimum score, but they are going to take people with higher scores, obviously lol
• Have at least 2 years of university completed
• Do the following prerequisite courses: 1.0 credits biology, 0.5 cell biology, 0.5 genetics, 0.5 biochemistry, 0.5 statistics, 1.0 humanities/social sciences
• Veterinary experience, animal experience, and extracurricular experience
• 3 references, one of which must be a vet
• Top-ranked candidates are interviewed
• Application is due January 1st on OUAC

Pharmacy

What Does a Pharmacist Do?

• Pharmacists are responsible for:
  • the quality of medicines supplied to patients
  • ensuring that the supply of medicines is within the law
  • ensuring that the medicines prescribed to patients are suitable
  • advising patients about medicines, including how to take them, what reactions may occur and answering patients' questions.
  Pharmacists also:
  
  • supervise the medicines supply chain and ensure pharmacy premises and systems are fit for purpose
  • advise other healthcare professionals about safe and effective medicines use, and safe and secure supply of medicines
  • respond to patients' symptoms and advise on medicines for sale in pharmacies
  • provide services to patients, such as smoking cessation, blood pressure measurement and cholesterol management
  • supervise the production and preparation of medicines and assessments of quality of medicines before they are supplied to patients from pharmaceutical manufacturers.

How Do I Become a Pharmacist?

• The only two schools in Ontario that offer this accredited program are Toronto and Waterloo. For a list of all other schools in Canada, click here
• Applications are due early January. The applications are done through the university websites: Toronto and Waterloo
• There are a lot of prerequisite courses: for a full list, click here for Toronto or here for Waterloo
• Applicants need to have a minimum GPA of 70% for Toronto and 75% for Waterloo. Most applicants that are accepted have a GPA in the A- range
• Everyone has to write the PCAT. The PCAT is a test that is divided into 6 sections: Biology, Chemistry, Quantitative Ability, Reading Comprehension, Verbal Ability, and Writing. Applicants are expected to score in the top 20% in order to be considered
• Waterloo also requires a reference and an Admission Information Form
• Top-ranked applicants are invited to an interview

Optometry

What Does an Optometrist Do?

• For an in-depth description, click here
• Along with regular eye examinations, optometrists may also:
  
  • Prescribe glasses and contact lenses
  • Rehabilitate the visually impaired
  • Diagnose and treat ocular diseases
  • Perform comprehensive examinations of both the internal and external structures of the eye
  • Evaluate patients’ vision and determine appropriate treatments
  • Treat clarity problems or eye diseases such as glaucoma and ulcers
  • Diagnose complications due to the aging process, accidents, or malfunction

How Can I Apply?

• There are only two optometry schools in Canada: Waterloo, and UdeM. There are also 20 schools in the states. For a complete list, click here. I'm just going to focus on Waterloo, since that is the only school in Ontario.
• Apply on OUAC
• Minimum university GPA of 75%
• Write the OAT and get a minimum of 300
• 2 confidential assessment forms: one has to be from an optometrist!
• Prerequisite requirements:
• 3 or more years of an undergrad in science
• 0.5 credits of English
• 0.5 credits of ethics
• 0.5 credits psychology
• 1.0 credits biology
• 0.5 credits microbiology
• 1.0 credits physiology
• 1.0 credits physics
• 0.5 credits statistics
• 0.5 credits calculus
• 0.5 credits biochemistry
• 0.5 credits organic chemistry
• 0.5 credits general chemistry
• Non-academic requirements:
• Academic awards
• Non-academic awards
• Work experience
• Volunteer experience
• Job shadowing or working with an optometrist
• Top-ranked candidates are interviewed

The OAT

• It's basically broken down into sections: natural science, physics, reading comprehension, and quantitative reasoning
• For a complete guide, click here

Paramedicine

I considered going into paramedicine when I first started researching healthcare careers, but then I sadly came to realize that I'm not physically strong enough lol. Seriously though, in order to be a paramedic, you have to meet certain physical fitness requirements!

What Does a Paramedic Do?

• Perform emergency respiratory procedures for people with blocked airways

• Administer IV (intravenous) fluids

• Bandage wounds

• Stabilize head and neck injuries

• Stabilize broken bones

• Resuscitate drowning victims

• Perform emergency childbirth procedures

• Perform cardiac support for heart attack victims 

• Administer medications

How Do I Apply?

• There are many paramedicine programs in Ontario. For a list, click here.
• Apply on the Ontario Colleges website
• Applicants must have a high school diploma with a focus on science and English courses
• Must possess a class "F" driver's license
• Must have basic first aid and CPR certificate
• Must meet physical fitness requirements

Some Additional Notes...

• Being a paramedic is a tough but rewarding job
• Most shifts are 12 hours long, but you do not work 5 days a week. So you could be working long days, or long nights
• This job can be mentally draining. You see a lot of traumatic things because you are the first on the scene of an accident

Registered Massage Therapy

Registered Massage Therapy (RMT) is something you can apply for right out of high school. The average salary of an RMT in Ontario is about $42 000. One thing I like about this program is it can be used as a stepping stone for further education in healthcare.

What Does an RMT Do?

• Hands-on manipulation of the soft tissues of the body, specifically, the muscles, connective tissue, tendons, ligaments and joints for the purpose of optimizing health

How Do I Become an RMT?

• There are several colleges across Ontario that offer the program. For a complete list, please click here
• You need to have graduated high school. A background in biology is helpful
• Apply on the Ontario Colleges website
• The program is 2-3 years long

Naturopathy

If you want to be a doctor but have a very..."natural?" mindset, then this career might be for you. It is becoming a lot more popular these days as well.

What is a Naturopathic Doctor (ND)?

• Primary focus is on a natural approach to healthcare
• Acupuncture, homeopathy, massage, hydrotherapy, clinical nutrition and lifestyle counselling are among typical treatments
• They do not have access to diagnostic imaging or pharmaceuticals
• For more information, click here

How Do I Apply?

• There are only two schools in Canada that offer this program: Boucher, and CCNM. I'm just going to talk about CCNM here as that is the only school in Ontario
• There are a few prerequistites required to apply: 1.0 credits of biology, 1.0 credits of anatomy and physiology, 0.5 credits organic chemistry, 0.5 credits psychology, and 1.0 credits humanities
• You also need to write a personal essay, a CV, and get 3 reference letters
• Apparently a 3.3 GPA is considered good enough to get in, and you need at least a 3-degree
• Top-ranked applicants are invited for an interview
• Application is done through NDCAS, and is due at the end of November

Chiropractic College

I feel like chiropractors have kind of taken a bad rap in the past few years because OHIP and a lot of insurance plans don't cover their services. Everyone seems to think that going to a chiropractor can be dangerous, because manipulating the spine the wrong way can cause serious harm. Chiropractors are licensed and regulated healthcare professionals, and it is another option if you are interested in pursuing a career in healthcare.

What Does A Chiropractor Do?

• Diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the neuro-musculoskeletal system.
• Places an emphasis on manual therapy including spinal manipulation and other joint and soft tissue techniques.
• Exercises and lifestyle counseling
• Assumes that spine problems interfere with the body's general functions and innate intelligence (what?!), a notion that brings criticism from mainstream health care

How Do I Become A Chiropractor?

• There is only one school in all of Canada that you can apply to
• Applicants needs a minimum of 3 years of university with a minimum of a 2.5 overall GPA
• Application is due online October 31st
• There are no specific prerequisite courses requires
• Top-ranked candidates are interviewed
• Application is done through CMCC's website