| Maybe you've always dreamed of stitching up | | | | Registered Nurse |
| wounds, setting bones, and saving lives, but the thought | | | | Education Requirements: A two-year Associate's |
| of spending 11 years in medical school makes your | | | | degree, three-year nursing diploma, or four-year |
| head swim. Or maybe you want to have a hands on | | | | Bachelor's degree |
| role in treating patients, but you don't want the | | | | Registered nurses are in demand, so if you're looking |
| responsibility (or the headaches or the hours or the | | | | for a career in the medical field, this is a great option. |
| schedule) of being a doctor. Have no fear-below are | | | | Nurses work directly with doctors to admit patients, |
| some great medical careers that will allow you to help | | | | diagnose diseases, provide treatment, and formulate |
| people and practice medicine without devoting a | | | | follow-up and aftercare plans. Best of all, there are |
| decade of your life to school. | | | | many ways to start this career path depending on |
| Physician Assistant | | | | your personal, financial and educational goals. |
| Education Requirements: A Bachelor's degree plus 2 | | | | Paramedic |
| years at an accredited physician program (6 years | | | | Education Requirements: a high school diploma and a |
| total) | | | | diploma/certification from a formal emergency medical |
| This is the one the fastest-growing fields in health care, | | | | technician training program |
| with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected 39% | | | | Paramedic careers are the stuff that TV dramas are |
| growth through 2018. Working under the direction of a | | | | made of. They're the first ones to respond to a 911 call, |
| physician, physician assistants provide a wide range or | | | | a natural disaster, or any other trauma situation. |
| primary care services, from examining patients to | | | | Paramedics provide life-saving diagnoses and |
| casting broken bones to prescribing medications. | | | | treatment on the way to the hospital, ranging from |
| Internal medicine, pediatrics, family medicine and | | | | endotracheal intubations to emergency childbirths. |
| emergency medicine are just a few of the fields they | | | | For more information, visit this career profiles page. |
| work in. | | | | |