Medicine and Business
Two courses, Medicine and Business, which seemed to be at the opposite ends of the equilibrium, both for the reasons of difference in knowledge acquired or field of studies as well as for their difference in their current situation, still have a commonality, both of them poses great opportunities.
Medicine is the science and practice of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease (Dictionary.com. 2018). Moreover, it encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by prevention and treatment of illness.
Medicine is a doctorate course for students who want to qualify as medical practitioners. It is a five-year graduate course which consists of three years of academics, a year in clinical internship and a year of post-graduate internship (Deakin, n.d.). It requires a pre-medicine bachelor’s degree preferably under Biological Sciences such as BS Biology, BS Medical Technology, BS Pharmacy, BS Nursing, BS Public Health and BS Physical Therapy. Other basic requirements are the college entrance exams, interviews, National Medical Admission Test, and others which may vary among universities.
As Mahatma Ghandi says, “It is health that is real wealth. And not pieces of gold and silver”. It is true that having a good health essential to perform our daily work and routine effectively and productively. Health is the state of complete physical and emotional well- being (Nordqvist, 2017). It is by having a sound mind and body that people could render efficient decisions in their daily lives.
Some people want to be a doctor because they think it is their calling to help other people by treating their diseases. The world is always in need of good doctors who are compassionate and are willing to help. Helping others give them happiness and self-fulfillment (Lee 2017).
Those students who take medicine, no matter what branch of medicine they enter, will always have a significant impact since it is about “life” that they are trying to save (Lee 2017). If the doctor operates a patient and the surgery goes well, it will bring joy not only to the family of the patient because the latter is well, but also on the part of the doctor who was able to make the operation successful (Wetherill 2015).
The enormous requirements to become a Medical Doctor are the culprit on the scarcity of doctors around the world. According to Novak (2015), the high-grade requirements, lengthy years in pre-med and medical school and the expensive tuition somehow discourages students to take up this course. Because of this, there is a shortage of doctors around the world let alone in the Philippines where the doctor-population ratio is 1:33,000 (Sandoval, 2016).
This scarcity creates a long-term demand for doctors which opens an opportunity especially for those who are willing to invest to all of the requirements. By taking up this course, one will not only help in improving access and quality of health care for the community in the future but also help in the ever-growing problem of shortage of medical doctors. It also offers countless career opportunities and path’s according to one’s preference.
You can choose a specialization you want and you can work in hospitals, clinics, laboratories, homes or as a family doctor and many more. Although the journey to becoming a medical doctor is tough, it does pay. With high demand and low supply of doctors, there is a low competition in finding a job. Aside from working in hospitals, doctors may also have their own clinic or have a part-time consulting job. According to Connley (2018), 15 out of 25 of the Top 25 paying jobs in US are medical related courses in which the mean salary ranges from $109,370-$269,600.
Also, it is to be noted that registered nurses are least likely to lose their jobs because of artificial intelligence (McFarland, 2017). Research shows that the art of nursing and compassion during a treatment can improve outcomes (Wood, 2016). The job requires a lot of interaction between the health service provider and the patient. Through communication, they can build a connection which only humans can have. Also, robot cannot empathize with one’s feeling which is needed in gaining a patient’s trust.
Lastly, there will be an increase in demand for nurses in the future because of the aging population (Indeed, 2017).
“Another pertinent reason to study Medicine is a certain stability upon graduation. This reason is becoming even more prominent in countries still coping with recession and difficulties for young people to find a job. Not to mention that students are attracted to doctors’ salaries which start at 100,000 USD/year in EU countries and 160,000 USD/year in the US.” (mastersportal.com, 2017)
Moreover, advances and breakthroughs in the medicine field helped the entire human race. One example is the creation of vaccines. Vaccination is one of the effective ways to defend against infections. Another is anesthetics. In the 19th century, surgery used to be very difficult to perform but through the advancement in anesthetic and surgical antisepsis, surgeries became very easy to conduct.
Heart diseases still remain as one of the top problems of people nowadays but through the improvements in heart surgery and cardiac care, it is possible now for surgeons to operate on and repair the heart without exposing the patient into much risk. Other advancements that has touched and helped everybody’s life are Radiologic Imaging, Organ Transplantation, Advancements in Childbirth, Antibiotics and Antivirals, etc. (Childs & Kansagra, 2017)
According to Robinson (2015), there are three human qualities that cannot be replaced by digital technology; these are experience, values and judgment. These are some of the qualities that business graduates should have.
Business is everywhere. It benefits the society as a whole because it is a mean of supplying products and services to customers, providing job opportunities and a mean of bringing tax for our country’s economy. It plays a vital role in sustaining the cycle of our lives. However, to enter the business world takes a lot of courage because every foot being stepped forward bears a risk. It may be the risk of not being able to maintain what has been started due to lack of planning and background about business. (Noren, 2004)
Graduates of business degrees build up their competencies to be able to get a position from many available stable and good-paying jobs out there. The other option of a person after completing college with a business degree is to set up his own company. This option is for those people who are more strong-hearted as it takes a lot of courage to pursue this. It practically also needs resources to set up a business. The relevance of having a business degree in either ways is the knowledge and skills about the world of entrepreneurship that one can get from it. (Landingin, 2017)
Technology had replaced a lot of labor force and machineries and electronics were invented to think like human beings; they were made to replicate the decision-making ability of humans. But according to Robinson (2015), these electronics were programmed through mathematics, codes, analytics and data so basically these will operate through the data that it was programmed with and will solve problems dominantly through quantitative techniques. This is not how humans create decisions.
We use quantitative analysis to support our decision making but we also consider qualitative factors along the process, which artificial intelligence cannot make. We also incorporate values and sometimes empathy in our decisions by taking other factors and people on account. Robots cannot mimic these emotions, feelings, and values and use to to make decisions. So clearly, amidst the continuous modernization of everything, human resource is indispensable in decision making. Also, the end of business and commerce in the world is clearly unsightly because people are never contented, we want profits, we want money, we want to be our own boss and we want to be successful in this very economically-driven world which means that business courses would be in demand for a long time.
Studying business subject will help students to recognize the relevance of these subjects as they are applied in the world of business – for example, in helping people with their needs, challenges, and problems; and in creating products and services that help to improve the quality of life (Hammond, 2017). Whenever and whatever we look at the business is involved. From the cup of coffee that you drink up to the clothes that you wear. Being a business student will help you to understand people’s needs, wants and trend in this world. Also, business courses are all about developing your interpersonal skills so that you feel more confident and competent in dealing with people in the workplace by involving you in hands-on activities during your undergraduate. (Currie, 2016).
According to Locsin (2011), the median pay for business management graduates is $58,000 which can increase up to $85,000 per year. This can increase by 35% when the graduate takes up a master’s degree. Experience really influences the income in this job.
Business graduates are in high demand worldwide, business touches on pretty much every aspect of modern society, careers with a business degree are diverse and often highly paid – and these assumptions are likely to be largely true. Kauflin (2017) When Glassdoor, a known career site, released its annual list of the 50 best jobs, many of the top roles fall under business industry. 26 out of the 50 mentioned job roles are associated with the business industries. This clearly suggests that in the future, growth of the industry will likely increase thus creating a large number of career opportunities to take.
Others say that Business Management is a course that is not really needed because one can start a business without such degree. However, if a businessman has a greater and bolder vision about his business, it is necessary to have the technical skills to be able to establish a stronger name in the business world. (Bloom et. al., 2017)
After earning a degree in business, you may either start your business career or build your own company. Starting a business career after graduating may be smooth since there are a lot of entry-level positions available in any sector and industry today. It must be kept in mind that successful businesses have reached their status because of the people inside, especially because of the minds of their strategic thinkers and experts. (Tucker, 2014)
Business management skills are useful to both business management majors and to those who are not. The skills taught under these courses are indispensable even to everyday situations. Problem solving, decision making, logical, analytical, and critical thinking, written and oral communication skills are only some of these. Some career options for graduates with business administration degrees include accountants, commercial loan officers, city managers, sales managers, advertising executives, chief executive officers, financial officers, and market research analysts (Tucker, 2017).
Your career options vary and may stretch across any sector or industry. “Business courses teach you management skills, which most employers look for in a prospective employee. If you want to move to the next level at your current job, taking business courses makes you more attractive. An employer looking to fill a management position will look at employees with experience and education.” (Brock, n.d.)
Having different career choices, it can also expose you to Networking opportunities with like-minded business professionals, professors and peers. “This can open up new possibilities for partnerships and mentoring. A small business owner who can turn to a professor for advice has an advantage over other entrepreneurs who can’t get friendly expert advice. The peers you work with during school will be in business, as you are, and can turn to one another about something they experienced in their business, exchanging ideas and even extending business offers to each other.” (Hamel, 2018)
Another advantage of the degree is the fact that the world’s economy can never afford to be short of entrepreneurs. They are said to be the backbone of the economy. They spark economic activities in a nation and keep societies dynamic. Entrepreneurs are the ones who bring new ideas and innovations to shorten the gap between what people want and what the market currently offers. They are the source of wealth creation, new jobs, a strong nation, and they contribute to their communities through donations to the needy, the arts, education, and health care (Hall, 2014).
A business course, however, is not relevant only to a large scale as to involve the whole nation. It can be applied even on personal finances. Money, even when it’s called the root of evil, can make the world go ’round. A business course would be extremely helpful in all transactions and decisions involving money, which makes it useful to everyone.
Based on the work of Lencioni (2018), the best-selling author of 10 business management books stated 8 basic practices in the study of which all as observed extends to real life application. Practices such as engaging workers, creating cultural cohesiveness and focusing team effort enable an individual to improve in detail her interpersonal and communication skills. In business management, one is taught approaches to different types of people in order to bring out the best in them, similarly in life we mingle with unique types of persons and the techniques will surely come handy in making conversations smart and innovative.
Another one stated was learning to seek clarity, in that a person does not accept hurriedly what the surface offers (Lencioni, 2018). Managers need to be skeptical and investigate the causes and if the effects align with the intended results. Statistical ways such as regression analysis, strategic management can be used. These help in avoiding scams and even reduce your expenses to a great level, even while buying the groceries or shopping with discounts or promos. There are many other fields BM encompasses such as economics, accounting and entrepreneurial training that are relatable to our daily activities.
Medical-related and business-related courses are different in many ways yet both will be in demand for several years in the future. They both open a lot of career paths and opportunities and pay quite well. They are not a booming trend, rather, they might be the right track for someone who is finding stability, especially career-wise. But in reality, one course is not superior than the other. One may choose a course where he will feel the greatest happiness or the one he is most passionate with. In the end, it is not the course that counts, it is how you make what you have gained from that course count.
We might not know what will happen several years from now, but these courses would provide us a great impact in maintaining an overall healthy environment that would make us more productive. But at the end of the day, it is still our own choice. We have to decide what we think is the best for us. We have to know our purpose, what we really want to do in life (Malonda, 2017). Take a course in which you would appreciate the topics being discussed and the activities being done. As well as visualize yourself as a future professional and think of what can you contribute to yourself and to others even in little ways. Also, it is not enough that you just study for the sake of having a degree. You also have do develop yourself as a person and be mature enough to deal with issues in life.
