Degree choice

[Lightmyway]

My background is in IT and have been thinking of doing an OU degree in it. In fact I started it last month, but it's not my passion.

I've studied healthcare, medical science as a hobby for a handful of years, and had a couple medical professionals express they are impressed with my level of knowledge. It excites me, even writing this post, thinking of doing a course in healthcare brings me to life.

So,do I do the easy degree, or the one I have drive, and passion towards? I know being in my 40s getting a career in medicine or healthcare is an absolute pipe dream...

Thankies for any responses :)

biomedical tech or x ray tech? a blend of IT and medicine? even ultra sound tech?
do you have a prior degree?

Interesting, I had never thought of combining the two - I could do an Open Degree that allows me to selectively choose my modules.

No,prior degree, but extensive experience in IT, web technology, including being published twice.

Passion. Always. Especially if your passion is a field that has jobs available.

I wouldn't be so sure about pipe dream.

It would be tough (although not impossible) to train as a Dr now but that's not the only career in healthcare. Follow your passion, easy will lead to boredom.

Your replies make a lot of sense, kind of confirming my gut reaction I should follow my heart and passion.

What are the barriers to a RL degree?

Not a laughing matter, but have you considered studying for a medical degree? I've seen many mature people qualifying as a doctor this summer alone.

The barriers to a RL medical degree are I have several conditions, and use a wheelchair. I'd love to push as far as I can but I need to be realistic - how many medical professions have you ever seen in a wheelchair?

Ah. Now I've been thinking about this quite a bit (not medical profession specifically).

(Full disclosure: I use crutches or wheelchair and expect to graduate to chiefly the chair soon and for partly related reasons I'm going to have to change job role at least slightly or die of boredom from WFHing most of the time. I'm still adjusting to this state of affairs. I'm slow like that )

So; turn that thought process in its head. If an employer currently doesn't have enough visibly disabled employees, HR is probably quite twitchy about that, especially in the public sector.

So just think about what the job consists of and whether you could do it, with appropriate adjustments, (be imaginative) and assume that the chair will go in your favour, if it sways anyone at all. How many HCPs we've seen in chairs isn't the point. The question is, can it be done?

I mean, I can see surgeon might be tricky, but optometrist might be doable (subject to specifics) and so on.

Interesting disclosure and has made me think even more about this. In interests of disclosure I have Myasthenia Gravis, Myalgic Encephalopathy, Fibromyalgia, Central Sensitisation Syndrome, Heart Murmur, Tachycardia, choledocholithiasis, Cholangitis, Biliary Colic, PTSD.

So quite severe really, but I firmly look at many doctors who sit the majority of the day, and see patients, why can't a doctor in a wheelchair do the same? Or other related medical jobs? I think I'm definitely going to go for the healthcare science degree.

BTW, feel free to PM anytime @Battleax if you prefer

Medicine would certainly benefit from more disabled HCPs.

I will PM you.

OP, have you considered something like clinical neuropsychology? you could do a v interesting psychology OU degree with neuroscience elements as a first off. While it's a very long haul and competitive, it's intellectually fascinating, well suited to a mature student and avoids the nights and long shifts junior doctor slog. When fully qualified, there's lots of private options to structure your work flexibly which might work well with your health conditions.

Good luck!

Medical informatics is a big growth area - as an IT professional with a strong knowledge of and interest in medicine, you'd be very well placed, for example, to work in ehealth.

Thanks for the replies.

I'm delighted and excited to find out how many pathways are open to me. Clinical Neuropsychology looks very interesting.

I wonder, regarding the correlation between IT and healthcare, if I should complete the degree in IT and then follow with a Healthcare & Health Sciences degree....

I can handle long haul, long hours, working hard and I'm naturally competitive also! 😊

Health Psychology is another option, it is looking at the impact of mental health on physical conditions. Can get either research based or therapy based roles.

Would involve a psychology BSc then a 3 year doctorate, so not the quickest career change but could be of interest to you.

Thanks for that, time is on my side so an extension after the BSc isn't a worry. Considering teaching is/was something on the table, that would involve a PGCE afterwards anyway.

I have requested all the Health and Science prospectii (including Paychology) from the OU (paper so I can write all over them) to explore the degree choices.

All the responses on this thread have been fantastic and helped open my eyes to what is possible when considering a healthcare based route. I shall keep things updated as things progress :)

You could combine your knowledge/interest in a role such as www.aapc.com/medical-coding/medical-coding.aspx. There are such roles in the NHS and if you think privitisation and / or litigation are going to expand...

See, something like that would really interest and excite me, and my wheelchair wouldn't be a significant issue. Thanks for that link!