Making a Career Change From Healthcare? Try Holistic Medicine
The COVID-19 pandemic may be over, but new alternatives in healthcare are still opening up. More people than ever are seeking new careers and new ways to bring healthcare to patients.
Telehealth and telemedicine appeared during the COVID-19 crisis as feasible alternatives to traditional office visits, and patients appreciate the flexibility that this new type of medicine offers.
If you already practice medicine but are seeking a change in your approach, a holistic or alternative medicine career path may be the change you’ve been looking for.
Types of Holistic Medicine
Holistic medicine is a type of healthcare that emphasizes evaluating the whole person over a single symptom or disease. Holistic medicine views a person’s family, surroundings, ethics, and psychological health as important factors in their physical health and encourages them to take charge of their wellness instead of letting the doctor dictate the course of treatment.
Holistic medicine used to be viewed as “unscientific” or “herbs and crystals,” but it is now recognized as an important adjunct to modern medicine.
Traditional Holistic/Alternative Medicine
These therapies have been known to physicians in other cultures since antiquity and utilize a person’s own body harmonies in concert with the healer’s knowledge.
- Acupuncture/Acupressure. This Chinese remedy uses hair-fine needles inserted along nerve pathways. Acupressure works the same way, using pressure rather than needles.
- Ayurveda. The Hindu system of body balance uses diet, herbal therapy, and yogic breathing techniques to bring the body back into balance.
- Homeopathy. This method involves minute doses of a substance that would produce symptoms in larger doses.
- Naturopathy. This is the theory that disease can be alleviated or prevented without the use of drugs through diet, exercise, and massage.
- Chinese medicine. This is a healing system based on the belief that the body’s vital life force (qi) must be kept in balance through harmony in the yin (passive) force and yang (active) force.
Body Medicine
These therapies utilize body movement and massage therapies to improve circulation, range of movement, balance, and coordination.
- Chiropractic and osteopathic medicine
- Body movement therapies
- Yoga
- Tai chi
- Massage therapy
Diet and Herbs
Maintaining a healthy body is essential for maintaining a healthy mind. Current thinking is trending away from drugs and medications if they are not absolutely necessary and toward herbal supplements and general nutrition. Of course, it’s important to understand the correct way to use herbal supplements as much as any medication. Diet and herbs include attention to:
- Herbal medicine
- Dietary supplements
- Nutrition. The average person needs considerable education on how to “eat a healthy diet” and often doesn’t get more than cursory instructions from their own healthcare provider.
Mind Medicine
In our stressful society, getting to a healthy mind requires the help of a skilled professional. Knowing how to encourage peace of mind for people in need is a useful and greatly appreciated talent.
- Meditation
- Hypnosis
- Biofeedback
- Visualization
Transitioning Careers
If you’re a healthcare provider, you’ve already got what it takes to transition into a new holistic medicine career. You have the desire to help others and the knowledge about the human body — the anatomy, physiology, and systems that you’ll need to make holistic care possible.
Making the switch to holistic care doesn’t need to be overwhelming. You can bring the knowledge you already have into the holistic field and vice versa.
Why Make a Career Change from Healthcare to Holistic Medicine?
If you’ve gotten this far, you’ve probably already been considering your career path in traditional medicine. Maybe it isn’t quite what you thought it would be. Perhaps you don’t have enough contact with others or aren’t making the kind of impact on people’s lives you’d like. Maybe the COVID-19 crisis made you reassess your priorities. Whatever is happening, there are good reasons to consider holistic healthcare.
Flexibility. The increasing availability of telemedicine means you can work without coming into direct contact with people you evaluate. If you have family and young children to protect, this can be an important consideration. People also appreciate healthcare workers who can see them on their schedule too.
Career Opportunities. With a new degree in holistic medicine, you make yourself more valuable to your current employer and more desirable to future employers. You may find that your new skill set matches that dream job you’ve been looking for.
Better Care. Most people go into healthcare to heal. Holistic medicine allows you to put your focus back on taking care of people rather than filling out paperwork or matching Medicare codes.
Lower Stress and Burnout. Having control of your life increases job satisfaction, lowers your stress levels, and reduces burnout.
Profitability. The holistic medicine field is rapidly expanding and needs more practitioners every year. You can count on a good return on your investment.
Start Your Career Transition With Quantum University
There’s no time like the present to begin your new or improved healthcare career. The holistic medical degree program at Quantum University—an online holistic medicine school— offers credentials and PhDs in the field of Natural, Holistic and Integrative Medicine. If you want to learn more about our programs, speak to an admissions advisor today to get started!
Our holistic medicine school offers the following degree programs:
- Bachelor in Holistic Health
- Master in Holistic Health, and Natural or Integrative Medicine
- Doctorate in Holistic Health
- PhD in Natural Medicine
- PhD in Integrative Medicine
Individual degree programs can also be combined into Degree Tracks classified as “Fast Track”. These tracks, as well as our Completion Degrees, expedite the completion of your programs. Experience a faster, more cost effective and fulfilling journey towards your holistic medicine degree with Quantum University’s Fast Track options.
