Wear the white coat with dignity and prideit is an honor and privilege to get to serve the public as a physician.
Graduating from a top medical university abroad is a big achievement for any medical student after five to six years of rigorous medical studies and training away from home. When you first moved to your medical university to study MBBS abroad, you had your ambition in front of you. And now that you have accomplished it with your hard work, dedication, and perseverance, a new life is ahead of you. The pride in wearing the white coat and the adrenaline rush of venturing out into the world to elevate pain and suffering from peoples lives are unfathomable for new doctors.
Now its time to explore your opportunities in the world of medicine, you are just one step away from living your dream. Medical graduates never face any dearth of career opportunities as the demand for physicians is only increasing worldwide, year by year. Where a majority of foreign medical graduates have a preference to join the healthcare sector of their home country, others want to do something different with their qualifications.
Some of the most popular career scopes after MBBS abroad for Indian students include:
1. Practice medicine
The ultimate goal of any international medical aspirant is to practice medicine in their home country. The top medical universities in Russia, Bangladesh, Armenia, the Caribbean, etc. not just impart top-tier medical education to their international MBBS students but also prepare them for various medical licensure exams like FMGE, USMLE, PLAB, and others so that they can pass them and get a medical license to practice medicine in their country. Joining the healthcare sector of your country after obtaining your medical degree is a proud moment as they can now fulfill their wish of serving their homeland and its people and contributing towards the well-being of their community.
2. Hospital management
MBA after MBBS in Hospital Management/Healthcare Management is a specialization that is gaining massive attention from medical graduates in India and abroad. It is a 2-year post-graduation course that aims to train students in administrative and managerial roles at a healthcare organization or hospital.
The demand for management professionals in the healthcare industry is on the rise. A surge in the need of the healthcare industry and hospitals has increased the scope of skilled and qualified hospital managers. The job role of hospital managers or administrators is to manage, guide, and supervise various departments like nursing, physicians, healthcare information, medical records, and more. They are responsible for updating new laws, improving care facilities, and presenting hospital facilities to the governing bodies.
3. Medical-Legal Advisors
Medico-legal advisory work is an attractive choice for new doctors either seeking to magnify their area of practice, taking a brief career break, or giving up clinical medicine altogether. With a rise in the number of legal processes concerning the NHS every year, the career option of medical-legal advisors is becoming popular day by day.
The job role of medico-legal advisors involves averting clinical negligence claims, reviewing and checking facts before submission to solicitors, facilitating alternate dispute resolution, preparing clinicians to provide evidence in court, giving emergency advice to doctors in tough situations, teaching healthcare professionals about legal processes for improving patient care, etc.
4. Medical Tourism
Also known as health tourism, the facilitators of medical tourism work as a bridge between a patient and healthcare service provider to ensure a positive experience for the former from the start to the end. They play a vital role as organizers, educators, advocates, and more to ensure the safe delivery of international patients. Medical tourism facilitator plans the entire trip of a patient – from making travel arrangements, booking hotels, and transportation, determining the best destination, coordinating with doctors concerning medical records, setting up appointments with doctors, etc.
As not all medical tourists are efficient in speaking the native language of the country where they are availing medical treatment, the medical tourism facilitator ensures smooth communication between the hospital staff.
5. Public Healthcare
The Master of Public Health (MPH) degree comprises aspects of public health services, based on both government and grassroots levels. During the course, the students are motivated to develop strong proficiencies in various integrated interdisciplinary areas like public health leadership and management, epidemiology and biostatistics, evidence-based policy and healthcare, health policy and systems, diversity and culture, health communication, public health biology, program management, and planning, and systems thinking and environmental health sciences. The MPH degree attained by medical graduates provides an edge to them as it complements their skill set.
Physician-MPH encapsulates the two most significant aspects of patient education and preventive care, and provides its holders with the expertise to organize awareness and education programs for patients, and reduce the spread of chronic illnesses and contagious diseases.
6. Sports Medicine
Doctor of Sports Medicine, also called MD (Sports Medicine), is a 3-year PG program that deals with the physical fitness, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of sports-related injuries. The National Medical Commission has issued guidelines for a Competency-Based Postgraduate Training Program for MD in Sports Medicine.
The job role of a sports medicine specialist includes medical consultancy to diagnose and treat patients with injuries due to physical activities; Athletics doctors and muscle specialists treat athletes with niggles and muscle injuries; Hamstring specialists cure hamstring injuries in contact-based sports; sports psychologists help professional athletes in their mental illnesses; and orthopedic specialist diagnoses, cure, and manage musculoskeletal problems.
7. Medical Journalism & Medical Writing
Medical writing is touted as a reputed profession to pursue after MBBS abroad. It includes the development and production of print documents relating to healthcare or medicine. With continuous innovation and advancement in healthcare and medicine, there is a dire need to communicate products, research findings, devices, and services. Medical journalists can serve the roles of healthcare journalists, writers, supervisors, editors, media relations specialists, project managers, educators, etc.
Medical writers provide details, document, and share news and research to improve health and save lives. The major roles and responsibilities of medical writers are evolving every day and include marketing advanced devices, and clinical trials, educating healthcare professionals about new treatments or creating grant proposals for funding innovative research.
8. Health Informatics & Analytics
Health informatics and analytics are one of the fastest-growing degree specializations after MBBS abroad that deals in the development of advanced methods of putting information and knowledge into promoting health and improving healthcare. The course required good expertise in computational, informational, organizational, and behavioral sciences along with an expert understanding of health processes and systems. The experts in health informatics and analytics must have the required skill set to combine information and health domains.
The Master of Health Informatics is an excellent option for foreign medical graduates keen on leadership roles in consulting, health management, and systems implementation.
9. Medical Teacher/Professor
Becoming a professor or teacher of medicine is one of the most sought-after options after an MBBS in abroad. It is the noblest profession to share your medical knowledge and skills with medical students with a dedication to becoming good doctors. A professor of medicine imparts medical education to students at the college level. Their place of work is a university, medical school, community college, or a teaching hospital. The medical professors design and develop medical curricula to impart lessons on anatomy, neurology, physiology, immunology, biochemistry, and pharmacology.
10. Investment Banking
Investment banking is a lucrative career option for medical graduates in healthcare organizations and companies. Enrolling in financial modeling and equity research courses after MBBS will open a new world of opportunities for them. Investment bankers and equity research analysts in healthcare closely work with biotech firms and pharma companies to offer guidance on the latest trends in the healthcare industry. They also perform industrial research to discover new and innovative healthcare products and equipment.
11. Entrepreneurship
After entrepreneurship became a prospering career option after MBBS, the term doctorpreneurship came into existence. The issues faced by the pressured public healthcare system and consistent focus on the role of entrepreneurship to achieve a developed and self-sustaining country led to the rise of medical entrepreneurship.
To begin with, medical entrepreneurs have to assess the requirements of the market and do extensive market research and in-depth analysis of various specializations in healthcare. This helps them to know the local demand for various healthcare products and services and pick the right field. A successful medical entrepreneur understands the market needs and efficiently fills the required gap in health services.
12. Forensic Psychiatry
As stated by Dr. William H. Reid, MD, MPH, a forensic psychiatry consultant, A forensic psychiatrist is a psychiatrist who has additional training and experience related to the various interfaces of mental health (or mental illness) with the law. The person is a physician with a specialization in assessing, diagnosing, and treating mental illnesses, including biological evaluations and treatments, family and social issues, and psychotherapy.
13. Clinical Forensic Medical Examiner
A forensic medical examiner examines dead human bodies (post-mortem) and uncovers the cause and time of death with great precision. The person has to take dig into the deceaseds medical history, examine and inspect the crime scene and statement of witnesses, and find evidence on the dead body that could lead to the culprit. Moreover, a forensic medical examiner must know toxicology, DNA, and ballistics. The job role of a forensic medical examiner includes preparing reports, and death certificates, and enforcing the law on cases. Sometimes the person has to appear in court to testify in front of the judge.
14. Medical or Pharmaceutical Researcher
A medical researcher is a person who performs research and experiments to diagnose health issues, and diseases, and suggests treatments to save human lives. He/she can explore work opportunities in pharma companies or work as a laboratory research assistant in organizations, labs, and private medical institutions. Their main job role is to investigate and study health data and reports and work with dangerous chemicals and samples while taking safety precautions, and research various human diseases utilizing clinical trials and investigation techniques to attain concrete conclusions and findings.
15. Academic medicine
Academic medicine is one of the best alternative career options for new doctors from abroad where they can not only perform extensive clinical practice and research but can take classes in medical colleges and mentor research programs.
ConclusionEarlier where career options were scarce after MBBS in abroad 2023, now medical graduates have vast opportunities available to choose from. Nowadays, they have the choice and flexibility to choose any field based on their interests and preferences. With so many lucrative career options now available, you can come out of your boundaries and have a career you aspire to live.