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| Category: Alternative Medicine Schools |
Date published: November 14, 2008 |
Five Amazing Jobs in the Alternative Medicine Industry
by CarolAnn Bailey-Lloyd
 Why settle for just any health career when you can enjoy the prospects of an alternative or complementary medicine profession? Today's healing arts practitioners work in cutting edge fields that rise above the standards of treating just the disease. In fact, most alternative medicine therapists focus on the whole person; addressing the wellbeing of the mind, body, and spirit.
While there are a growing number of alternative medicine careers, there are five top occupations that are a cut above the rest:
- Acupuncturist: Don't let a few needles stand in the way of acquiring the dream career of your life. Like other medical fields, acupuncture and Oriental medicine practitioners must gain education and training at an accredited acupuncture or traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) college or school. Right now, you're a diamond in the rough -- but you can polish your career prospects by attaining comprehensive training in acupuncture, TCM, Chinese herbal medicine, Tai Chi, Qigong, and Tuina (among other specializations) to become a successful Oriental medicine practitioner. In addition to treating patients with ancient Chinese medical wisdom, applications, and philosophies; reputable acupuncturists can earn a substantial income (typically $40-$70 per session); and in some cases, students and alumni have opportunities to train in foreign countries like China or Japan.
- Chiropractic: Modern chiropractors are in great demand. Providing gentle spinal adjustments to patients, chiropractic doctors (D.C.) are known for their ability to relieve chronic back pain and other musculoskeletal conditions. Like acupuncture, chiropractic training is in-depth and requires over 4,000 academic and clinical hours. Most chiropractic colleges have strict prerequisites, which may include a minimum of a Bachelor's degree or equivalent in related sciences. What makes this field so promising, however, is the fact that job prospects for new chiropractors are expected to be good. In addition to job availability, chiropractic doctors have the potential to earn well over $100,000 annually.
- Holistic Nurse: With so much attention being placed on the disease of a patient, it's nice to know that registered nurses and nurse-midwives have the option to enroll in holistic nursing programs -- where they gain whole-healing approaches to healthcare. In these holistic medicine courses, nurses are provided with education and training in a variety of mind-body-spirit therapies like holistic health, energy healing, massage therapy, and spiritual counseling techniques, among other natural healing specialties. Since nurses work in diverse settings like hospitals, home health care, retirement homes, and nursing care facilities, it's important to have holistic nurses, who offer patients compassion and mind-body therapies that focus on total wellbeing.
- Massage Therapist: Now this occupation has far-reaching potential. Professional massage therapists must acquire between 300 to 1,000+ training hours in physical sciences like anatomy and physiology -- This, in addition to hands-on training in massage techniques like deep tissue, sports massage, and Swedish massage. Depending on the course in which you choose to enroll, some bodywork courses may be longer and more comprehensive in nature. Subsequently, advanced somatic education programs now include various massage modalities like craniosacral therapy, myofascial release, neuromuscular therapy, Trigger point, Trager, geriatric, infant/prenatal, and more. The unique aspects of being a massage therapist are that these professional therapists work in a broad range of environments including medical facilities, massage clinics, day spas, retreats/resorts, aboard cruise lines, at sporting events, and even in airports.
- Naturopath/Homeopath: Here's a career you can really dig! Most naturopathic physicians are cross-trained in homeopathy, as well as naturopathic principles and applications. Using natural and complementary means to treat patients, naturopathic doctors can often prescribe the best botanical medicine remedy or manual bodywork therapy to help relieve common ailments and health conditions. In more complex syndromes, naturopaths will tailor a health regiment that best suits the individual needs. With the philosophy that still holds true to first doing no harm to the patient, naturopathic practitioners treat the whole person -- body, mind, and spirit. As with any healthcare profession, naturopaths/homeopaths are trained in rigorous educational programs that often take three to seven years to complete.
If you (or someone you know) are interested in learning more about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), let professional training within fast-growing industries like chiropractic, naturopathy, acupuncture, Oriental medicine, Reiki, and others get you started! Explore alternative medicine schools near you.
Sources:
BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
HolisticJunction.com
5 Amazing Jobs in the Alternative Medicine Industry
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Media Positive Communications, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Resource Box: CarolAnn Bailey-Lloyd - Former staff writer for HolisticJunction.com, Educational Resources for Healing Arts Schools, Natural Healing Schools, and other Alternative Medicine Schools.
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