Albertene+Hefford


 * Physician **

A physician is someone who practices medicine and maintains human health through non-surgical diagnosis and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments. Physicians may do some or all of the following:
 * examine patients and investigate and identify medical problems
 * advise on medical treatment and discuss this with patients or their caregivers
 * give medical treatment and check and record patients' progress
 * care for emergency referral patients, such as patients with critical illnesses
 * teach medical students and other health professionals.


 * Three questions **

Where and what will I have to study to become a physician? How much does it pay? Can I become specialists in certain areas after training and working a a physician?


 * Where and what will I have to study to become a physician? **

To become a physician I will need to: Complete the Health Sciences First Year programme at Otago University, or the first year of either the Bachelor of Health Sciences or Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science at Auckland University Complete a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) degree at Otago or Auckland Work for one year as an intern (supervised junior doctor) in a hospital Complete another six years of specialist training and examinations to become a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.


 * How much does it pay? **

Pay varies for physicians and for registrars (those in training), depending on seniority and frequency of on-call or emergency cover: Registrars working for a district health board (DHB) usually earn between $95,341 and $156,591 a year. Qualified physicians working for a DHB usually earn between $130,000 and $200,000. Physicians working in the private sector can earn more than this. Those at the top level may earn up to $600,000.


 * Can I become specialists in certain areas after training and working a a physician? **

There are many specialist physicians who have trained in various specialties such as diseases of the heart, lungs, brain and other organs. Physicans may focus on certain disease categories, types of patients, or methods of treatment, thus making them specialist physicans in their chosen field of medicine. After studying medicine I could chose to become a specialist in almost anything I want. Physicians may specialise in a wide variety of areas, including: Cardiology A specialist area of medicine dealing with diseases of the heart. General Medicine The diagnosis and management of conditions that may be complex, difficult to diagnose, or involve multiple organs and systems of the body. Medical Oncology A specialist area of medicine dealing with the treatment of cancer. Neurology A specialist area of medicine dealing with diseases of the nervous system, including the brain. Pediatrics A specialist area of medicine dealing with the medical care of Infants, children and adolescents. Or if i chose I could just work as a physician in general medicine
 * Useful year 12 and 13 subjects **

To enter tertiary training I need to have NCEA Level 3. Useful subjects include maths with calculus and/or statistics, chemistry, physics, biology and English.
 * Chances of getting a Job **

The chances of me getting a job in New Zealand after I have completed all my training are good due to shortage of workers. The shortage is due to New Zealands growing and ageing population. Nearly a third of all physicians are over 55 and due to retire in the next 10 years.


 * Working conditions **

I would often have to work long and irregular hours and I may have to be on call on my days off. I could work in a hospital, clinic or a private practice depending on what I chose to specialise in. Work conditions may be stressful whilst dealing with very ill patients.


 * Conclusion **

I think I would really enjoy this job because I would be working with people all the time. I havent really had much of an idea about what I want to do when I leave school but now I am confident that I want to do something medical so I would say I am highly interested in this job. I think with a bit of work I could improve my science a lot more which I would need to because science is the main subject you need to be a physician. I am prepared to learn whilst I'm working which I would need to do a lot if i want to specialise in a particular area. I think over time there will be a lot more research done and treatments discovered which would be good because I would like to contribute to finding cures and researching.
 * Sorces **

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