Health Science Preferences??? (1 Viewer)

[Andrew007]

Preferences - Ex.&Sport science v medical radiation sciences???

hey everyone,

i'm really interested in doing either Exercise and Sport science or One of the medical radiation sciences (e.g. diagnostic radiography). i need to apply and set my preferences for uni at the moment and need help in deciding which course is better all round.

could any help me out here and just give me a rundown on if the course is good and future job prospects. i am more interested in exercise and sport science but am worried about the lack of future prospects or career opporutnities. on the other hand, diagnostic radiogroaphy or nuclear medicine sound rather mundane, but seem to be in high demand.

any help or info on either of the courses would be much appreciated. thanx.

 

[Skeeta]

Re: Preferences - Ex.&Sport science v medical radiation sciences???

I cant help out much, but I hear that there is a demand for Exercise and Sport science, if you dont have your heart set on working with athletes, and want to work with the geriatric population.

 

[!!Chocoholic!!!]

i was thinkin basically the same thing... well not the same.. but i got enrolled in EXSS n then changed my mind n enrolled in DR... its js our 2nd sem... but still, i can tel u this...

diag rad can get REAL borin after a while, cz its like a checkout job, pt-x ray- process-done. well not really.. obviously u hv heaps of pt interaction n stuf, which is quite nice but its not the same as compared to rad therapy ppl, who hv more pt contact..(Its not really like a checkout job lol... much better than it sounds, its not just zappin ppl wid rays)

i think its a gud course for ppl who like physics... u do hv quite a lotta fun.. clinicals and stuff wil be fun too (hopefully)
and as far as i kno, atm, jobs r avl, but in future... maybe a bit less...cz of the number of ppl enrollin in MRS.

dont kno abt EXSS!

gud luck choosin...

 

[Andrew007]

kool, thanx for the help.

does any1 know much about the radiation therapy or nuclear medicine courses as well??

 

[jest]

i'm first year radiation therapy and i really enjoy it
you get heaps of patient interaction because you can see the same patients everyday and the job's pretty broad, eg one week you could be treating patients and the next planning treatments etc so you're not doing the same thing over and over

plus we were told out of sydney clinical placements is fully paid for by the university and this only applies to rad therapy and not diagnostic or nuclear (but i could be wrong, it's just what tracy told us)

 

[Katie123]

yeah rt outta area placements are paid for - accom and transport . I stayed in wagga for 6 wks and they flew us there and back.

RT is good for the most part. You get a lot of variety. ... the only thing i haev with the whole industry is that it is such a small workforce that everyone knows everybody else cos they went to uni together or worked together or went to a conference together . Other than that its alright. better than DR i would think cos you actually have to think about what you are doing eg the physics of the radiation and its interaction with patients.

have fun. If you choose it you might end up at the centre i (hopefully) will be working at.

 

[emanu]

The employment opportunities is actually quite limited for RTs and Nuc Meds atm. If you want to find employment easily once you graduate then you should definately do DRs. But DR is quite boring, patient comes in and out. Patient interaction accross the 3 streams is as follows:
DR-eg chest x-rays <20 min. Nuc Med- eg bone scan 1hour or so with patient. RT- patient comes back over around 8 weeks for continue treatment.

So i guess DR would have the least interaction, you wont bond with the patient, Nuc Med generally can bond with a patient a little bit, and RT you see the patient for 8 weeks you can really get to know the patients.

Radiation Dose wise, Nuc Med receive the highest dose, as their patients are actually radioactive and you have to draw up and dispense radioactivity. DR would be next, then RT would have the least as during the actual treatment you're behind lead walls and 2 ton thick doors.

I'm happy to answer any question as much as i can, feel free to ask

 

[mhhmhh]

aprrox how much of the courses hosted by cmberland are at the main campus in the cbd if any?
also, who said jobs are limited in the future... i got told that jobs will be available well into the future

 

[Triangulum]

aprrox how much of the courses hosted by cmberland are at the main campus in the cbd if any?
also, who said jobs are limited in the future... i got told that jobs will be available well into the future

I don't think any health sci courses are available at main campus.

 

[jest]

aprrox how much of the courses hosted by cmberland are at the main campus in the cbd if any?
also, who said jobs are limited in the future... i got told that jobs will be available well into the future

jobs are limited right now but if you decide to do RT or NM, by the time you graduate which will be a couple of years from now, there will be many more jobs available, i know that in RT there are more centres opening soon like in the next year or so

 

[emanu]

Yes there are going to be more jobs available, but most of the time the centers prefer to hire people with experience so it will still be hard to get a PDY, and did they specify where the job opportunities will be at? sometimes there is plenty of jobs available but depends on where you work, eg if you move interstate or overseas. NSW is pretty packed atm.

http://jobguide.thegoodguides.com.au/text/skillsShortages.cfm
Check this site out for more information on employment opportunity.