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Survivor M.D.: Tattooed Doctor
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Classroom Activity
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Objective
To become acquainted with various medical careers.
- copy of "Who Does What?" student handout and answer key
Who Does What? student handout (PDF or
HTML)
Who Does What? answer key (PDF or
HTML)
- Access to a dictionary or Internet
Ask students what they know about careers in medicine. Have students brainstorm all the different medical jobs they know of, and list all suggestions on the board. Ask how many students would or have ever considered a medical career, and which one. To help students become acquainted with the many types of jobs a medical career offers, give each student a copy of the "Who Does What?" student handout. It's likely that the sheet contains jobs the students have never heard of or considered. Have students do the matching portion of the student handout. They may need to use the dictionary or the Internet to clarify the meanings of some medical terms, such as aneurysm, sinusitus, and catheterization. Once everyone is finished, have students review all the careers on the list and choose the one that they think requires the most training and the one that requires the least. Now provide students with the "Who Does What?" Answer Key. Have a discussion with students about the jobs they didn't know about. Which career descriptions were the biggest surprise? Review with students the amount of training that each career requires. How accurate were students' predictions? Which career surprised them most in terms of its required study and practice? To conclude the lesson, ask students again if they would consider a medical career. Did any students change their minds? If so, why? If not, why not? As an extension, have students choose one of the medical careers that interests them most and do additional research on that career. What skills are required to be successful? What kind of lifestyle does the career offer in terms of work hours, compensation, and benefits?
The descriptions provided for students represent only one focus of each discipline; like any other job, medical specialties include a variety of duties and responsibilities.
Medical specialists can also be found in a variety of locales, such as doctors' offices, hospitals, academic institutions,
public health clinics, industrial plants, and relief agencies, among others. Medical careers also extend into the research realm, where scientists focus on learning how the body works or finding ways to combat disease.
The academic requirements listed are based on averages; more or less schooling may be required depending upon the extent to which a person specializes in a profession or the state requirements the person must meet. However, on average, the career that requires the most training is neurosurgeon (15 years) and the least training, a phlebotomist (1-2 years).
Books
Marion, Robert. Learning to Play God: The Coming of Age of a Young Doctor. New York, NY: Fawcett Books, April 1993.
Draws from the author's experiences as medical
student, intern, and resident to recreate the often brutal process of medical training.
Murray, John F. Intensive Care: A Doctor's Journal. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, May 2000.
Recounts a month's events in the intensive care unit of San Francisco General Hospital. Murray, chief of the Pulmonary and Critical Care Division there, reveals the complexity and stress of a
hospital unit's day-to-day operation.
Web Sites
NOVA Online—Survivor M.D.
http://www.pbs.org/nova/doctors/
Provides program-related articles, interviews, interactive activities, resources, and more.
Career Exploration
career.berkeley.edu/CareerExp/careerexpself.stm
Helps students evaluate career options with
surveys that match personal interests, skills,
values, temperament, and work style preferences with occupations.
Health Care Career Information
http://www.hml.org/CHIS/careers/index.html
Gives background on dozens of health care careers from chiropractor to midwife, and from veterinarian to psychologist. Links to a U.S. Department of Labor site called "Jobs for Kids Who Like Science."
Student Doctor Network's Big Guide to Medical School
http://www.studentdoctor.net/guide/index.html
Provides information specifically for high school
students on why someone would consider being a doctor, on classes to take and grades to aim for, and on additional medical careers.
The "Who Does What?" activity aligns with the following National
Science Education Standards.
Grades 5-8
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Science Standard G:
History and Nature of Science
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Science as a human endeavor
Women and men of various social and ethnic backgrounds—and with diverse interests, talents, qualities, and motivations—engage in the activities of science, engineering, and the related fields such as the health professions. Some scientists work in teams, and some work alone, but all communicate extensively with others.
Grades 9-12
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Science Standard G:
History and Nature of Science
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Science as a human endeavor
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