Get The Most Out of Your Allied Health School Education
Date: July 6, 2022
Are you considering a healthcare education? Health and wellness industries continue to grow, offering abundant places to make a difference and practice one’s skills. There are a plethora of reasons to consider higher healthcare education. While companies, regions, organizations, and workplaces generally differ from one place to another, healthcare vocations can provide some constants. According to Indeed Career Guide, these offerings often include some of the following: Fulfilling work, good earning potential,1 strong job outlook,1 stimulating work environment, a variety of career options, opportunities such as travel or positions within varying educational levels, and flexible schedules.2*
While these are some reasons to get into the field, one must first select a course and then maximize their time and effort within that program. Here are some steps to “give and get” the best by your educational pursuits. Best practices include: knowing your learning style, obtaining real training, finding a mentor, networking with other professionals, becoming a lifelong learner, and selecting the best school(s). These tips are explained below.
1. Know Your Learning Style
Getting the most out of one’s education is more than just “hitting the books” or burying oneself in loads of homework each weekend. Scholastic success ultimately depends on maximizing one’s learning potential while using time effectively. Finally, understanding one’s learning styles and preferences is crucial to forming stellar study habits. It’s an excellent investment to complete an internal inventory. Before launching your academic journey, ask, “Do I think visually? Am I good at taking notes? Do I like to listen to lectures or get my hands ‘dirty’ with lab work?” According to the experts, there are four types of learners, and each personality predominantly has one preferential learning method. These preferences include the following:
- Kinesthetic. Ever heard someone say, “Just jump in and do it?” Kinesthetic learning relates to one’s awareness of spatial positions and movements or parts of the body using sensory organs (proprioceptors) in the muscles and joints.3 With the kinesthetic method, one absorbs information best by being physically active, interacting with materials directly, and doing while learning.
- Visual. Quoting the maxim, “I have to see it to believe it!” fits the method relating to seeing or sight. With the visual learning style, one takes in and recalls information and content best by using visual stimuli, pictures, forms, and symbols. They may learn best through videos, graphs, or symbols.
- Auditory. “I hear you!” The audio learner takes in information by hearing, and their understanding is optimized best by receiving information via sound. This person responds well to poetic learning devices, hearing materials by tape, or verbal didactic instruction and lectures. They may do well to download audiobooks or record course vocabulary.
- Tactile. “I had to touch it to believe it!” Tactile learners relate to touching and connect best using the sense of physical touch.3 With this learning style, one retains or gains information by feeling and holding items, such as putting together puzzles, taking apart objects, and putting them back together. Tactile learners may respond best by rolling up their sleeves and just jumping in and doing it.
2. Get Real Training
Educational curricula are expansive. Depending on one’s chosen program, they can cover extremely diverse material. All training is essential, especially practical training. Practical training is where future healthcare workers live and—and most significantly, learn. The saying, “Nothing beats experience,” is never more accurate than in healthcare. To train, consider the following:
- A mix of both theoretical and practical skills. Some certifications and programs require externships and clinicals, while other courses require training hours or implementations of procedures. (I.e., a mandatory number of vein punctures or a minimal amount of X-ray scans are needed for some courses.) Think macro versus micro, big picture versus small details. Take inventory of your future college’s best practices versus their offerings of real-life practicalities. Glean from all.
- Maximize learning times by cross-training over multiple disciplines. Cross-training across two or more modalities may be worth your time and effort. It’s impossible to “overlearn.” For example, whether going into podiatry or nursing, a solid base in anatomy ultimately serves both. Springing for those flashcards or signing up for several webinars of interest may be well worth the investment. Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts specifically designs comprehensive educational courses considering multiple disciplines and interrelated modalities.
3. Find a Mentor/Network with Professionals
Real-life vignettes or “day-in-the-life” examples often teach practical items not found in standard textbooks. Other people can direct one’s career and impact one’s professional life in ways not found in the syllabus. You may meet professionals dedicated to your industry within your program or school or encounter challenges selecting one. If so, here are some steps to take:
- Find a Mentor. A good mentor can assist you vocationally with letters of recommendation, networking systems, acquiring skills and practical experiences, and offering general advice. Give, take, and leverage your program opportunities to build lifelong professional relationships for your career. Talk with teachers. Search online. Participate in a formal mentoring program. Be prepared to find mentors in unusual places–even mentors that show you what not to do.
- Network Everywhere. Many times networking happens in the most unexpected places! Ask for help, advice, suggestions, and even the reading lists of friends and colleagues. Be sure to reach out to members of your future field to establish connections during your clinical rotations. Talk to peers in your program and get to know your patients as you treat them. To generate these connections, leverage your clinical experiences. Ask professionals to talk about their research or work experiences—volunteer within areas of your interest. Join a professional society or association within your prospective field.
4. Become a Lifelong Learner
Nothing prepares one for the healthcare industry more than being right in the middle. At Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts, we strive to ready students with career-focused education. As they say, “Life gives you what you put into it.” Ultimately this is the same for one’s education. Gain maximum exposure within your industry by signing up as a lifelong learner.
Lifelong learners keep up with medical news and advancements. They strive to stay current regarding new technologies, procedures, and trends. Serious learners read medical journals and industry-related magazines. Often, these learners attend webinars and seminars within their chosen modalities—just for fun. Ultimately, lifelong learners take every opportunity to “own their educations.”
5. Select a Good Program
Get the most out of your academic healthcare tenure by checking out our school. We are a private academy offering quality allied-healthcare educational programs within various healthcare disciplines. Currently, we offer imaging and nursing programs across six campuses in California, with online modules opening daily. We have physical locations in San Mateo, Modesto, Fresno, Concord, Sacramento, and Van Nuys, California. We would love to be a part of your educational journey. Please have a look at our degree programs and apply online.~
*Opportunities in healthcare vary from person to person.
Citations:
1^ a, b US Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Healthcare Occupations: Occupational Outlook Handbook. US Bureau of Labor Statistics.” Bls.gov. Apr. 13, 2018. (Accessed June 3, 2022.)
2 Indeed Staff. “Why Work in Healthcare? Eight Reasons to Consider a Career in Healthcare.” Indeed.com. Indeed Career Guide. Mar. 18, 2021. (Accessed June 2, 2022.)
3^ a, b “Oxford Languages, and Google-English.” Oxford Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 2021. (Accessed Nov. 16, 2021).
