Now more than ever, you probably should know what infectious disease doctors are! | Medical Field of the Month
Hello guys, and welcome to this blog post! As the pandemic surges on, I realize I haven’t written a blog post related to the pandemic in a WHILE. So, now with not one but TWO vaccines out, I only thought it’d be proper to dedicate an entire blog post to some of the most relevant people during this pandemic: infectious disease doctors!
In this blog post, I’ll be talking about the January Medical Field of the Month: infectious disease doctors!
Let’s get into it!
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Table of Contents
- What are infectious disease doctors, and why are they important?
- What are the requirements to become an infectious disease doctor?
- Epidemiologist salary/job description.
- The End!
- Sources
What are infectious disease doctors, and why are they important?
An infectious disease doctor, or infectious disease specialist, is an expert in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases caused by microorganisms, including bacteria and viruses.
These doctors are VERY important, especially during a pandemic or other kind of public health crisis, because they are the ones able to educate the public, come up with treatment, and halt the spread of whatever disease they’re facing.
What are the requirements to become an infectious disease doctor?
Like any profession in the medical field, the path to becoming an infectious disease doctor is one of long and rigorous work!
This is the education needed to become an infectious disease doctor: a Bachelors degree, medical school, medical residency, and an infectious disease fellowship. Aspiring doctors should also aim for a passing score on their certification exam.
But, for a lot of people who want to further into more specific careers within the infectious disease world, a Ph.D. might be necessary.
Honestly, education is a really big deal within this field!
But, you don’t need to just be well educated to become an infectious disease doctor!
Traits that could help you become an infectious disease specialist include enjoying solving puzzles, caring about the vulnerable, being curious, a love of science, and being comfortable with the unknown.
Infectious Disease Doctor salary/job description.
Now, let’s find out if all the hard work and education is worth it for you! As of February 2020, the average salary for infectious disease doctors in the USA was 246,000 dollars. While that is a LOT of money, there are other medical professions which make more!
But, good news for you, if you’re thinking about becoming an infectious disease doctor, there is a shortage in this field! And now we know that pandemics are actually pretty common. SARS, HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and now COVID-19. The world is facing a lot, and infectious disease doctors are on the frontlines.
This field has a variety of opportunities. On one hand, you could be treating patients who need more specialized care than their primary doctor can provide. Or they could be aiding federal agencies and advising them on ways to inform the population about the latest health crisis.
One thing is for sure: this job is very complex and rigorous: I would recommend this job for people who have an affinity for science, like doing complex things and helping others!
The End!
And, that’s a wrap! Thank you so much for reading this blog post, and I hoped you enjoyed it!
RELATED: A Complete Guide to Epidemiology, and Why It’s Important Now More than Ever!
Honestly, I really missed doing these types of posts, and if you missed it too, let me know in the comments down below, as well as subscribe to Ana Health Avenue for more content like this!
I hope this has given you an idea about infectious disease doctors, and inspired you to do some more digging!-Anagha
Sources
- How to become an Infectious Disease Doctor by US News
- Job Description for an Infectious Disease Physician by Chron
- my knowledge about infectious disease doctors 🙂