Contest: Do you know your Health Professionals?

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Imagine a world without healthcare professionals! A complete despair!

Health professionals, also called healthcare professionals , are important set of personnels in the community. Health professionals are gift to men.

They are set of people who devoted their time to the study of the human body, the structures (anatomy) and how it functions(physiology ), such that any deviation from normal( pathology) can be accurately corrected and proper function restored as much as possible . They deal with restoration of health and prevention of ill-health.

A health professional is an individual who has been trained and licensed to deliver healthcare services to people.

What makes someone a health professional?

To become a healthcare professional, an individual must have applied through the university and gone through the medical college to study a medical-related course. The different courses in the medical college are medicine and surgery, dentistry, nursing, physiotherapy, pharmacy, medical lab science, radiography, physiology and pharmacology. The last two are not professional courses, buy they are also health-related.

To apply into the Nigerian University, certain criteria are met; acceptable UTME result, acceptable WASSCE result, post UTME and meeting the cut off for the specific course of choice.

Upon a successful admission, the Individual receives series of trainings and practical knowledge for a designated number of years. Having passed the professional exams, he or she gets inducted into the specific health profession by the professional body. He or she gets licensed and qualified to work as a health professional.

Name 5 different types of health professionals and explain what they do.

Based on the their specialties, there are different types of health professionals.

• Medical Doctors
• Registered Nurses
• Medical Laboratory Scientists
• Surgeons
• Dental Specialists
  To mention a few. And each of these health profession has specialties.

Medical Doctors

They are healthcare professionals that specializes on treating the pathophysiology of diseases in patients. They make medical diagnosis based on diagnostic investigations carried out and in turn create treatment plan to help patient recover from diseases or illnesses.

Registered Nurses

The first contact with the patient in a healthcare setting is the Registered Nurse. Registered nurses are healthcare professionals trained to relieve symptoms in patient. Their primary goal is health promotion. Hence, they are frontliners for health education. They make nursing diagnosis based on signs and symptoms and create a nursing care plan to help patient treat these symptoms, making the patient feel relieved and better. They care primarily about their patient's comfort and well-being.

Medical Lab Scientist

They are the hands behind the scene. They carry out the diagnostic investigations and testings for patients. Their result form the basis on which doctors make their diagnosis and treatment plan. They collect samples from the body such as blood sample, urine sample, sputum specimen etc and do various investigations like blood tests (white blood count, full blood count, genotype, blood group etc), urinology, malaria test, pregnancy test, liver function test, fertility test, BUN test, etc.

Surgeons

Surgeons are specialized in carrying out surgical operations on the body. They are part of the medical team when surgical interventions are required to treat a patient. There are different surgeons based on different surgical specialties: General surgeon, ENT surgeons( otolaryngologists), plastic surgeons, O&G surgeons, pediatric surgeons, neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeon, ophthalmologist,etc. And these have subspecialties.

Dental Specialists

These are healthcare professionals that specializes in the care and treatment of problems related to the gum, teeth and mouth. They are generally called dentists. They perform operations in the oral cavity and treat problems of the oral health.

Do you have any favourite health professionals? Why?

Yes I do. Every health professional has their unique purpose and role. But my favourite health professional is the registered nurse. They are the first contact with a patient.The nursing professional delivers patient-focused care. They provide care and comfort to the patient. They encourage health promotion through health education and preventive care.

In a healthcare setting, nurses stay the most time with their patients. Hence, they build good relationship and close rapport with their patients and they stand as advocate for them. It is a profession built on care and empathy. And as social beings, we need more of that to heal faster. An environment of care and love contributes greatly to fast recovery.

If you were allowed to be a health professional, which would you choose and why?

I would choose a Registered Nurse again and again. As mentioned above, it is a healthcare professional that puts patient's comfort first while delivering quality care to them.

And of course, I am a Registered Nurse! 😊
And I'm proud to be one!

Thank you all for reading ♥️.
Warmly invite @eliany @yakspeace @manadate to participate.

Big thanks to the host @sahmie for organizing this beautiful contest. This contest brings our health care professionals to limelight.