The growing complexity of the medical field requires highly trained specialists.
The field of medicine is advancing rapidly. The advance of the field, and the growing complexity of different sub-fields and specializations, are changing the way medicine works and the way the health-care system works. While medical doctors still get doctoral degrees in medicine, there are a host of other degrees for those working in the field of medicine.
Doctor of Medicine
The prototypical graduate degree in medicine is the Doctor of Medicine, which qualifies the recipient to hold the coveted title of M.D. Students in M.D. programs study the basic sciences in which doctors need to be highly proficient, including physiology, human anatomy and pharmacology. The degree also covers behavioral sciences and introduces students to taking medical histories and examining patients. Students undertake clinical rotations in their last years to explore different medical specialties, such as surgery and internal medicine.
Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology Degrees
While doctors receive some training in pharmacology, students who receive graduate degrees in the field become experts. Pharmacologists study cellular and molecular signaling. In the course of doing this, they study advanced topics in biochemistry, cell biology, genetics and molecular biology. These topics are preparation for designing medicines and medicine delivery systems. Many programs in this field lead to the Ph.D degree.
Graduate Nursing Degrees
Nurses come in a variety of certification levels. Those who are Registered Nurses, or RNs, with bachelor degrees have the option of continuing their education and expertise in their medical profession by pursuing a master of science in nursing. Among the concentrations that nurses pursuing this degree can choose are Nurse Practitioner programs. Nurse Practitioner programs allow nurses to become certified as Nurse Practitioners, who have additional privileges and responsibilities to care for patients in different situations, including the ability to prescribe certain medications on their own.
Pharmacy Degrees
As medicines have grown more complex, professionals who are experts in drugs and drug interactions have become a necessity. Consequently, today pharmacists are individuals with a four-year degree: the Doctor of Pharmacy. These programs train prospective pharmacists to become not only experts in different medicines, but capable of communicating with patients about these medicines and how they are to be used. For this, classes include biochemistry and physiology, classes on communicate with patients, and M.D.-like rotations in specialized areas of drugs and medicine. These include areas such as cancer treatments and psychiatric drugs and medicines.
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