Are you a software developer looking for somewhere to utilize your skills? Please avoid being like most developers I know who have limited themselves to IT and Tech companies‘ jobs. Times have changed, and they keep on doing so. Allow me to talk about something vital that you need to know; working in the healthcare sector. Did you know that the industry provides several developer opportunities than most industries you might think of? There are over 20 different jobs you can do in healthcare and gain huge rewards. Let me discuss six of those developer roles in high demand.
Robotics Engineers
Who doesn’t know about the Covid19 pandemic that has and still is restricting people’s movements and contact? Every sector has been affected. If you’re wondering why I’m talking about that, then this is the point; robots have been used in place of nurses and other physicians to handle patients. That was a way to ensure physical contact between healthcare workers and patients is minimized. Who do you think was responsible for that robotics? I guess you know!
Robotics have also played significant roles in sanitizing public places and not to mention their application in surgery and automated patient care. Nowadays, even paralyzed patients can walk again with smart/artificial exoskeletons, thanks to robotics. Developers are the brains behind these new systems, which have helped speed up medical operations/services, increase accuracy, and support medical staff. Further immense benefits of such a technology are yet to be seen as more improvements and advancements occur.
Medical Software Engineers
The healthcare sector has changed rapidly over the past few years. The rate at which it’s embracing technology is mind-blowing. Today, we speak of the availability of various apps created for medical purposes like booking a doctor’s appointment, buying drugs, and more. Who do you think is responsible for them? Medical software development is an opportunity that developers can take advantage of and is in high demand in healthcare.
Medical software engineers develop software systems or apps that enhance healthcare services and present new medical treatment methods using recent technologies. They perform tasks like:
- Conducting studies on existing software systems’ ability and requirements and make adjustments to them whenever necessary.
- Developing software that’s more efficient and works better
- Availing patient-related data and health records to doctors
- Forming and managing healthcare websites for medical researchers
- Creating medical apps (both mobile and desktop) that can fulfill patients’ medical requirements.
Some of these apps that software developers create help provide daily updates about health and nutrition boosting methods, connect a user to a hospital/doctor instantly, and link users with similar health problems to an online community for counseling and mutual support. Others provide alerts and reminders to users on medical appointments and medicine-taking, and some are for fitness.
Data and Research Scientists
Data science has caused a significant advancement in the medical field. Doctors and health researchers can now work faster and efficiently while handling disease diagnosis, drug research, and community health management. That’s courtesy of machine learning algorithms and data science. The demand for the two options in healthcare is immense. We’ve seen experts in those fields being used amidst the Covid19 crisis to develop tools for assessing the virus’s spread, aiding in patient diagnosis, and measuring people’s temperatures in public places.
Research scientists are crucial in the medical field since most work done there involves research on new diseases and medicines. Such scientists require a particular group of people (software developers) to help them. Developers assist them by processing images and signals from machines like CTs and MRIs by creating software that can convert the images/signals into useful data. They also gatherresearch data and form software algorithms that can give hints to the data’s importance.
Mechatronics Engineers
The healthcare sector is full of machines that are used in various departments and for different purposes. You can imagine that doctors can’t be the same people who create these machines; they even need assistance to operate them. For instance, an expert must be present during surgery or in the ICU to help manage and adjust the machines. And that’s where mechatronics comes in.
Mechatronic engineers are specialists who have studied a combination of mechanics, computer science, and electronics. Now you see an element of software development in mechatronics? Several projects exist in which these engineers assisted with related experts like developers will have to unleash their potentials and bring about life-changing tools in healthcare. Think of artificial prosthetic limbs to surgical robotics and several other devices required to improve the medical field as opportunities you can grab.
Clinical Systems Analysts
As opposed to some years ago, when the paperwork was hospitals’ order of the day, technology has taken over nowadays. There’s the use of computers in all a hospital’s departments. A clinical systems analyst is responsible for managing that computer network and ensuring that it’s working smoothly. He/she also installs software programs for use in the hospital and carries out system upgrades. This role requires advanced knowledge of software, and that offers developers the chance to be on high demand for it.
Health Information Systems Developer and Technicians
You’ve probably heard of health records and services management. It has a branch that deals with daily organization and management of health information data. Technicians related to that role ensure that all hospital electronic data is adequately maintained, accurately stored, and made available to doctors and nurses whenever they need it.
They also ensure the safety of patient’s records by keeping off unauthorized persons. Again, as a developer, your services are needed to help create and maintain software for data entry, database registries, and other patient-related information.
The Bottom Line
The advancements in the medical field are clear. The industry continues to progress and modernize its systems and processes. That causes an ever-increasing demand for software developers, IT experts, and other general developers. Various roles are available for such individuals, and it’s upon them to choose which one to pursue. The six roles discussed above can be a perfect start for you. Are you ready? It’s time to decide and begin looking today!
