Blood Makes You Queasy? The 5 Programs in Healthcare That Don't Deal With Blood

If the sight of blood turns your stomach, you're not alone. Researchers estimate that between 3 to 4% of people have hemophobia, or a blood phobia [1]. Many more people may have a less extreme aversion to blood, so it's not uncommon to prefer a job that doesn't involve this life-sustaining fluid.

Many squeamish people don't explore healthcare jobs because they assume they'll have to be around blood. While many roles in healthcare involve interacting with blood, some healthcare professionals have little to no exposure to it. Training programs without blood prepare students for these blood-free healthcare roles. Let's take a closer look at six healthcare career programs that don't deal with blood that you may like to pursue.

Massage Therapy Diploma Program

A Massage Therapy Diploma program prepares students for a career as a massage therapist. These healthcare professionals manipulate their patients' muscles, joints, and soft tissues to reduce pain and stress, improve circulation and mobility, promote healing, and increase overall well-being. Massage therapists work in various settings, including healthcare clinics, spas, events, and private homes. They may work at a dedicated site or travel to events or their patients' homes.

Over 10 months, the Massage Therapy Diploma program teaches students various massage techniques and their benefits, including:

• Swedish
• Deep tissue
• Acupressure
• Reflexology

It also helps students understand basic science and anatomy concepts, and ethics and legal issues related to massage therapy. An externship component provides practical experience delivering massage therapy under the supervision of a licensed therapist. This program doesn't expose students to blood as massage therapy is non-invasive. Massage therapists also don't work with patients with open wounds, as this type of therapy may cause them pain and aggravate the wound site [2].

Occupational Therapy Assistant Associate Degree Program

An Occupational Therapy Assistant Associate Degree program teaches students how to assist occupational therapists in helping patients improve their motor skills and functional abilities. They may prepare treatment rooms and guide patients through therapeutic exercises and equipment use. They may work in:

• Dedicated occupational therapy clinics
• General healthcare clinics
• Hospitals
• Nursing homes
• Correctional facilities
• Schools
• Private homes.

Over 20 months, occupational therapy assistant students learn about common diseases that may impact their patients, how to move their patients' bodies and joints, and basic life support. Conflict and ethical dispute resolution are also explored during the training program. While students learn about safe handling of bodily fluids, including blood, as part of their infection control classes, they rarely deal with blood in their careers. Occupational therapy assistants working with children are less likely to encounter blood than those working in acute care or nursing homes, where patients may have wounds.

Pharmacy Technician Diploma Program

A Pharmacy Technician Diploma program is an entry-level training program that teaches students how to help pharmacists. When customers or healthcare professionals request medications, pharmacy technicians may collect patient information, measure and compound drugs, package and label prescriptions, and process customer payments and insurance claims. More customer care duties include answering telephone enquiries and scheduling vaccinations.

They also play an administrative role, organizing and monitoring inventory and managing customer databases. Pharmacy technicians work in all kinds of pharmacies, including community pharmacies and pharmacies attached to grocery stores and hospitals.

This 7-month program teaches students how to support pharmacists and help customers. Classes in compounding medications and filing prescriptions teach students key technical skills. They also learn how to perform pharmaceutical calculations for different patients. In-person labs and externships provide opportunities for hands-on learning. Students may learn about blood-related disorders and taking blood pressure during their training, but these lessons don't involve interacting with blood. Some pharmacy technicians may perform small-sample blood tests for diabetes and cholesterol checks with extra training if they can handle a little blood.

Neurodiagnostic Technology Associate Degree Program

A Neurodiagnostic Technology Associate Degree program prepares students to pursue careers as neurodiagnostic technologists. These healthcare professionals perform tests that help doctors diagnose and treat conditions impacting the brain and nervous system, including epilepsy, strokes, seizure disorders, and motor neuron diseases. Electroencephalograms, polysomnograms, nerve conduction studies, intraoperative neuromonitoring, and other tests performed by neurodiagnostic technologists show whether a patient has normal or abnormal electrical activity in their nervous system. Many neurodiagnostic technologists work in:

• Hospital operating rooms
• Intensive care units
• Emergency departments
• Private health clinics
• Patients' homes

Over 17 months, neurodiagnostic technologist students learn theoretical healthcare topics in the classroom, which they apply to hands-on labs and off-site clinical placements. Practical skills developed during this program include placing electrodes, using video recording and monitoring equipment, testing and monitoring patients, and measuring brain response. Infection control, including bloodborne pathogen control, is part of neurodiagnostic technology training. However, many neurodiagnostic technologists won't interact with blood on the job, as most neurodiagnostic tests are non-invasive.

Neurodiagnostic technologists working in private health clinics and patient homes are the least likely to deal with blood. Patients with bloody injuries may present in the emergency department and intensive care unit. Neurodiagnostic technologists who get optional certification to specialize in intraoperative neuromonitoring regularly interact with blood during their work in operating rooms.

Polysomnographic Technology Diploma Program

The Polysomnographic Technology Diploma program teaches students the knowledge and skills required to pursue careers as polysomnographic technologists. These professionals test patients suspected of sleep disorders like sleep apnea and narcolepsy. Their sleep studies monitor patients' vital signs, including heart rate and brain activity. They use this information to create sleep reports, which help physicians provide accurate diagnoses and treatment plans.

In eight months, polysomnographic technology students develop a basic understanding of key concepts like anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, and polysomnography. They practice setting up and performing sleep tests in campus labs before applying their skills in clinical placements.

While the program teaches students about infection control and how hormones like melatonin and cortisol in the blood impact sleep quality, they are only exposed to blood during rare medical emergencies. Polysomnographic technologists monitor blood oxygen levels, but this only involves clipping non-invasive pulse oximeters to patients' fingers or earlobes.

Medical Office Administration Diploma Program

Not all healthcare roles involve patient care. If you'd prefer focusing on administrative duties, a Medical Office Administration Diploma program may be the best choice. Medical office administrators are the first point of contact for patients. They coordinate patient care and ensure the medical office runs smoothly. Sometimes called unit secretaries, medical office specialists, or patient coordinators, medical office administrators work in various healthcare settings, including hospitals, dental offices, physicians' offices, healthcare clinics, specialty treatment centers, and long-term and acute care facilities. Medical insurance companies also hire medical office administrators.

Over nine months, students learn general administrative and job-specific skills, including how to process medical insurance claims and use medical office applications. Lessons in medical terminology help them clearly communicate with members of the healthcare team. This diploma program incorporates face-to-face or virtual classroom lessons with labs and externships.

As medical office administrators don't have clinical duties, they are not usually exposed to blood during their training. However, students interested in working in a pathology clinic may take optional classes in phlebotomy and pathology specimen management. While they aren't involved in patient care, they may also see severe injuries involving blood in some externship settings, like hospitals. Medical office administrators wanting to avoid blood should choose workplaces where patients don't typically present with severe injuries, like physicians' offices and dental clinics.

Explore Training Programs Without Blood at Concorde Today

Being uncomfortable around blood is very common and is no barrier to enjoying a rewarding career in healthcare. If you're interested in learning more about any of the healthcare training programs above, contact the team at your nearest Concorde campus.