The medical industry is expanding; with changing lifestyles, diseases are also taking new forms. High-calorie food and a busy lifestyle result in diseases like hypertension, diabetes, cardiac problems, and obesity. In this blog, we’ll talk about diabetes and diabetology.
A diabetologist is a healthcare professional who deals with issues related to diabetes mellitus. Such doctors or practitioners are also concerned with testing, treating, and providing follow-up to keep the disease under control. Suppose you are willing to pursue higher education and move to the research field. In that case, diabetology is a good field as much research is going on in this sector.
Further, we will discuss becoming a diabetologist and look into the prospects, job requirements, and job profile. It will be very important if you are already in the medical sector and are looking for specialization.
Overview of how to become a Diabetologist
Suppose you are willing to pursue a career as a diabetologist. In that case, you should create a strong base for working with diabetes patients. Having a medical degree is not a compulsion for diabetology. Still, it is considered leverage that will help you succeed as a diabetologist.
Suppose you do not have a diabetology degree course. In that case, there are diabetologist courses online that provide information about conditions directly related to the disease. Diabetologist course also helps you in focusing only on delivering a specific type of care to the patients.
Diabetology course after MBBS trains doctors on specialized traits related to the disease. If you have both degrees, it will provide your career a lot of flexibility in choosing the type of job you want. Before committing to this career, you should go through the life of a diabetologist, their work life, and their pay grade in the next paragraph before proceeding further.
As the number of patients who have diabetes is increasing daily, it can be a prosperous career choice. A patient always seeks out someone who is clinically skilled in preventing diabetes and further research in that field. Hospitals look for diabetologists who are experts at handling comorbidity and other illness conditions that occur, like coronary artery disease or arteriosclerotic vascular disease.
Apart from this broad list of medical abilities, non-medical skills are also very essential in diabetology. You will also need people skills. You will have to explain to patients, their caregivers, and other specialists how to handle critical situations. Public speaking improves with practice so that communication courses can help you in many ways.
Career as a Diabetologist
With the number of people who have diabetes increasing every day, there is a lot of scope and opportunity in diabetology. The future prediction shows that the number of people who have diabetes will increase by 4% in the coming decade. To be a diabetologist, the primary educational qualification required is a bachelor’s degree in the medical field and a sub-specialty in endocrinology. Diabetology is a highly specialized department, and it is gaining popularity along with medical technology advancements.
Some details about the job description of a diabetologist are,
- New Patient Evaluation – Getting to know a patient is critical for any medical treatment. When a patient comes, your first task should be to see every detail about that individual, emphasizing their medical history. It will help understand the origin of the disease and how treatment can be easily determined from this. Patients require several pathological tests, like X-rays, blood tests, etc. A thorough diagnosis of the results will help you in selecting the course of treatment.
- Subsequent Patient Care – Diabetes is a disease that requires constant effort to keep under control. So follow-ups are very common if you are a diabetologist. It helps you judge the effectiveness of the medicine, and if it is not working correctly, you can change them as per requirement. The patients can also monitor their health by monitoring their blood glucose levels regularly. Sometimes a unique diet plan is made as per requirements.
- Work Environment of Diabetologists – Diabetologists have a lot of different ways of practicing their skills. They can work for hospitals, or they can open up chambers individually and practice from there. If you have an interest in the research field, then diabetology has access to that as well.
Exams that Will Allow you to Enroll in a Diabetologist Course
There are many ways to opt for becoming a diabetologist. The most popular one is by completing MD or Do program in diabetology. If this is not something you want to do, completing a diabetologist course can be feasible. Due to the ongoing pandemic, several recognized universities offer diabetology online courses, which carry a lot of value. You can complete it even from your home.
After completing the course, you will have to pass a standardized test to become a licensed and authorized diabetologist. The license will allow you to join any public or private sector company based on your expertise. You can even join the research laboratories where you will be working on groundbreaking technology in this field. Suppose you are interested in imparting knowledge to newer students or undergraduates. In that case, you can also find a job fitting your line of studies.
Now let’s see who all will be eligible for this field of study. Anyone who has pursued an MD or DO program from a certified medical school will be able to become a diabetologist. Apart from these, those who have passed 10+2 exams with science can pursue a graduate degree course in medicine.
There is a special kind of license required that allows you to practice as a diabetologist. That test consists of an interview round where the interviewers judge your knowledge. For excelling in this, you should refer to previous year’s papers and books for reference. It will provide you a lot of confidence and will help you in becoming a diabetologist.
Conclusion
Diabetology is a medical science that is concerned with patients dealing with high blood sugar content. The career as a diabetologist is a very specialized one. This part of the medical industry is growing gradually, so there can be a prominent career scope in this field. There are a few different ways to become a diabetologist; having a medical degree is the best way. There is also a lot of research work going on in this sector. It deals with keeping blood sugar levels under control and looks for ways that can cure a person completely.
