Hospital Careers – Diagnostician

It can be very frustrating when you go to the doctor’s office with a list of symptoms and your doctor has trouble diagnosing what is wrong with you.  You could be put through a whole list of tests from scans, to blood draws with no diagnosis.  Approximately 1 in every 10 diagnoses are wrong.  It is coming more and more apparent that through autopsies, lots of people have underlying conditions that were either misdiagnosed or never diagnosed correctly. 

There is a new job popping up mostly in hospitals.  It is growing in popularity to improve patient outcomes.  It is a Diagnostician doctor.  This is a licensed medical doctor that specializes in diagnostics.  Though this speciality is not board recognized at this time it is growing more popular.  

Diagnosticians have to go through the same steps to become a doctor as any other specialty.  Getting a Bachelor’s Degree, to go on to taking the MCAT.  Once you pass that going through your medical career, to then taking the U.S. Medical Licensing Exam.  Finally completing residency.  Usually during residency they will focus on diagnostics, instead of doing normal rotations between specialties.  

Though all doctors are technically Diagnosticians, since they diagnose you and then treat your symptoms or disease, Diagnostician doctors are who you could potentially get passed off to in the case of a medical mystery.  These are popular in hospitals more than private practice because they would be in house, in case another doctor would want to consult with the Diagnostician on staff.  Diagnosticians work closely with internal medicine doctors, radiology, hematology, or even oncology.  Diagnosticians can be found in a private practice or co-op, and may be more normal outside the hospitals as they grow in the medical field. 

The goal of a Diagnostician is to treat more efficiently and effectively with accuracy.  They will do a lot of the normal things a normal doctor will do, they will be more up to date on new medicines, and new diseases.  They are known as the medical detectives.  The main job of the Diagnostician is to read between the lines, gather all information possible and piece together the whole story to try to come out with a diagnosis.  Normal job duties of a Diagnostician could include but aren’t limited to; examine patients, run tests, review patient history, interview patients, find clues and fill in gaps to solve problems, review test results, diagnose, treat ailments, prescribe medicines, and follow up.  

This can be a very stressful job, since they are working on medical mysteries, and diagnosing a patient wrong can be catastrophic.   Some Diagnosticians are employed by Universities doing research and reading through lots of patient charts and cases.  Diagnosticians can have long hours, be on call, and work nights, weekends and holidays just like other doctors.  

This job is new to the medical field, but shows an upward trend in popularity in the years to come.  Experienced Diagnosticians are sought after by hospitals.  Misdiagnosis is too common in the medical world anymore, and as more and more new diseases come about it would be wonderful to have an efficient, effective, and accurate way to diagnose people without having to do unneeded tests.  No one wants to be poked and prodded with no diagnosis, and no relief from their symptoms they are experiencing.  Though all doctors are Diagnosticians, hospitals are looking at adding a specific area for Diagnostician doctors to help diagnosing patients correctly.  

Further Reading:  The Growing Role Of Specialization In Modern Medicine