Students who are exploring careers after 12th grade in the healthcare field, must understand the difference between medical and paramedical courses. Deciding between the medical or paramedical course depending on the career goal. Both these courses have different responsibilities in the healthcare field. Here is an in-depth comparison between medical and paramedical courses.

Medical Course

• MBBS or a medical degree course, is the way to become doctors or scientists.
• Medical courses culminate in degrees such as MBBS, MD.
• Anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, and pharmacology are a few topics that students learn during their academic period.
• Hospital duty and clinic duty became part of the students' training period, where they learned to take on responsible medical work such as diagnosing and treating a range of various medical conditions in patients.
• The role involves direct patient care, healthcare problem solving, and decision making skills.
• During the course, students select the specific field of medicine, such as internal medicine, paediatrics, dermatology, gynaecology, etc.
• The MBBS program generally spans 5 to 6 years, that includes an internship period too.
• For post graduation degree, graduates can choose a specific specialised subject that focuses on advanced medical knowledge, research, and clinical skills in a chosen specialty.

Paramedical Course

Students who want to play a pivotal role in patient care and emergency response. The paramedical course is designed to equip individuals with the skills and knowledge that must be necessary to support medical professionals and address health issue’s solutions effectively.

Paramedical courses and their study topics related to radiology, imaging technology, nursing assistant programs, physiotherapy and rehabilitation, etc.

• Paramedical courses vary in duration depending on the programs, mostly, the course generally takes a minimum 1 year to maximum of 3 years. Some advanced paramedical certification may extend the duration.
• The paramedical course provides essential classroom, and hand-on laboratory practice.
• After graduation candidates can handle medical emergencies, assist in diagnostic procedures, and provide critical support in both routine and high-pressure scenarios.

Medical Course Scope VS Paramedical Course Scope

Medical course scope

MBBS course scope serves as a foundational pillar for a multitude of career paths in the healthcare stream. The scope after medical courses extends far beyond the conventional boundaries, offering a wide array of opportunities that cater to various interests and specialisations within the healthcare field. The medical scope includes the following areas.

• General Hospitals and Clinics: Students get the training during their internship period, it helps them to perform their duties for patient care, observe surgical procedure, etc. During the rotational shift, candidates rotate through various hospital departments, such as internal medicine, surgery, and emergency medicine. This role provides invaluable insight into different specialties and helps candidates in medical career growth.
• Surgical Field:Eventually after getting MBBS degree, a wide range of medical surgical jobs, including orthopaedic surgery, neurosurgery, plastic and reconstructive surgery, femoral hernia surgery , general surgeries, abdominal surgeries, and paediatric surgery. These all involve complex procedures, and experience that pay best in the medical field.
• Public Health field:Public health sector, such as the government health department or non-government organisation (NGOs). As a consultant, the medical degree holder helps to improve health service delivery, design health promotion campaigns, and discuss projects related to infection disease control, maternal and child health, nutrition, and mental health.
• Academic and Research Institute:Students who contribute to medical education with masters, doctoral degrees, can build careers in the academic and research sectors. The path offers unique opportunities in medical institutes and medical research centres that uncover new knowledge, biomedical theories, and help in laboratory based research. This field requires steadfast dedication to lifelong learning and passion for enhancing healthcare facilities.
• Global Medical Scope:The medical career or MBBS field, covers the global landscape, also reflecting the diverse challenges and opportunities in healthcare around the world. Doctors work on disease prevention and control, for example, the measles and polio drops are the result of the global medical doctors' unity. Also the global scope of medicine addressing health issues across diverse populations. In the journey of global medical issues, doctors do innovations, face challenges, and work across different regions of the world.

Paramedical Scope

Both the medical and paramedical are the skilled professions, but in the comparison of medical vs paramedical career, medical or MBBS are playing the leader role, while the paramedical plays the medical support role. There are many highly paid paramedical jobs in India. Check the professional opportunities for paramedical disciplines.

• EMTs ( Emergency Medical Technicians), and Paramedics: The EMTs are professionals in emergency and medical support and collaborate with the healthcare crew, to play the primary responsibilities, such as basic life support (provide oxygen therapy, bandaging wounds, CPR, etc.). Aspirants who choose a career in EMTs handle a wide range of medical emergencies and often work in high-pressure circumstances.
• Laboratory Technician: A lab technician’s core responsibilities are to perform a variety of tests using sophisticated equipment, including microbiological tests, blood tests, and monitor health conditions. They also analyse data, maintain laboratory equipment, and diagnose health issues.
• Specialised Role: Students who take steps forward in paramedical specialised courses such as dialysis technician, radiologist, surgical technologist, respiratory therapist, cardiovascular technologist, etc. can build their career in notable specialised roles in hospitals and clinics.
• Education Training, and Research Work: After having years of experience, skills, and training, candidates can apply for the positions of clinical instructor, program director, lab instructor , clinical research coordinator, research scientist, professor, etc.

Salary After completing Medical Course

MBBS salary or medical degree holder salary may be based on the position, job location, and level of experience. The average salary after completing MBBS is around 4.5 LPA to 5 LPA. specialist doctors and experienced doctors get CTC of 15 LPA to 18 LPA. In India the average salary of government doctors is lower than private doctors. The tier 1 and tier 2 city doctors are the highest paying doctors in our country.

Salary After Completing Paramedical Course

Depending on the course and experience, paramedical students can earn 1 LPA to 2 LPA in starting job positions. The paramedical salaries range are lower than the MBBS salaries. The top paramedical courses that offer the best salaries are radiology, optometry, physiotherapy,and dialysis technologist. Experienced can earn 3 LPA to 7 LPA in paramedical stream.

Pros and Cons of Medical Field

Pros and Cons of Paramedical Field