Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists

Conduct research dealing with the understanding of human diseases and the improvement of human health. Engage in clinical investigation or other research, production, technical writing, or related activities.

tasks jobzones knowledge skills abilities work_activities work_context interests work_styles work_values

Tasks

• Teach principles of medicine and medical and laboratory procedures to physicians, residents, students, and technicians.

• Use equipment such as atomic absorption spectrometers, electron microscopes, flow cytometers and chromatography systems.

• Consult with and advise physicians, educators, researchers, and others regarding medical applications of physics, biology, and chemistry.

• Study animal and human health and physiological processes.

• Confer with health department, industry personnel, physicians, and others to develop health safety standards and public health improvement programs.

• Evaluate effects of drugs, gases, pesticides, parasites, and microorganisms at various levels.

• Investigate cause, progress, life cycle, or mode of transmission of diseases or parasites.

• Standardize drug dosages, methods of immunization, and procedures for manufacture of drugs and medicinal compounds.

• Follow strict safety procedures when handling toxic materials to avoid contamination.

• Plan and direct studies to investigate human or animal disease, preventive methods, and treatments for disease.

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Job Zone

• Name: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed

• Experience: Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

• Education: A bachelor's degree is the minimum formal education required for these occupations. However, many also require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

• Job training: Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

• Examples: These occupations often involve coordinating, training, supervising, or managing the activities of others to accomplish goals. Very advanced communication and organizational skills are required. Examples include librarians, lawyers, aerospace engineers, physicists, school psychologists, and surgeons.

• Svp range: (8.0 and above)

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Knowledge

Browse Knowledge

• Biology
  Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

• Mathematics
  Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

• English Language
  Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

• Chemistry
  Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

• Education and Training
  Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

• Communications and Media
  Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

• Medicine and Dentistry
  Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

• Computers and Electronics
  Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

• Personnel and Human Resources
  Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

• Administration and Management
  Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

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Skills

Browse Skills

• Reading Comprehension
  Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

• Active Listening
  Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

• Writing
  Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

• Judgment and Decision Making
  Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

• Critical Thinking
  Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

• Science
  Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.

• Active Learning
  Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

• Instructing
  Teaching others how to do something.

• Time Management
  Managing one's own time and the time of others.

• Coordination
  Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

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Abilities

Browse Abilities

• Inductive Reasoning
  The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

• Oral Comprehension
  The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

• Written Comprehension
  The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

• Oral Expression
  The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

• Problem Sensitivity
  The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

• Deductive Reasoning
  The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

• Written Expression
  The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

• Information Ordering
  The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

• Near Vision
  The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

• Speech Clarity
  The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

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Work Activities

Browse Work Activities

• Processing Information
  Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.

• Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
  Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

• Getting Information
  Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

• Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
  Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.

• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
  Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
  Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.

• Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People
  Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.

• Analyzing Data or Information
  Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.

• Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
  Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
  Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

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Work Context

• Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
  How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?

• Face-to-Face Discussions
  How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?

• Telephone
  How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?

• Work With Work Group or Team
  How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?

• Electronic Mail
  How often do you use electronic mail in this job?

• Freedom to Make Decisions
  How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?

• Responsibility for Outcomes and Results
  How responsible is the worker for work outcomes and results of other workers?

• Structured versus Unstructured Work
  To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals?

• Coordinate or Lead Others
  How important is it to coordinate or lead others in accomplishing work activities in this job?

• Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
  How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job?

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Interests

Browse Interests

• Investigative
  Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

• Realistic
  Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

• Social
  Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

• Enterprising
  Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

• Conventional
  Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

• Artistic
  Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

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Work Styles

• Integrity
  Job requires being honest and ethical.

• Persistence
  Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.

• Attention to Detail
  Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

• Analytical Thinking
  Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.

• Achievement/Effort
  Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.

• Initiative
  Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.

• Stress Tolerance
  Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.

• Cooperation
  Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

• Dependability
  Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

• Self Control
  Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

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Work Values

Browse Work Values

• Achievement
  Workers on this job get a feeling of accomplishment.

• Social Status
  Workers on this job are looked up to by others in their company and their community.

• Achievement-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

• Ability Utilization
  Workers on this job make use of their individual abilities.

• Security
  Workers on this job have steady employment.

• Compensation
  Workers on this job are paid well in comparison with other workers.

• Responsibility
  Workers on this job make decisions on their own.

• Autonomy
  Workers on this job plan their work with little supervision.

• Independence-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employs to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.

• Activity
  Workers on this job are busy all the time.

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