Healthcare, Skills and Hope
Rethink your medical aspirations
AI is dominating our daily discourse — from drawing rooms to boardrooms — and it’s no surprise. It may be the most dynamic transformation since the First Industrial Revolution, reshaping how we live, learn, and work. But while AI grabs the headlines with its far-reaching impact, other fields are transforming just as rapidly, perhaps even faster, quietly redefining the future of work in ways we’re yet to comprehend. In this article, I explore how medical science, too, is undergoing a profound metamorphosis.
Like everything touched by technology, the realm of medical science is transforming. In this new era, healthcare may not require as many traditional doctors, but it will demand a new generation of highly skilled professionals ready to learn, unlearn, and relearn.
McKinsey Report on Jobs Lost and Gained
While we’re busy debating how AI will steal jobs, something remarkable just happened:
A gene therapy trial corrected a baby’s life-threatening liver condition — a small edit, almost like fixing a spelling error in a document.
AP News – Gene editing helped a desperately ill baby thrive
And no, it isn’t science fiction. It’s CRISPR in action. A tool once confined to speculative labs is now literally rewriting the script of life.
In this case, doctors extracted the baby’s stem cells, used CRISPR to precisely cut and correct a faulty gene that caused argininosuccinic aciduria (a rare metabolic disorder), and reintroduced the edited cells into the body, effectively restoring normal liver function.
WSJ – A Gene-Editing Breakthrough Saves Infant
However, it’s germane to understand that this isn’t the result of one genius or one single doctor. It’s a collective victory of diverse, multidisciplinary teams — biotechnologists, data scientists, researchers, clinical analysts, and engineers.
El País – CRISPR Hope for Rare Diseases
Yes, it took science. But, in the ‘future of work context,’ it also took skills. And that’s where the opportunity lies.
Tomorrow’s breakthroughs are being shaped today by those willing to adapt and align their learning with what science and society truly need. The idea of success in medicine or healthcare is no longer chained to MBBS degrees or white coats.
What we need now are:
~ Genomics technicians
~ Bioinformatics analysts
~ Medical coders
~ Health data engineers
~ Clinical AI operators
… and many roles that don’t even have formal names yet.
These roles wouldn’t always require a full medical degree but would demand curiosity, scientific thinking, and smart skill-building. In many parts of the world, the medical education system is lagging behind the speed of innovation. A more collaborative, technology-driven, and skills-first healthcare model is emerging.
So while there’s panic about AI and job loss, few are paying attention to the doors opening up — fascinating careers and meaningful impact for those ready to step in.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on AI and Jobs
The future is not as bleak as it feels when the focus is on AI alone.
Medicine is just one area, and this is only one example. Many more promising frontiers are opening up for those who remain agile, aware, and ambitious. I’ll continue sharing more such updates, because we must stop obsessing over what’s fading and start noticing what’s unfolding.
In this new world, you should think beyond becoming a doctor, because healthcare now offers a wide range of fascinating careers.
And we shall not miss out.
