Medical Apprentice

The medical apprenticeship is highly sought after as being the local physician comes with prestige within the community and it is considered a service to the state. As each village above the population of 50 is allowed one physician and their assistant, it isn't necessarily rare, but the entrance exams and the limited physician offices place barriers to the profession at large.

Career

Qualifications

As a medical apprentice, you have to completed your first cycle of earthly branches (12 years) as the minimum, but the most common age of entry is 15. To qualify for the entrance exams, a letter of recommendation from a teacher or a physician is required. The entrance exams are usually held in the province capital for five days and test skills like reading comprehension, writing, and discussing topics from the nine sciences. The last day sees to an oral exam and an interview of the most promising participants. Being able-bodied is generally advantageous as apprentices are expected to intensively care for patients, which oftentimes requires heavy lifting. Sight and tactile sensitivity are also a general requirement, though near- or short-sightedness may be helped through glasses. While it isn't a hard rule, such physical limitations may make it more difficult to acquire an apprenticeship within the field.

Career Progression

Typically, the medical apprenticeship is the minimum requirement to further pursue a career within the medical field. Within the third and last year of the apprenticeship, the apprentice is required to choose whether they want to specialise in a field like surgeon, medicant, or orthopaedist, or continue a career as a general physician. For the route of physician, they will be required to assist a physician for two years as medics. It is not uncommon to spend another year or two as a medic with another physician to gain more experience before taking the state exam and apply to acquire a physician office. For the route of a surgeon, they are required to spend at least one year as a medic with a general physician, and afterwards spend four years as a medic with specifically a surgeon. As surgery is still a fairly young field on its own with grand improvements over the last few decades, surgeon offices are fairly rare and quite prestigeous, as usually only hospitals entertain those. Future medicants typically shadow physicians for the first two years of their four years working as medic under a medicant. A fairly similar process applies to orthopaedists, though they also will spend several months with artisans of various trades to improve upon their own craft.

Payment & Reimbursement

In general, medical assistants receive board and lodge as well as free tutoring during their apprenticeship. Within the first year, they also have a small allowance of 10 Shin per month, which raises to a Silver Shin during the second aprenticeship year, and two Silver Shin in the third.

Operations

Workplace

Typically, medical apprentices study in one of the clinical academies with half the day spent in class, the other half day in practical healthcare within the adjacent hospital. Usually, a hospital complex has several patient houses, a dining hall, dorms for the apprentices, servants, and other staff, whereas teachers may life off-site but still have offices at the facility. Hospitals such as this also oftentimes have quarantine rooms, a nursery, as well as several surgery halls, and, most importantly, one or several apothecaries. Some also have one or several workshops for prothetics and mobility aids. As cleanliness is one of the biggest perogatives within a hospital, it typically falls onto the First-Years to clean spaces before and after surgery or between patients.

Provided Services

Medical apprentices are primarily nurses within the hospital and take care of their patients in terms of changing bandages, applying medication, and supervising their healing progression. They also help with physical therapy, or bathing, dressing, and feeding the patient if needed. If time allows it, they may also spend time with their patients like by going for walks, reading to them, or playing games. While they predominantly nurse their patients within the first two years of the apprenticeship, they do have designated times in a week to shadow senior apprentices and medics to learn their way within the apothecary and the surgery hall. Senior apprentices are allowed to aid with surgeries and put together medications. Other fields they may specialise in are prothetics and mobility aids.

Dangers & Hazards

As with any healthcare provider, the risk of infection is comparatively high, and while healthcare professionals take care to shield themselves through cleanliness and medical masks, it isn't a guarantee for immunity. Aside from that, the apprenticeship can be both physically and mentally straining through heavy lifting and general care for the patients as well as through working under pressure or not being able to save a patient. Verbal or physical abuse through patient may also be directed at their healthcare provider.

Alternative Names

nurse

Type

Healthcare

Demand

critical infrastructure

Legality

As the Yashidal healthcare system was reformed to cover for most of the population's health issues, the state takes great care to certify individuals who may provide said healthcare. Operating without the appropriate license may cost you several years in prison, or, depending on how much damage has been done, may even result in an execution.

Other Associated professions

• Medic

Used By

• Kingdom of Yashida