A career map of becoming an Anatomy doctor

What is the role of an Anatomy doctor?

An Anatomy doctor is a medical scientist specializing in the human body with a focus on studying the human body and its parts. They study organisms as a whole, but many different specializations depend on the body systems.

Anatomy in itself has many different options and professions involved within. They can indulge in clinical work or choose the research path and work in a more academic setting. Many anatomy doctors choose to teach as a side job. 

When a person has a more scientific background than a medical one, they work in the laboratories, forensic sciences, genetics, research centers, etc., and explore the teaching and writing sector for scientific journals, etc.

Anatomy is an important branch of science and medicine, and the research in anatomy helps uncover important advancements in the healthcare sector.

Someone interested in the profession should be a good problem solver, can communicate well, pay attention to detail, and have immense interest in the working of a human body. 

They should be good at research and have good team skills. Aspirants should also be qualified in research writing and statistical collection of relevant data.

What is the route to becoming an Anatomy Doctor?

The route to becoming an Anatomist begins with education. There are career requirements that need to be met to become an anatomy doctor.

Step 1 – Complete your Bachelor’s degree

If you want to successfully become an anatomist, then it is important to complete a bachelor’s degree. Degree programs like biological studies that deal with genetics, cell biology, physiology or chemistry, etc., would have a greater value.

It would be easier to succeed in the field if you choose to complete pre-med programs that are prerequisite courses that are a requirement for most medical schools.

Step 2 – Finish your Graduate studies

The students can choose to complete their degree in medicine, a doctoral degree, or even both. Usually, medical school programs go on for four years, while Ph.D. programs take between 4-7 years to complete. 

When you combine both of the degrees then it takes around 7 years to complete your degree. There is usually a timeline that medical students go through. They spend the first two years completing lecture courses and then continue with elective courses and clinical rotations. 

However, students pursuing combined degrees spend the first two years of completing their medical school and then go on to focus on their research papers. The most common Ph.D. courses that can be found are muscle biology, human anatomy, neuroanatomy, biostatistics, etc.

Step 3 – Obtain your required license

To become an Anatomy doctor, there are two verticals you can go through. One would be the research, and the other would be clinical. For the research vertical, students are required to have research projects ready.

For some research projects, it is required to conduct medical experiments, and they can only do this if they have a license as a physician. Medical students have to have a doctoral degree if they want to become an anatomist.

There are many routes that one can take up if they want to become an Anatomy doctor. Anatomists who have done a degree in Dentistry or Medicine can choose to work in the clinical sector, depending on what exactly they specialize in. 

Physiotherapy is yet another career option that anatomy students take up. This, too, deals with the working of the human body. They work with sportspeople and athletes to help recover from joint problems, muscle or ligament tears, etc.

If someone has a BSc in anatomy, biological sciences, or natural sciences, they have opportunities of applying for posts in the laboratory as technicians or even as teaching assistants. But with an MSc, they have more opportunities for being employed in higher positions in research and teaching. 

Medical students interested in the course can take an additional course on anatomy, which would be integrated with their degree, but this would also add one year to their degree completion.

Different job roles for Anatomists?

An anatomist can choose to take up several roles in due course of her research completion. Once they complete their research, they can get higher positions and better job opportunities. A few of the most common job roles for anatomists are mentioned below –

Medical scientist – A medical scientist is responsible for organizing and analyzing different studies that investigate human diseases and their development. 

They also look into the experimentation of different medical samples and are involved in the advancement of medicine.

Physiotherapist – A physiotherapist works closely with athletes and sportspeople; they analyze their medical conditions of them and help them in case they need medical attention. They also help them recover from problems like muscle and ligament tears, joint problems, etc.

Veterinarian – They examine the animals and help diagnose them with the problems and help treat them. They study the animals which help operate them and prescribe the necessary medication.

Chiropractor – Chiropractors deal with treating patients that suffer in their musculoskeletal system such as their muscles, joints, ligaments, bones, etc.

 Anatomists are more involved in the studying and researching of the structure of living beings. Some anatomists specialize in the study of plants and their forms. These anatomists study the internal structure of plants and their development. Then some types specialize in animal anatomy. These Anatomists are usually veterinarians, zoologists, or physicians.

Expected pay scale for an Anatomist

The salaries of an Anatomy doctor are different from country to country. In India, the minimum salary of an anatomist varies from 20,000 INR to 25,000 INR per month. There are a few hospitals that charge anatomists by the hour. 

However, in the US, an anatomist can earn up to 39 Lakhs INR in a year. Usually, it can be seen that anatomists are also involved in various job roles, and hence their salaries may differ comparatively.

Skills required to become an Anatomist

Anatomists are required to have good communication skills and observational skills. They should be open to new ideas and theories. They should know how to pay attention to detail and, they should have an interest in the human, animal, and plant structure and anatomy. 

They should be statistically sound and have the ability to collect relevant data from sources. An anatomist is also required to develop models when required that will help in research.

Advantages and disadvantages of an anatomist

Choosing a career path as an anatomist is an advantage as they are paid well, both in India and Abroad. Usually, the job of an Anatomy doctor involves conducting research, and they attend many conferences around the world. Hence, travel is a huge perk for an anatomy doctor.

The disadvantages of an anatomy doctor usually revolve around time. They spend a lot of time in research and laboratories, which increases their working hours significantly.  

They have a tough time balancing their work-life balance as a majority of their time is consumed by travel and research.

To become an Anatomy doctor, a significant amount of preparation is required. To excel in the field, it is important that the student is interested in the field and wants to learn more about the working of the human, animal, or plant structure and its working. 

The learning and education part is the most time-consuming, but once you have a qualified degree, it will make your life easy as an Anatomy doctor. 

They have a variety of career paths they can choose from. Anatomy doctors also have the advantage of travel as they usually go to various places to either present their research papers or learn more about their field of interest.

With the way the world is changing today, there is a huge change in lifestyle and stress levels. There has also been an increase in the diseases and ailments required around the world; hence the role of an anatomist is extremely important in today’s context. 

They are a huge part of the medical industry and play a significant role in the development and discovery of the human body.