Now and in the future a career in men’s health offers the full package for job seekers.
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When my son, Jemal, was born on November 21, 1969, I made a vow that I would be a different kind of father to him than my father was able to be for me. I also made a vow to help create a different kind of world where men and women lived equally long and well so their families would get the best of both parents throughout their lives.
Those choices have led me to a career in gender-medicine and men’s health, a career that is economically satisfying, emotionally enriching, and makes a real difference in the world. In September I will be offering a training program for men and women who would like to expand their career into this emerging field (Drop me a note and put training in the subject line if you’re interested in getting more information). Here are a few reasons to consider this career path.
1. The need is great.
Men die sooner and live sicker than women. According to Men’s Health Network men suffer from 14 or the 15 (except Alzheimer’s) leading causes of death and die at rates higher than women.
2. Helping men live long and well is good for men, women, children, and society.
“Over 375,000 lives would be saved in a single year in the U.S. alone if men’s risk of dying was as low as women’s,” says Daniel J. Kruger, PhD. According to Randolph Nesse, M.D., “If you could make male mortality rates the same as female rates, you would do more good than curing cancer.”
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3. Sex matters.
According to Marianne J. Legato, M.D., founder of the Partnership for Gender-Specific Medicine,
“Everywhere we look, the two sexes are startlingly and unexpectedly different not only in their internal function but in the way they experience illness.”
4. Major research centers are focusing on the differences between men’s and women’s health.
“We’ve had a unisex vision of the human genome,” says David C. Page, M.D., professor of biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). “Men and women are not equal in our genome and men and women are not equal in the face of disease.”
Page says,
“We need a tool kit that recognizes the fundamental difference on a cellular, organ, system, and person level between XY and XX. I believe that if we do this, we will arrive at a fundamentally new paradigm for understanding and treating human disease.”
5. Depression, aggression, and violence are gender issues we must address.
In my book, The Irritable Male Syndrome: Understanding and Managing the 4 Key Causes of Aggression and Depression, I offer research findings that show that men die from homicide at rates nearly 400% higher than women and die from suicide at rates 200% to 1800% higher than women. Depression often expresses itself differently in men than in women.
The comedian Elayne Booser offers her humorous, but insightful view.
“When women are depressed they either eat or go shopping. Men invade another country.”
6. Women and men are interested in men’s issues.
Lisa Hickey is CEO of Good Men Media Inc. and publisher of The Good Men Project. Good Men Media, Inc. is a multi-platform, multi-media company that has sparked a national discussion around the question of “What does it mean to be a good man?” Popular articles include: 31 Reasons Why Men Don’t Cheat, Five Important Things Women Don’t Know About Men, and Dear Daughter, I Hope You Have Awesome Sex.
7. Men and women are interested in men’s health.
We’ve been told that men aren’t interested in their own health, that health is a woman’s issue. The spectacular growth of Men’s Health magazine demonstrates this isn’t true. Launched in 1987 as a small health-oriented service magazine, it is now the world’s largest men’s magazine brand, with 40 editions in 47 countries. It is also the best-selling men’s magazine on U.S. newsstands. The magazine has a circulation of 2 million subscribers and the website, MensHealth.com, averages 38 million page views a month.
8. Mid-life and adolescence are similar life stages and there is more focus on guys.
When I talk and write about things like hormonal fluctuations, on-line pornography, sexual exploration, role confusion, ambivalence about staying or leaving home, and questions about manhood; it isn’t always clear whether I’m talking about 40 year-olds or 14 year-olds. There is an increasing focus on these critical transition periods with popular books like Michael Gurian’s The Wonder of Boys and my own book Surviving Male Menopause.
9. Both men and women are reaching out for help.
When I first opened my counseling offices in 1968, most of my clients were women. Occasionally a man would come in, usually at his wife’s insistence. I had to work hard to get male clients. Now more and more men are coming in on their own wanting to deal with issues such as depression, anger and irritability, career transitions, fathering, marriage and family issues, and help dealing with the stresses of living. My recent book Stress Relief for Men: How to Use the Revolutionary Tools Of Energy Healing to Live Well has been helping men and the families who love them address these issues.
10. There is a great need for men’s health practitioners, but few people trained to meet the growing demand.
When I graduated from U.C. Berkeley in social work in 1968 I began my practice as a psychotherapist. I’ve worked in health clinics, but prefer private practice. In the early days I was limited by the number of people who found me and came to my office. Now with the advent of the internet people from throughout the U.S. and around the world find me and want help with a range of issues.
I make a good living seeing interesting clients who need help and support during these times of massive transformation. I have more people wanting services than I can accommodate. It’s clear to me that there are literally millions of people reaching out for help and very few practitioners who are well trained to meet the need. This is a significant indicator of a wonderful career opportunity for those who have a passion to help men and their families.
If you have questions or comments I’d enjoy hearing from you. Drop me a note or read a bit more about the training here and here.
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Photo: hang_in_there/Flickr
Health care is now the leading and developing career options for people. Therefore people are always choosing their career from health and medical background; it is the most beneficial field where the developing opportunities are almost double. So it is fair to choose career from health care sector.