Using Your Medical Skills To Become a Thanksgiving Hero

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Every holiday needs a hero. Christmas has one. Easter has one. Thanksgiving needs one too. It needs one desperately. Others have tried in the past but now it's time for you to step in. As a medical professional you've got a wide set of skills ready to make the kitchen yours.

Because let's face it, you're sick of your cousin Andy hogging the spotlight. He's a chef. Every family get-together is a chance for him to show-off. It's not fair, you work in the medical field, so unless something goes terribly wrong you'll never get the same chance: until now. Andy's going down. So put on your scrubs, prepare your shopping list, and get ready to impress.

Computerized Accounting & Bookkeeping: The Planner Extraordinaire

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Let's face it, accountants and bookkeepers get a bad rap for being a bit boring. You've probably been the butt of a family joke or two. But this is Thanksgiving -- this is your time to shine. If there's one overlooked but critical element of a great Thanksgiving dinner it's pre-planning. 

So make a shopping list, go over those recipes, figure out when you'll need the oven, and at what temperature. You're organized and a meal as complex as Thanksgiving demands organization. If the yams need to be in at 350 degrees, but the turkey is already hanging out at 300, what are you supposed to do? Plan ahead, that's what. When dishes are moving in and out of ovens and refrigerators like clockwork you can sit back and know that Andy   couldn't manage this. He can't do logistics, he just cooks. This is all you.

Surgical Technologist: The Indispensable Right-Hand Man or Woman

When he's at work, Andy always has his trusty sous chef by his side. They work as an integral team. But the sous chef never gets invited to Thanksgiving, so Andy spends most years trying to figure out why things aren't working the way he's used to. 

That's where you come in. You're a surgical technologist, used to working in that kind of team, so jump in and be the integral assistant Andy so desperately needs. Now, when he needs his boning knife, slotted spoon, or oven glove, you'll be right there to hand it to him. You know he needs it before he does because that's what you do. When everyone notices Thanksgiving seems to be running 100% more smoothly this year, they'll know why.

Phlebotomist: Inject That Turkey Like a Pro

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 Never heard of injecting your turkey with an unbelievable marinade? You, my friend, have been doing Thanksgiving wrong. Perhaps someone else in the family has even tried it, but they probably weren't able to get that marinate in just the right spot, evenly distributed, not too close to the skin to ruin its crisping. 

But now you're here. You're a master Phlebotomist, and that turkey injector might as well be an extension of your hands. The days of dry, tough turkey are approaching their end. You're going to get that marinade just where it needs to be and everyone is going to know it -- especially Andy. Need any recipe ideas? Check out these 10 awesome turkey injection ideas.

Echocardiography Technologist: Cut That Turkey Like the Anatomy Champ You Are

Sure, Andy works in a decent restaurant, but it's not like he's cutting up turkeys on a regular basis, and it shows. Those mangled pieces of meat the family's gotten used to eating need to stop. The guesswork on whether that's the gizzard or the kidney also needs to stop. Good thing you're an echocardiography technologist. You know anatomy like the back of your hand. And turkey anatomy can't be that different form human anatomy...right? 

So when it comes to cutting that turkey around the major bone structures, identifying all the organs that came in that tiny plastic bag on the inside, and offering some helpful insights on how to snap off those thighs, it's time to put those months studying anatomy to good use. Maybe you'll even manage to guess how that wishbone's going to break this year. Maybe.

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 So get creative, and start thinking about how you can put all of your well-honed skills to good use. Every family needs a Thanksgiving hero -- this year it could just be YOU. At the very least, as an allied healthcare specialist, you'll always be the go-to person for determining if your Uncle Frank is in a food coma or an actual coma. 

Have you ever found a creative use for your medical skills for Thanksgiving? Let us know in the comments section!