Health Care Professions Merit Badge
Nine requirements. Requirements 1 to 4 are four groups of professions: from each, select three that interest you and describe their roles and their educational and licensing requirements. Requirement 5 is visiting one professional at their workplace. Then the Physician's Oath, confidentiality and HIPAA, a recent medical advancement, and volunteering at a health-related event or facility, with your parent or guardian's and counselor's approval.
Elective Merit Badges Health Merit Badges Requirements Service Project
The plan behind this
Requirements 1 to 4: three professions from each group
From each group, select three professions that interest you. For the three you select, describe to your counselor (a) the roles these professionals play in the delivery of health care and (b) their educational and licensing requirements.
| requirement | the group |
|---|---|
| 1 | allopathic physician (MD), all specialties; osteopathic physician (DO), all specialties; podiatrist (DPM); chiropractor (DC); nurse practitioner (NP); psychologist (PhD or PsyD); optometrist (OD); audiologist (AudD) |
| 2 | physician assistant (PA); registered nurse (RN); certified nurse midwife (CNM); certified nurse assistant (CNA); licensed practical nurse (LPN/LVN); nurse anesthetist (CRNA); pharmacist (PharmD); pharmacy technician; emergency medical technician (EMT)/paramedic |
| 3 | physical therapist (DPT); occupational therapist (OT); orthotist/prosthetist; medical appliance technician; respiratory therapist (RT); medical assistant; dietitian (RD); speech-language pathologist (speech therapist) (SLP) |
| 4 | biomedical engineer (BME); medical technologist; phlebotomist; radiology technologist; sonographer; medical records specialist; cytopathologist; histotechnologist |
The parts that take arranging
| requirement | what it needs |
|---|---|
| 5 | one career from any of the four lists; arrange to visit that professional at their workplace, then discuss the visit with your counselor |
| 9 | your parent or guardian's and your counselor's approval, then volunteer at a health-related event or facility in your community (for example a blood drive, a health fair or a blood pressure screening event), and report what you did and learned |
After the visit in requirement 5, discuss with your counselor: why they chose their career; what they most like about their job; their biggest challenges in doing it; the tools and instruments that may be used in their jobs; the most surprising aspect of their career; and the continuing education required to maintain certification.
Requirements 6 to 8
6 is the meaning of the Physician's Oath, discussed with your counselor. 7 is the role of confidentiality between a patient and the health care provider, and what HIPAA is. 8 is a medical advancement or discovery that has been in the news recently, and how it can affect patient care.
What this page is
The Health Care Professions merit badge, drawn so the four groups of professions are each a step, and the workplace visit and the volunteering, which both need arranging, stand out. It is not a copy of the requirements: each step is a short label with a link to the official requirements, which are what actually governs and which change from year to year. The free official pamphlet is the fuller guide.
Sources for this page
- Health Care Professions Merit Badge Requirements, Merit Badge Hub, last modified 2025-09-26 · The requirements themselves, and the free official pamphlet linked from them.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 7.0.0.3 · The process every merit badge is earned through, which this page does not repeat.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 7.0.4.3 · Which version of a changed requirement applies to a Scout who has already started.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 4.0.0.1 · Why the requirements are not in the Guide to Advancement and are expected to change annually.
Last checked against its sources on .