| HEALTH PROFESSIONS E-LETTER, February 2006
Dear Reader,
From Valentine's Day to Cardiovascular Professionals Week
(Feb 13-19), February is all about the body's hardest
working muscle. For a truly heart-healthy month, you
may also want to ditch CNN and watch the Three Stooges
while on the treadmill (see article #12).
And to further keep the stress at bay, incorporate Fido
or Fluffy into your cool-down routine (article #13).
Best regards,
Fred Donini-Lenhoff, editor
PS Health care leaders: Don't forget to register for the
upcoming Health Professions Network meeting, March 16-19,
in Atlanta, GA: http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.3072.2.344263
1. New AMA health professions directory available in Feb.
2. Featured Program: Elizabethtown College, music therapy
3. Business leaders say health care costs are number one concern
4. Decline in number of cytotechnology programs bears watching
5. Projects get K-12 kids excited about health care careers
6. On the calendar . . .
7. What's the state of health workforce in New York state?
8. What's the state of health technology in New York City?
9. ASCP headquarters takes the A train, moves to Chicago Loop
10. Scholarships available for laboratory, ultrasound students
11. Provide feedback on occupational therapy doctorate standards
12. Laughing matters: Heart health responds to dose of fun
13. For relief, paws here
1. New AMA health professions directory available in Feb.
The new 2006-2007 edition of the AMA's Health Professions
Career and Education Directory will printed this month. This
updated edition includes information on 6,666 educational
programs in 67 professions.
NEW: Program data will be displayed in a chart format,
allowing you to quickly and easily compare various programs
and find the one that's right for you.
Data will include class capacity, start dates, program
length(s), yearly tuition cost, academic award(s) granted,
and availability of evening/weekend courses. Data will
be displayed only for those programs that completed the
AMA's 2005 Survey of Health Professions Programs.
To order your copy, call 800 621-8335 or see:
http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.3072.3.344263
To receive a copy of the order form, send an e-mail to
meded@ama-assn.org. For fastest service, be sure to
specify the phrase "HPCED" in the e-mail's subject line.
2.
Featured Program: Elizabethtown College, music therapy
In this issue we continue our new monthly feature in
which we profile a randomly selected educational
program, using text provided by program personnel who
filled out the AMA's annual survey.
This month we feature the Elizabethtown College music
therapy program in Pennsylvania, which "uniquely provides
small classes, high faculty-student ratio, comradeship
among peers, six semesters of clinical experience with
supervision every session, and additional clinical
opportunities in the senior year. Students develop
verbal, non-verbal, and music-related interaction
skills as well as cultural awareness."
To learn more about this program, see:
http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.3072.4.344263
3.
Business leaders say health care costs are number one concern
For the third consecutive year CEOs nationwide cited
health care costs as the greatest cost pressure,
according to the Business Roundtable, an association
of chief executive officers of leading corporations.
Forty-two percent of CEOs cited health care costs as
their number one pressure across the economic spectrum,
followed by energy costs (27%) and litigation costs (9%):
http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.3072.5.344263
http://www.nap.edu/books/0309100445/html/
4.
Decline in number of cytotechnology programs bears watching
"From a high of over 100 programs in the mid-70s, there
are now only 44 active cytotechnology education program
in the US and Puerto Rico. Although there was a brief
reversal of this decline in the 1980s with a shortage
of cytotechnologists and the opening of several new
programs, since then the decline has continued.
"There are several complex factors that play into these
figures. One is that many of the current programs
increased their capacity. Another is that there are a
number of student openings, which for various reasons
may go unfilled each year. As computer assisted screening
continues to increase in the country, this may affect
the numbers of openings for cytotechnologists.
"On the other hand, many of the baby boomers who trained
in all those programs in the 1970s are now reaching
retirement age and will soon leave the profession
in large numbers. Since the overall numbers of
cytotechnologists are relatively small, even small
increases and decreases in the marketplace have a
profound effect."
- Marilee M. Means, PhD, SCT(ASCP), writing in the
American Society of Cytopathology Bulletin, Nov. 2005
5.
Projects get K-12 kids excited about health care careers
Recently, more than 600 high school students across
South Carolina took a virtual "field trip" introducing
them to rewarding careers in health care.
The students viewed a live open-heart surgery, narrated
by a surgeon, and were invited to ask questions of the
surgeon and his team (anesthesiologist, perfusionist,
nurse, surgical technician, and medical technician)
during and after the procedure.
"What really captures teens' attention is learning that
some of these careers can be had with as little as 12
months of post-high school education." See:
http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.3072.6.344263
Meanwhile, in the Chicago area, hospitals, universities
and government agencies are teaming up with K-12 schools
to address the growing demand for such professions as
respiratory therapy, physical therapy, and medical
technology.
Projects include the AMA's "Doctors Back to School"
program, which seeks to increase the number of minority
physicians and health care professionals, and the state's
first medical magnet public school, the Daniel Hale
Williams Preparatory School of Medicine. Read more:
http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.3072.7.344263
6.
On the calendar . . .
Cardiovascular Professionals Week, Feb 13-19
"The Cardiovascular Professional: At the Heart of Success"
Alliance of Cardiovascular Professionals
http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.3072.8.344263
Dental Assistants Recognition Week, March 5-11
American Dental Assistants Association
E-mail: dmarrell@adaa1.org
http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.3072.9.344263
National Athletic Training Month, March 2006
"Be Active: Stay Healthy"
http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.3072.10.344263
7.
What's the state of health workforce in New York state?
In New York, health care providers statewide report
recruitment and retention difficulties for a number of
health professions, according to the newly released
annual report "The Health Workforce in New York: Trends
in the Supply and Demand for Health Workers," from the
Center for Health Workforce Studies:
http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.3072.11.344263
8.
What's the state of health technology in New York City?
Hospitals in the Big Apple vary widely in their adoption
of electronic medical records, telehealth, clinical
technology, distance learning/continuing education, and
other health technologies.
All agree, however, that exposure to and use of technology
should be integrated into health professions education
curricula. See:
"The Role of Innovative Technology in Improving the
Quality of Patient Care: Training Implications for the
Health Work Force"
Center for Health Workforce Studies
http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.3072.12.344263
9.
ASCP headquarters takes the A train, moves to Chicago Loop
On January 23, American Society for Clinical Pathology
staff moved to the society's new headquarters in downtown
Chicago, at 33 West Monroe, Suite 1600:
http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.3072.13.344263
10.
Scholarships available for laboratory, ultrasound students
The American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) has
established a National Student Honor Award to recognize
excellent students in the laboratory professions
(application deadline is March 3):
http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.3072.14.344263
The Society for Vascular Ultrasound (SVU) is offering
the Anne Jones Scholarship, an annual educational
scholarship of up to $2,500 to honor the former SVU
President. The award is available to students in
accredited vascular ultrasound education programs;
application deadline is April 14:
http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.3072.15.344263
11.
Provide feedback on occupational therapy doctorate standards
The Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy
Education (ACOTE) is inviting comment as it develops
its new Accreditation Standards for the Occupational
Therapy Doctorate (OTD):
http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.3072.16.344263
Due to the length of the survey, respondents may wish to
print a copy of the survey prior to completion online.
Hard copies of the survey are also available via:
accred@aota.org
Deadline for survey completion is February 20.
12. Laughing matters: Heart health responds to dose of fun
Watching a funny movie can give your circulation a healthy
boost -- similar to what you might get an aerobic workout --
and counter the effects stress hormones can have on blood
vessel function, according to a study in Heart.
The study's author cautioned that comedy watching shouldn't
replace working out -- for optimal results, the best
option would be to combined the two activities into one:
http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.3072.17.344263
13. For relief, paws here
Some of the newest allied health professionals have four
legs and a tail. Dogs and cats can help everyone from
high-risk teens to cancer patients cope with stress and
promote health and healing:
UAB School of Health Related Professions, Birmingham
http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.3072.18.344263
ABOUT US . . .
The Health Professions Career and Education E-letter is produced
by the American Medical Association (AMA).
This periodic newsletter covers educational trends and career-related
issues for more than 60 professions that participate in the
delivery of health care, including diagnostic and rehabilitative
services, therapeutic treatments, health or information services
management, counseling for psychosocial and cognitive needs,
or related services.
Newsletter readers and contributors include staff of health
professions accrediting agencies, educational programs and institutions,
professional organizations, certifying/licensing boards, and
media contacts.
Previous issues are available online at:
http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.3072.1.344263
GIVE US YOUR STORY IDEAS AND FEEDBACK
What's happening in the world of health professions? If you
have any leads or story ideas, please contact us. Also, let
us know what you think about this newsletter--and feel free
to forward it to your colleagues.
Direct suggestions, comments, compliments, gripes, to
Fred Donini-Lenhoff
American Medical Association
Medical Education Products
515 N State St, Chicago, IL 60610
312 464-4635
312 464-5830 fax
fred_lenhoff@ama-assn.org
http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.3072.1.344263
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