| Health Professions E-Letter, 9/2003
1. AMA online survey response rate
nears 40%
2. Multiple groups come together
to address COPD
3. AMA committed to eliminating
health care disparities
4. Check out the calendar of allied
health events
5. Reader feedback: Address the
growing shortage of educators
6. "They're Rich, You're Dead":
Anti-tobacco video, study plan available
7. North Carolina health workforce
reports now available
8. Respiratory care practitioners
subject of new "issue brief"
9. Keeping sonographers healthy
on the job
10. Radiology Administrator is
"Allied Health Profession of the Month"
11. Medicare clarifies that recreational
therapy is a covered service
1. AMA online survey response
rate nears 40%
More than 2,000 programs have now completed the 2003 Survey
of Health Professions Education Programs. Following is a breakdown
of response rates by accrediting agency:
Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education
- 28.08%
Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician
Assistant - 36.36%
American Art Therapy Association - 14.29%
American Board of Genetic Counseling - 61.54%
American Orthoptic Council - 37.50%
American Physical Therapy Association - 24.30%
American Society of Health-System Pharmacists - 15.66%
Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind
and Visually Impaired - 10.71%
Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs
- 36.80%
Commission on Dental Accreditation of the ADA - 29.29%
Commission on Opticianry Accreditation - 5.00%
Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational
Programs - 8.31%
Council on Rehabilitation Education - 20.43%
Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology
- 50.61%
Joint Review Committee on Educational Programs in Nuclear
Medicine Technology - 69.89%
National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences
- 65.50%
National Association of Schools of Music - 16.07%
National Therapeutic Recreation Society - 21.43%
For those who have not done the survey, please note that
the deadline for survey completion was August 31, so we would
appreciate receiving any updates at your earliest convenience.
Data collected on this survey will appear in the 2004-2005
editions of the Health Professions Career and Education Directory
and Health Professions Education Data Book.
For survey login information, please contact Dorothy Grant
at dorothy_grant@ama-assn.org
or (312) 464-4936 or (312) 464-5333.
The survey is available at: http://www.ama-assn.org/go/hpsurvey
2. Multiple groups come together to
address COPD
A wide-ranging coalition of health-related organizations
came together at AMA headquarters in August to discuss ways
to heighten awareness of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD), the fourth leading cause of death in the US.
Represented organizations included the AMA, American Association
for Respiratory Care, American Physical Therapy Association,
American Lung Association, Walgreens, Illinois Academy of
Family Physicians, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute,
and National Emphysema/COPD Association.
For more information, contact:
Hannah Hedrick
Vice President, National Emphysema/COPD Association
HHedrick@NECACommunity.org
3. AMA committed to eliminating health
care disparities
"The AMA remains strongly committed to eliminating racial
and ethnic health care disparities,” said AMA
President Donald J. Palmisano, MD, citing a recent report
from the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC).
The HSC report shows that African-American Medicare beneficiaries
are more than twice as likely as whites
to report they cannot afford prescription medications. Nearly
one in six African-American beneficiaries did
not fill at least one prescription in the last year because
of cost, compared with one in 15 whites.
The AMA, through the Minority Affairs Consortium, Health
Care Disparities program, and other research,
awareness, education, and advocacy activities, is working
to address the disparities in health care access and outcomes
experienced by African-Americans and other minority groups.
To read the report: http://www.hschange.com/CONTENT/587
To read Palmisano’s statement: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/article/1617-7907.html
4. Check out the calendar of allied
health events
The Health Professions Network maintains a list of conferences,
meetings, and events on its Web site: http://www.healthpronet.org/calendar/index.html
Noteworthy upcoming events include . . .
- 2003 Annual Conference
American Therapeutic Recreation Association
September 12-16, 2003, Atlanta, GA
- 2003 Radiation Therapy Conference
"Fusing Technique with Touch”
American Society of Radiologic Technologists
October 19-22, Grand America Hotel, Salt Lake City, UT
To add your profession's events to this calendar, click on:
http://www.healthpronet.org/calendar/calendar_add.html
5. Reader feedback: Address the growing
shortage of educators
“I have enjoyed reading the E-letter over the last several
months. As a radiologic technologist and educator I have been
particularly drawn to items dealing with the ongoing shortages
in various health professions. I have been somewhat concerned
that during that time I have not seen anything in the E-letter
dealing with perhaps the biggest shortage of all, the shortage
of qualified educators, particularly new educators, in the
allied health professions.
“From serving on the Board of the Association of Educators
in the Radiological Sciences, I have had the opportunity to
see firsthand the impact that this shortage is having on the
ability of educational programs
nationwide to address the workforce shortage for radiologic
technologists. From the data that we have seen, the shortage
of educators in our profession will continue to get worse
as the current educator workforce nears retirement, unless
solutions to recruiting and retaining educators are found.
“I know from conversations with educators in other health
professions that this shortage is not limited to any one profession
-- its underlying causes are complex. Identifying and implementing
solutions to this problem will require discussion and creative
problem solving among educators and practitioners within these
professions.
“I believe that the E-letter is in an ideal position to bring
this hidden shortage to the forefront and to foster the discussion
that is a necessary first step in addressing this problem.”
- Richard Terrass, MEd, RT(R), President-Elect, Association
of Educators in the Radiological Sciences
Note: For further reading on this issue, Terrass recommends
the following publications of the American Society of Radiologic
Technologists:
- ASRT Scanner, Vol 34, No 4, January 2002
- ASRT Scanner, Vol 34, No 5, February 2002
- Radiologic Technology, Vol 73, No 4, March/April 2002
- Radiologic Technology, Vol 73, No 5, May/June 2002
- ASRT Scanner, Vol 34, No 2, July 2002
- Radiologic Technology, Vol 74, No 4, March/April 2003
- Radiologic Technology, Vol 74, No 5, May/June 2003
6. "They're Rich,
You're Dead": Anti-tobacco video, study plan available
An award-winning video, "They're Rich, You're Dead,"
on the health, addictive, and social aspects of smoking, is
available in English, Spanish, and Mandarin at a low (copying)
cost as a public service.
The video is accompanied by a study plan CD-ROM with answers
to 50 of the most common questions asked about smoking as
well as 60 color slides and 50 video clips.
Health professions students are encouraged to use these materials
to implement tobacco awareness
projects targeting youths in their communities.
For more information, contact:
Arthur Pitchenik MD
Professor, University of Miami School of Medicine
Director, Tobacco Awareness Community Program Targeting Youth
305 575-3170
arthurpit@aol.com
7. North Carolina health workforce
reports now available
Researchers in North Carolina have been busy on a number
of health workforce reports of interest, all
available through the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services
Research. These include . . .
A. Trends in the Supply of Nurse Practitioners and
Physician Assistants in North Carolina, 1990-2001
Between 1990 and 2001, nurse practitioners increased their
supply relative to the population seven times
faster than physicians, (183% compared to 24%); physician
assistants increased at quadruple the
physician growth rate (104%).
The report also notes that the fastest growth in NPs and
PAs has been in underserved rural counties.
B. Scanning the Radiologic Sciences Workforce in
North Carolina
This report encompasses radiologic technologists, radiation
therapists, nuclear medicine technologists,
and technlogists who operate computed tomography (CT), magnetic
resonance (MRI), mammography, positron emission tomography
(PET), cardiovascular interventional (CV), and other radiology
equipment.
Increased faculty shortages will be a growing problem for
educational programs, the report concludes.
Contributing factors include aging and retirement of existing
faculty, competition from higher-paying
clinical jobs, and accreditation standards requiring advanced
degrees.
C. North Carolina Health Professions Data System
- Annual Data, 2002
The official source of health professions statistics in North
Carolina, these data include county, state,
and regional level statistics from a wide range of health
professions licensing boards, as well as
demographic and health-related information.
Data are available online via the Web site listed below or
in hardcopy form for $20, plus postage.
For more information:
http://www.shepscenter.unc.edu/hp/
nchp@unc.edu
(919) 966-7112
8. Respiratory care practitioners
subject of new "issue brief"
“Respiratory Care Practitioners in California” provides an
introduction to the profession, a discussion of
current challenges within the profession, and potential solutions
to address them.
To read this publication, from the Center for the Health
Professions, University of California, San
Francisco, see: http://futurehealth.ucsf.edu/pdf_files/Resp_Therapy_Issuebrief.html
9. Keeping sonographers healthy
on the job
A 1999 survey of diagnostic medical sonographers found that
more than 80% are scanning in pain on a
daily basis, and 20% eventually experience a career-ending
injury. The increasing loss of sonographers due to work-related
musculoskeletal disorders exacerbates the existing shortage
of sonographers and decreases patient access to this important
service.
For this reason, a range of groups involved in the profession
–- convened in May by the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography
–- worked to develop the new “Industry Standards for the Prevention
of
Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Sonography.”
These standards are intended to assist all employees, employers,
educators, and equipment manufacturers in making informed
decisions and improve the well being of sonographers and sonologists.
To read the standards (Adobe Acrobat Reader required), see:
http://www.sdms.org/pdf/wrmsd2003.pdf
10. Radiology Administrator
is "Allied Health Profession of the Month"
Now featured on the Health Professions Network's Web site
is the profession of radiology administrator:
http://www.healthpronet.org/ahp_month/08_03.html
Profiled in recent months were occupational therapy, respiratory
therapy, medical assisting, and athletic
training.
The Health Professions Network is a group of professionals
representing diverse aspects of allied
health, including primarily provider organizations but also
educators, accreditors, and administrators.
To request that HealthProNet.org feature your health profession
in the future, send an e-mail to: webmaster@healthpronet.org
11. Medicare clarifies that
recreational therapy is a covered service
Recreational therapy services provided within an inpatient
rehabilitation facility are a covered service and should be
provided when medically indicated, according to a recent announcement
by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
The announcement clarifies the American Therapeutic Recreation
Association’s long-standing position that
recreational therapy services are a covered service, when
provided under the supervision of a physician,
and meets the definitions of active treatment.
“This clarification by CMS will assure that Medicare beneficiaries
have access to the full mix of
cost-effective rehabilitation interventions including Recreational
Therapy,” said ATRA President
G T Thompson, MEd, CTRS.
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 50 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://www.ama-assn.org/go/hpe-letter
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, Medical Education Products
515 N State St, Chicago, IL 60610
312 464-4635
312 464-5830 fax
fred_lenhoff@ama-assn.org
http://www.ama-assn.org/go/hpe-letter
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Copyright 2003, American Medical Association
Submitted By: David
Yoder |
