| HEALTH PROFESSIONS E-LETTER, August
2004
1. Allied health workforce shortage
a "looming crisis"
2. Where is health information management
education/practice headed?
3. Electronic health records make
headlines
4. Advanced dental hygienist created
to meet nation's oral health needs
5. More mammography screening specialists
needed to reduce cancer deaths
6. Quotable: High turnover among
medical assistants
7. Nuts about sports (and medicine)?
Click here
8. New law promises to transform
patient safety and error reporting
9. Recreational therapy is "Allied
Health Profession of the Month"
10. Report profiles respiratory
therapy workforce in North Carolina
11. Recent grads applaud ASRT's
Leadership Academy for Educators
12. On the calendar...
13. ATRA supports physical
activity for children/youth with disabilities
14. Radiologic technologist salaries
continue to increase
NOTE: 2004
Survey of Health Professions Education Programs is easier
than ever: One respondent writes, "It was very easy to
complete. Thank you for fixing it so the totals are automatically
computed. Great job!"
For survey login information, contact Dorothy Grant at dorothy_grant@ama-assn.org or
312 464-4936.
1. Allied health workforce shortage
a "looming crisis"
The well-publicized nursing shortage "pales in comparison
to similarly driven shortfalls in other health professional
groups," writes Edward O'Neil, MPA, PhD, director of the
Center for the Health Professions at the University of California,
San Francisco.
"[A]s important as shortages in pharmacy, medicine, and
even dentistry might become, they will . . . fail to reach the
depths of the looming crisis in the allied health professions."
To read the complete essay, see: http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.1692.3.197721
2. Where is health information
management education/practice headed?
The electronic health record (EHR) has been a popular buzzword
of late. Now, read more about the challenges and opportunities
facing the profession (health information management) that will
be central to the EHR's implementation:
http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.1692.4.197721
3. Electronic health records make
headlines
The US Department of Health and Human Services has a 10-year
plan to transform the delivery of health care by building a
new health information infrastructure, including electronic
health records and a new network to link health records nationwide.
See: http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.1692.5.197721
The AMA welcomes the news, said AMA Chair J. James Rohack,
MD. "The AMA is committed to helping fulfill the promise
of
an affordable, standards-based electronic health record."
See: http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.1692.6.197721
4. Advanced dental hygienist created
to meet nation's oral health needs
Meeting in Dallas in June, the American Dental Hygienists'
Association adopted policy supporting the creation of an advanced
dental hygiene practitioner.
The new profession will help "answer the unmet oral health
needs of the public by providing cost-effective, easily accessible
primary care," said Helena Gallant Tripp, RDH, ADHA president.
To read more, see: http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.1692.7.197721
5. More mammography screening
specialists needed to reduce cancer deaths
Access to breast cancer screening is endangered due to a shortage
of breast imaging specialists, according to a new report from
the Institute of Medicine.
Mammography facilities should enlist specially trained nonphysician
personnel to pre-screen or double-read mammograms to expand
facilities' capacity, the report recommends. Nonphysician personnel
would not make diagnoses, and every mammogram would be independently
viewed by a breast imaging specialist. See:
Saving Women's Lives: Strategies for Improving the Early
Detection and Diagnosis of Breast Cancer
http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.1692.8.197721
6. Quotable: High turnover among
medical assistants
"Physician office practice managers reported concern about
the amount of time spent on frequent training of new MAs for
the specific needs of a practice, due to the frequent turnover
of staff. Some medical offices . . . report turnover rates of
20-30% per year. Staff turnover is thought to be due to a lack
of professional advancement and low wages."
Medical Assistants in California
Center for the Health Professions, University of
California at San Francisco
http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.1692.9.197721
(Adobe Acrobat required)
7. 7. Nuts about sports (and medicine)?
Click here
The July issue of Virtual Mentor, the AMA's Ethics Journal,
focuses on medicine in sports and fitness. Articles include:
- Limits of Youth Sports Training
- Performance-enhancing Drugs in Sports
- Exercise Addiction
- Practice Makes Perfect? Ideal Standards and Practice Norms
in Sports Medicine
- Diagnosing Anabolic Steroid Use
- Obligations of Team Physicians
- The Physical Activity and Obesity Link: Considerations
for Clinicians
To read more, see: http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.1692.10.197721
8. New law promises to transform
patient safety and error reporting
On July 22, the US Senate passed legislation to enhance the
safety of America's health care system, transforming the existing
culture of blame into a culture of safety.
The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (S. 720) establishes
Patient Safety Organizations for confidential reporting of patient
care errors. These data can then be analyzed and shared to prevent
similar incidents. See: http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.1692.11.197721
In related news, a new study estimates that medical errors
in US hospitals contributed to almost 600,000 patient deaths
over the past 3 years, twice the number cited by the Institute
of Medicine in 2000.
Although the actual numbers are open to debate, the problem
itself is not. "Any way you look at it, medical errors
are a frightening problem," Kenneth Kizer, president of
the National Quality Forum, told The Wall Street Journal ("Fatal
Medical Errors Said To Be More Widespread," July 27).
9. Recreational therapy is "Allied
Health Profession of the Month"
Now featured on the Health Professions Network's Web site is
the profession of recreational therapy:
http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.1692.12.197721
Profiled in recent months were medical technology, cytotechnology,
magnetic resonance technology, and surgical neurophysiology.
To request that HealthProNet.org feature your health profession
in the future, send an e-mail to: webmaster@healthpronet.org
10. Report profiles respiratory
therapy workforce in North Carolina
Highlights from The State of Allied Health in North Carolina:
A Focus on the Respiratory Therapy Workforce:
- The number of new graduates entering the respiratory therapy
workforce will not increase significantly without program
expansion or improved student retention. Estimated attrition
rate statewide is 30%.
- Less than 15% of practicing respiratory therapists in NC
hold a baccalaureate or advanced degree, which may contribute
to difficulty in recruiting qualified faculty and directors
necessary to meet educational program accreditation requirements.
- Over one third of the NC respiratory therapy workforce
is male; approximately 15% of respiratory therapists are from
a racial or ethnic minority.
The report is a collaborative effort of the Council for Allied
Health in North Carolina, North Carolina Area Health Education
Centers Program, and Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services
Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
It is available online (Adobe Acrobat Reader required) at: http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.1692.13.197721
11. Recent grads applaud ASRT'S
Leadership Academy for Educators
Twenty-one radiologic science educators from around the world
recently graduated from the second annual Leadership Academy
for Educators, a 3-day program designed to support educators'
instructional needs. The American Society of Radiologic Technologists
sponsored the event.
"This has enabled me to look at different innovative ways
to both teach and administer our programs," said one attendee.
Another reported, "I left feeling valued by my professional
organization and motivated to continue my work, all with a new
burst of energy that many of us veteran educators often need
but do not recognize."
12. On the calendar . . .
28th ASRT Radiation Therapy Conference
"Essential Education for Radiologic Science Professionals"
October 3-5, Hyatt Regency, Atlanta, GA
http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.1692.14.197721
The Sixth Annual ACCP Community Asthma and COPD Coalitions
Symposium
October 27-28, Seattle, WA
(part of CHEST 2004, the annual international scientific assembly
of the American College of Chest Physicians)
E-mail: jbruno@chestnet.org
13. ATRA supports physical
activity for children/youth with disabilities
A new presidential initiative to mentor, motivate, and assist
youth with disabilities to increase their physical activity
is backed by nearly 50 national organizations, including the
American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA).
Under the "I Can Do It, You Can Do It" initiative,
ATRA and other partner organizations will help bring together
physically fit mentors with young people who have a disability
to help increase appropriate physical activity and good nutritional
habits as an important part of their lives.
For more information, contact the ATRA at 703 683-9420.
14. Radiologic technologist
salaries continue to increase
Highlights from the 2004 Wage and Salary Survey of the American
Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT) and ASRT Education
and Research Foundation:
- Average hourly wage is $24.16, annual salary $65,401 --
increases of 19.7% and 26.5%, respectively, since 2001
- 44% of RTs are satisfied with their current salaries or
wages, 31% are not satisfied
- About 79 percent of respondents receive additional pay
for hours worked beyond a 40-hour week
- Hourly wages were highest in California, Washington DC,
and Massachusetts, and lowest in West Virginia, Alabama,
and North Dakota.
To read more, see:
http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.1692.15.197721
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?A40.576.1626.1.197721
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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?A40.576.1626.1.197721
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