| HEALTH PROFESSIONS E-LETTER, August
2004
1. AMA online survey response rate
nears 40%
2. Attend forum to discuss future
education of laboratory professionals
3. Reader feedback: RT education
levels in NC not nationally representative
4. Order your copy of education
data book
5. NATA to football players: Don't
use your head
6. Congratulations to Dr. Schans,
winner of ASRT writing award
7. Exercise physiology is "Allied
Health Profession of the Month"
8. JRCERT Web site redesigned for
easier access, navigation
9. Clothes make the man; white clothes
make the nurse
10. Check out new health care scholarship
and careers Web site
1. AMA online survey response
rate nears 40%
More than 2,000 programs (about 40%) have now completed the
2004 Survey of Health Professions Education Programs.
Following is a breakdown of response rates by accrediting agency:
- Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education
43.49%
- Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician
Assistant
39.85%
- American Art Therapy Association
26.67%
- American Board of Genetic Counseling
53.57%
- American Dance Therapy Association
20.00%
- American Orthoptic Council
33.33%
- American Physical Therapy Association
24.17%
- American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
3.49%
- Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind
and Visually Impaired
14.81%
- Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education
Programs
39.85%
- Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental
Association
27.14%
- Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation
11.59%
- Commission on Opticianry Accreditation
5.88%
- Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational
Programs
8.13%
- Council on Rehabilitation Education
11.46%
- Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology
61.04%
- Joint Review Committee on Educational Programs in Nuclear
Medicine Technology
66.67%
- National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences
73.43%
- National Association of Schools of Music
10.71%
- National Therapeutic Recreation Society
11.90%
For those programs that 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 2005-2006
editions of the Health Professions Career and Education Directory
and Health Professions Education Data Book.
For survey login information, please contact Dorothy Grant-Bryant
at dorothy_grant-bryant@ama-assn.org
or 312 464-4936.
The survey is available at: http://www.ama-assn.org/go/hpsurvey.
Coming soon . . .
2004 Medical Assistant Recognition Week, "Medical Assistants
at the Heart of Health Care," October 18-22
2. Attend forum to discuss future
education of laboratory professionals
"Preparing
Laboratory Professionals for a Changing Environment"
October 1
Hotel Sofitel, Chicago O'Hare
This forum will facilitate communication between leaders of
professional organizations, educators, and laboratory management.
Attendees will hear nationally and internationally known speakers
highlight future trends in science, technology, and health and
learn how they will impact the laboratory. Through discussion,
questions, and electronic voting, participants will work together
to propose new directions for educational programs.
3. Reader feedback: RT education
levels in NC not nationally representative
In the August issue, you reported data from The State of
Allied Health in North Carolina: A Focus on the Respiratory
Therapy Workforce.
One of the important findings you reported was that less than
15% of practicing respiratory therapists in NC hold a baccalaureate
or advanced degree. The report actually stated that 14.7% of
the RT workforce in the state hold at least a baccalaureate
degree. The report provided no data on the number of RTs holding
advanced academic degrees.
The report went on to compare the percentage of RTs in North
Carolina to the larger percentage of RTs who hold BS degrees
in the national workforce. This comparison is important because
currently NC has no baccalaureate and graduate degree programs
and, according to this report, almost two thirds of all RT programs
in the state have experienced difficulty finding sufficient
numbers of individuals willing to supervise students in clinical
rotations and nearly half of the programs have had difficulty
in finding qualified faculty to teach coursework.
The report concludes that establishing baccalaureate and graduate
degree programs in NC is vital in creating future faculty to
teach in the state's respiratory care programs because without
them, the student capacity of their current programs cannot
grow to meet the increasing demand for RTs in NC.
I am concerned that your summary of this report may lead readers
to assume that the level of education of the RT workforce in
North Carolina reflects that of the respiratory workforce in
general. It is important to know that the percentage of RTs
holding a baccalaureate degree in NC is substantially less than
the 24.6% of the national RT workforce, according to American
Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) data.
Further, as reported in a 2000 AARC study, an additional 5.2%
of the RT workforce held a master's degree, 0.6% a doctorate
degree, and 51.2% an associate degree at that time. By comparison,
a 2000 federal study, The Registered Nurse Population, reported
that 43.3% of the RN workforce held associate degrees, 30.3%
BS degrees, and 25.7% came from diploma programs.
Because of the competition for limited funding to attract people
to health careers, I believe it is most important that policymakers
and legislators have an accurate perception of the educational
level of the allied health workforce.
Bill Dubbs, MEd, MHA, RRT, FAARC
Director of Education and Management
American Association for Respiratory Care
4. Order your copy of education
data book
Remember to order your copy of the new Health Professions
Education Data Book. This newly updated publication includes
24 tables of data for academic year 2002-2003, including:
- Number of Programs and Enrollments, Attrition, and Graduates
by Occupation
- Enrollments, Graduates, and Number of Programs by State/Province
and Occupation
- Enrollments, Attrition, and Graduates by Race/Ethnic Origin
and Gender
- Health Professions Salary Ranges
To order the publication in Adobe Acrobat pdf format, see:
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/10250.html
5. NATA to football players: Don't
use your head
Football players, coaches, and officials need to be aware of
the seriousness of head-down contact and spearing in football,
techniques that result in paralysis for about six to nine players
each year at the secondary school and collegiate levels.
The National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) has released
a position
statement on this issue (Adobe Acrobat Reader required),
as published in The Journal of Athletic Training.
6. Congratulations to Dr. Schans, winner
of ASRT writing award
Bette Schans, PhD, RT(R), FASRT, has won the American Society
of Radiologic Technologists 2004 Jean I. Widger Distinguished
Author Award for an article that examined ethical reasoning
among radiologic technologists and radiologic science students.
The article, "Radiologic Technologists and Ethical Reasoning,"
was published in the March/April 2004 issue of the ASRT journal
Radiologic Technology.
Dr. Schans is associate professor and director of the radiologic
technology program at Mesa State College in Grand Junction,
CO.
7. Exercise physiology is "Allied
Health Profession of the Month"
Now featured on the Health Professions Network's Web site is
the profession of exercise physiology.
Profiled in recent months were recreation therapy, medical
technology, cytotechnology, and magnetic resonance technology.
To request that HealthProNet.org feature your health profession
in the future, send an e-mail to: webmaster@healthpronet.org
8. JRCERT Web site redesigned for easier
access, navigation
Congratulations to the Joint Review Committee on Education
in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT) on the redesign of its Web
site.
9. Clothes make the man; white clothes
make the nurse
Nurses at Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital are now wearing
all-white uniforms, in part "to help patients distinguish
them from lab technicians, respiratory therapists, dietitians
and other hospital staff who wear a variety of colorful smocks
and scrubs," reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
("UNIFORMLY TRADITIONAL: Retro chic: Nurses revert to white
garb," July 29).
"We're from the new generation of nurses and we never
had to wear whites," one Grady nurse told the Journal-Constitution.
"But I've heard patients call everybody their nurse, so
I think this looks more professional."
10. Check out new health care scholarship
and careers Web site
A new online service for students enrolled in allied health
programs will offer scholarships and a searchable database of
job vacancies nationwide.
The service was launched by the Association of Schools of Allied
Health Professions (ASAHP) in partnership with CampusAlliedHealth.com.
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
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?A40.576.1626.1.197721
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