| HEALTH PROFESSIONS E-LETTER, December
2005
Dear Reader,
As we prepare the new 2006-07 edition of the Health Professions
Career and Education Directory, our thanks to the 65% of health
professions education programs that completed the annual survey.
The updates and data you've provided will help ensure the accuracy
and completeness of the Directory (release date: February 2006).
And data will now be displayed in a chart format, allowing for
quick and easy comparison of programs (see article #1, below).
So again, thanks to you and the many professional associations
and accrediting bodies who helped encourage survey completion.
And thank you for all the work you do on behalf of allied health
and for ensuring the continued quality of US health care.
Happy Holidays!
Fred Donini-Lenhoff
1. New directory will help
you find the best program even faster
2. Featured Program: Cal State-Long
Beach, speech-language pathology
3. Quotable: Mental health training
needs to improve
4. Is the clinical laboratory workforce
shortage easing?
5. National Health Information &
Technology Week celebrated in November
6. Want a career in dietetics? Read
all about it
7. Number of note: The high cost
of health care paperwork
8. In North Carolina, allied health
professions growing
9. Athletic trainers' salaries on
the upswing
10. Sonography graduates can apply
for ARRT certification
11. As in US, Canada has allied
health knowledge gap
1. New directory will help you
find the best program even faster
The new 2006-07 Health Professions Career and Education Directory
will feature program data displayed in a chart format, allowing
you to quickly and easily compare variousprograms 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.
2. Featured Program: Cal State-Long
Beach, speech-language pathology
In this issue we begin a 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.
Our first featured program is the California State University,
Long Beach speech-language pathology program, which puts special
emphasis on cultural competence:
"Two undergraduate classes specifically address cultural
competence, and others integrate cultural competence into
the course. All graduates complete clinical clock hours serving
clients who speak languages other than their own, through
use of a trained interpreter. Bilingual students are given
opportunity for direct client interaction in their non-English
language."
For more information on this program, see:
http://www.csulb.edu/web/colleges/chhs/ada/cd/
3. Quotable: Mental health training
needs to improve
"Individuals licensed to diagnose and treat M/SU [mental/substance
use] problems and illnesses include a wide range of practitioners
. . . . These practitioners are trained in 'silos,' apart
from each other, in different schools, by different faculties
with few if any core competencies and little interdisciplinary
training. Further, . . . there are no mechanisms in place
to assure that any given clinician has been adequately educated
and trained to offer any specific therapy, a process essential
to the provision of safe, effective and efficient care."
Source: Improving the Quality of Health Care for Mental and
Substance-Use Conditions
Institute of Medicine
Chapter 7, p. 264
http://www.nap.edu/books/0309100445/html/
4. Is the clinical laboratory
workforce shortage easing?
A recent federal report suggests that the shortage of clinical
laboratory workers may be easing, at least for some types
of workers and in some settings and geographic areas. Increasing
wages and the use of sign-on bonuses indicate that the market
is responding to the shortage.
Unfortunately, although student interest is rising, the pipeline
to employment in the profession has deteriorated, due primarily
to closures in hospital-based training programs. At the same
time, local and regional efforts to restart training programs,
or develop new ones have capitalized on renewed student interest.
See: http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/reports/clinical/default.htm
5. National Health Information
& Technology Week celebrated in November
In our last issue we mentioned a number of celebratory weeks/months
in allied health. One reader reminded us that, in addition
to being Allied Health Professions Week, November 6-12 is
National Health Information & Technology Week, an annual
event sponsored by the American Health Information Management
Association: http://www.ahima.org/hitweek/
6. Want a career in dietetics?
Read all about it
How do I become a registered dietitian or dietetic technician,
registered? What factors should I consider when choosing a
school? There is no dietetics education program near my home--can
I complete the requirements by distance education?
For the answer to these questions, and more, see Career FAQs:
Your Starting Point, from the American Dietetic Association:
http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/career_7239_ENU_HTML.htm
7. Number of note: The high cost
of health care paperwork
About 21 percent of private health spending (or about $26
billion a year) in California goes to insurance paperwork,
according to an article in Health Affairs: http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/24/6/1629
8. In North Carolina, allied health
professions growing
The number of active health professionals in North Carolina
increased from 2003 to 2004 in several fields:
Physical therapists 7.4%
Dental hygienists 5.6%
Physician assistants 4.5%
Physical therapy assistants 2.6%
Source: The North Carolina Health Professions 2004 Data Book,
which includes county-level data for 17 licensed health professions.
http://www.shepscenter.unc.edu/hp/2004_HPDS_DataBook.pdf
(PDF, 1.94MB, requires Adobe Reader)
Hard copies are available for $20, plus shipping; contact:
Katie Gaul
k_gaul@unc.edu
(919) 966-7112
9. Athletic trainers' salaries
on the upswing
Since 2003, athletic trainer salary has risen in the following
settings:
Youth sports (+ 41.15 percent, to $46,296)
Professional sports (+ 31.32 percent, to $50,515)
High schools (+15.91 percent, to $42,442)
Hospitals (+ 14.92 percent, to $54,292)
Performing arts (+ 14.56 percent, to $56,135)
Government settings (+ 9.04 percent, to $50,716)
A total of 5,414 athletic trainers responded to the survey
from the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA): http://www.nata.org/newsrelease/archives/000329.html
10. Sonography graduates
can apply for ARRT certification
As of January 1, 2006, graduates of sonography programs accredited
by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Diagnostic Medical
Sonography may apply for sonography certification from the
American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT).
Acceptable programs will be listed on the ARRT site at: http://tinyurl.com/a3jc9
11. As in US, Canada
has allied health knowledge gap
Despite the differences between the US and Canadian health
care systems, our northern neighbors are facing many of the
same issues, according to a new report from the Health Council
of Canada.
A key challenge is the lack of collaborative, team-based
education and practice, and lack of awareness about allied
health: "While we know a fair amount about nurses and
physicians, we know relatively little about many of the groups
who make up the other 50 percent of workers in the Canadian
health care system," the report's authors note.
http://hcc-ccs.com/docs/HCC_HHRsummit_2005_eng.pdf
(PDF, 621KB, requires Adobe Reader)
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://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
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://www.ama-assn.org/go/hpe-letter
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