Every morning when Tracy Ryan makes her rounds to visit patients at Rush Presbyterian-St. Luke`s Hospital, the casual observer easily could mistake her for a doctor or a nurse.
Although the 25-year-old Ryan makes rounds with doctors and nurses, as a clinical nutritionist she falls into the ”allied health professions.”
With the nursing shortage showing signs of easing, careers that are in greatest demand within the health care field fall under the ”allied”
umbrella.
Like Ryan, some allied health professionals work in a hospital alongside physicians and nurses. These professionals include surgical technicians, physician assistants and physical therapists.
But there are numerous other allied health careers in which you never work in a hospital, doctor`s office or even a medical lab. Indeed, Ryan, who recently completed a master`s program in clinical nutrition at Rush University, Chicago, enjoys working in the hospital and devising the formulas for patients` intravenous feedings. If she chose to, however, she could put her skills to work in a private practice offering wellness and nutrition advice, or devising menus for a hospice or nursing home.
”Physicians and nurses get so much attention, but allied health careers make up the largest part of the health-care work force,” notes John Trufant, vice president for academic resources and dean of the College of Health Sciences at Rush University.
Leopold Selker, interim dean of the College of Associated Health Professions at the University of Illinois at Chicago, says that in the Chicago area thre are severe shortages of professionals in physical therapy, occupational therapy and medical laboratory science.
Considerable need exists for professionals in medical records administration, nutrition and medical dietetics. And Sekler says that none of the dozens of allied health occupations faces an oversupply.
What`s more, he adds, ”because of demographics, one could argue that the demand will be here for the next seven or eight decades.”
Fueling the demand is not only the aging population, says Selker, but the health system`s movement toward wellness and prevention, where allied health care can play a big role.
Increasing awareness of disabilities and advancing technical knowledge also will provide opportunities for allied health specialities.
Speech pathologist Dana Elbrecht-Rusher agrees. She recently joined the staff of St. Joseph Medical Center in Ft. Wayne, Ind., after receiving her master`s degree from Rush University. ”I work with patients who have swallowing disorders. There are advances in treatment all the time. For instance, St. Joseph is starting a coma emergence program that I will be working with.
”At the same time,” she continues, ”the school districts are more aware of speech disorders. If I wanted to, I could work in a school helping kids with stuttering and articulation problems.”
The flexibility that Elbrecht-Rusher and other allied health professionals enjoy, along with the fact that shortages mean they don`t have to stand in unemployment lines, are two of the biggest positives about allied health professions.
But while it may be easy to secure a paycheck, sometimes that check is modest.
The allied health professions include a wide range of disciplines such as audiology, dietetics, dental hygiene, medical record administration, radiologic technologist, respiratory care and occupational therapy, to name a few. Some of the professions, like speech pathology, require a master`s degree to work as a licensed professional. Other disciplines require a short-term program to secure a certificate, or associate or bachelor degrees.
Salaries reflect the education required and shortages in the field. Selker says, for example, that the starting salary for a medical records technician averages about $21,000 and that the position requires no more than an associate degree from a community college. Starting pay for a physical therapist, which requires a bachelor`s degree and probably is the allied health career with the most acute shortage, is around $30,000.
The salaries are somewhat lower in rural areas, says Selker. However, Trufant observes that ”shortages for the allied health professions are more acute in rural areas, and as a result, organizations are more creative in recruiting people. They will provide perks like moving allowances and sign-on bonuses.”
Entering an allied health profession is unlike entering the corporate world, where motivated workers can climb a career ladder, says Professor Eli Ginzberg, an economist at Columbia University who has studied health care personnel for the last 50 years. ”There is a tendency for people to work in an area for a few years and quit. There`s not much upward mobility.” This transience is especially apparent in the lower-skilled and lower-paying disciplines.
But while there may not be paths of progression within a specialty, one can progress by moving from one discipline to another, and going to school in the process.
John Snyder, dean of the School of Allied Health Sciences at the Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, explains: ”If I were starting out today and needed to support myself through college, I would probably pursue a phlebotomy certificate (to draw blood in a lab), which only takes about three months.
”Then, I`d work nights and weekends while I went to school and worked toward an associate degree as a medical laboratory technician. Once that was in place, I`d work in a lab while completing a med tech degree at a four-year college.”
Educational institutions are busy expanding their allied health offerings to suit the needs of local employers.
”Community colleges especially do a good job of keeping track of the local job market, and devising their curriculum to fill the professions with the most vacancies,” Ginzberg says.
With such a needs-based focus, Mark Harbaugh, dean of applied sciences at Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield, says graduates of allied health programs ”are usually part of a bidding war” conducted by employers vying to fill spots.
For example, some central Illinois hospitals are sponsoring students through the radiology technology and respiratory therapy programs, and guaranteeing them jobs upon graduation, says Harbaugh.
Barbara Lee, director of medical support programs for Midstate College, Peoria, meets frequently with hospital officials and local clinic and lab managers. Recently, Midstate began offering an 18-month program for medical assistants and a 12-month ”medical, clinical, lab” program.
The shortages in these professions often do not reflect a lack of interest, but an inability of educational programs to keep up with the galloping demand.
Explains Snyder of Indiana University: ”We have increased our enrollment in physical therapy on this campus from 28 students to 32. One of the difficulties in increasing enrollment is finding enough qualified faculty.”
UIC`s Selker agrees. ”There is a shortage of faculty, and classes must be kept small. You can`t teach an amphitheatre of 600 students how to manipulate a joint in your hands.” The scarcity of classroom spots is so severe that ”in some states it`s harder to get into physical therapy school than it is into medical school.”
For those considering an allied health profession, it comes down to finding the right balance between education requirements and the type of career that holds the most appeal.
Northbrook resident Kristine Grumbach says she enrolled in the University of Illinois` occupational therapy program, ”because at my age (41), I didn`t want to have to stay in school to complete a master`s program. I can practice with a bachelor`s degree in occupational therapy, and I like the idea that it`s a holistic discipline and allows me to work with the whole person, not just a specific ailment.”
When she graduates this June, Grumbach also likes the idea that she can work in a hospital, clinical or business setting. ”This field is so flexible,” she notes. As part of a school project, Grumach even worked at Lincoln Park Zoo, consulting on ways workers could avoid back injuries.
