Pre-Health Advising Center

ALLIED HEALTH PROGRAMS

Allied health refers to a number of healthcare professions, encompassing as many as 200 health careers.  There are approximately 5 million allied health providers in the United States and that number is expected to grow over the next decade due to the aging population and the advancements in technology.  Allied health professionals are involved either directly or indirectly with patient care and practice independently or with a health care team assessing patient needs and continual evaluation.

There are two types of Allied Health Professionals, technicians/assistants and therapists/technologists.  Technicians/assistants are trained in two years or less and work under the supervision of therapists/technologists.  The training of therapists/technologists is more intense, approximately 4-6 years of training, which includes acquiring procedural skills, evaluating patients, diagnosing conditions and developing treatment plans.  Therapists/technologists are also trained to evaluate a patient’s response to therapy and make the appropriate modifications to the treatment plans when necessary.

Below is a list of some of the various types of allied health professions:

1. Athletic Training
2. Audiology
3. Cardiovascular Perfusion Technology
4. Cytotechnology
5. Dental Hygiene
6. Diagnostic Medical Sonography
7. Dietetics
8. Emergency Medical Sciences
9. Health Administration
10. Health Information Management
11. Medical Technology
12. Nuclear Medicine Technology
13. Nursing
14. Occupational Therapy
15. Physical Therapy
16. Physician Assistant
17. Radiation Therapy Technology
18. Radiography
19. Rehabilitation Counseling
20. Respiratory Therapy
21. Respiratory Therapy Technology
22. Speech-Language Pathology

Application Information
Since allied health encompasses so many different health professions, students are encouraged to research the allied health fields of interest and schedule an appointment to meet with the pre-health advisor to discuss the areas of interest.  The majority of the allied health professions do not follow the standard pre-health academic curriculum; therefore the pre-health advisor is instrumental in guiding you to the right courses to prepare you for a career in allied health.

Resources

• Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions
• Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Programs
• ExploreHEALTHCareers.org