Course Overview
As a Christian, it is important to do your best in whatever career path you choose. Your desire should be to help others achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle. A career in allied health provides you the opportunity to meet the physical needs of many people. What is allied health in relation to the healthcare industry?
Allied health is the term for the area of healthcare (and health care professions) that provide support and care services other than specific doctoring and nurse care. At times, the line between allied health and “non-allied health” may seem to be separated by level of degree/education, although this is not always true.
Allied health career paths can be divided into general roles like diagnostic (testing to see what is wrong), technical (taking care of technology aspects), therapeutic (moving the patient toward healing) and direct patient care (caring for the patient in other ways), although there is some overlap in a few roles. There are a few hundred potential jobs and dozens of potential settings that one could work in.
The career field is important for several reasons. First, the care and support that allied health professionals provide is integral to the health care system. In addition it is estimated that these professionals make up more than half of the entire health care field. This representation within the industry shows how very important the various roles are.
In this course, we will focus on select allied health careers, studying a variety of different levels, responsibilities, settings, education needs and amounts of patient contact. We will look at things like the degree or training needed for each job, the environment one would work in, how much money the position could make, and the facts of the actual working day.
Then, within each job group, we will explore important aspects that are applicable to the entire field of allied health, such as behaving ethically, working as a team, keeping patients safe and free from infections and germs, honoring diverse needs of diverse patients, and following laws and policies.
The last unit will then include several activities that allow the student to seriously engage with their career exploration and selection.
Objectives
- Learn about allied health careers, academic preparation, lifestyle, skills needed, licensing and credentialing, employment potential, and continuing education.
- Explore ethical and legal challenges in the healthcare field.
- Understand the role of allied health care professionals in the overall health care environment and the importance of teamwork in patient care.
- Examine the importance of cultural, social, and ethnic diversity in the healthcare workforce and environment.
- Learn legal/regulatory guidelines addressing patient and medical information and understand the issues related to confidentiality.
- Learn about safety measures and regulatory requirements.
Requirements
Pre-requisites:
Since this course leans heavily on reporting and research, students should already know how to choose appropriate resources (especially online), and how to properly cite those resources.
Supplies and resources:
2-4 pieces of poster board/large paper (or graphics/drawing software)
Access to newspaper/media archives
2-5 Paper plates
Drawing tools
Suggested: Copy of the book “Alex, the Life of a Child” by Frank DeFord
Unit 1: Introduction to Allied Health Careers
- Chapter 1: Introduction
- What Is Allied Health?
- Exploring the Allied Health Competency Model
- Who’s the Hero? An Allied Health Story
- Project: Educational Pathway (education, testing, and credentials)
- Project: Evaluating Your Competencies
- Chapter 2: First Responders and Emergency Personnel
- First Responders: EMT/Paramedic
- Surgical Technologists
- Perfusionist
- Project: Ethics and Responsibilities of EMTs
- Project: Exploring Allied Health Careers
Unit 2: Art and Technology
- Chapter 1: Medical Arts and Special Skills
- Medical Arts and Special Skills: Medical Illustrator
- Medical Arts and Special Skills: Orthotists and Prosthetists
- Medical Arts and Special Skills: Art Therapist
- Project: Medical Illustration/Emergency Medicine Career Comparison
- Project: Communication Research and Report
- Chapter 2: Therapists and Technologists
- Therapists and Technologists: Respiratory Therapists and Cystic Fibrosis
- Therapists and Technologists: Radiologic Technologist and Situs Inversus
- Therapists and Technologists: Polysomnographic Technologists and Sleep Apnea
- Project: Cystic Fibrosis Report
- Project: Polysomnographic Technologist (PT) Scenario
Unit 3: Exercise and Patient Evaluation
- Chapter 1: Exercise Science
- Exercise as Medicine and the Exercise Physiologist
- Kinesiotherapy and the U.S. Veteran Returning from Afghanistan
- Fitness Instruction and the New Year’s Resolution
- Project: Day in the Life
- Project: Research on VA and Their Services
- Chapter 2: Evaluating the Patient
- Audiologists and the Hip Hop Concert
- Electro-Neurodiagnostic (END) Technologist and the Nervous System
- Cardiovascular Technologist
- Project: The Hip Hop Mogul
- Project: Epilepsy Research Paper
Unit 4: Health Informatics and Health Administration
- Chapter 1: Health Informatics and Medical Coding
- Health Informatics, Data Acquisition, and Medical Coding
- Dental Informatics
- Telemedicine and Mobile Computing Informatics
- Project: Medical Coding Ethics
- Project: Online Symptom Analysis
- Chapter 2: Hospital Administrator/Health Care Management
- Introduction to Health Care Management
- Introduction to the Hospital Administrator Role
- Applications, Activities, and Case Studies in Hospital and Health Care Management
- Project: Creating an Organizational Chart
- Project: Developing Comparison of Health Care Funding
Unit 5: Counseling, Dietetics, and Choosing a Career in Allied Health
- Chapter 1: Genetic Counseling
- Genetic Counseling: An Introduction to the Career
- Bioinformatics and the Human Genome
- Prenatal Counseling and Anomalies, Choice, Ethics, Science
- Project: Mapping Genes
- Project: Cystic Fibrosis Testing and Ethical Decisions
- Chapter 2: Dietetics and Nutrition
- Dietetics and Nutrition: An Introduction to the Career
- Diet and the Body
- Career Exploration Activities
- Project: Choose My Plate
- Project: The Case Study