With the exception of doctors and nurses, allied health is a broad term that refers to a wide range of health professions. Allied health professionals, ranging from those who work in ambulances providing medical transport to perfusionists who monitor the heart-lung machines used during pulmonary bypass, are an important part of the medical teams that provide care to patients. As medicine became more complex and a variety of health professions arose to help provide care to patients, employment in this field exploded in the mid-twentieth century.
Members of the allied health professions must have varying levels of education and certification. In some cases, they may have earned master’s or doctoral degrees in their field, allowing them to take certification exams and practice. In other cases, they may have only received rudimentary training and are uncertified. Because some allied health professions are still relatively new, there are no governing bodies in place to clearly define them and begin to establish certification requirements.
Physical therapists, dentists, psychologists, midwives, medical technicians, physician’s assistants, laboratory technicians, medical technologists, medical transporters, paramedics, laboratory technologists, public health advocates, occupational therapists, and audiologists are just a few examples of allied health professionals. Members of each profession offer specialized services to help patients recover from trauma, learn to manage chronic conditions, or cope with the onset of acute conditions.
Allied health professionals can work in a variety of settings, including hospitals, clinics, research facilities, and their own private practices. Because medicine has become so complicated, many patients encounter at least one allied health professional whenever they interact with the health-care system. A patient who requires blood work, for example, will most likely see a phlebotomist for a blood draw, with the blood sample being analyzed a laboratory technologist. Paramedics, radiology technicians, and physical therapists may all interact with someone who arrives at a hospital with a broken leg.