Shortage of allied health training programs perils staffing

One specific trend noted in health care is the decrease in allied health training programs. A study done in 2004 by the American Medical Association, FutureScan, revealed a 60 percent fall-off since 1985 in clinical laboratory programs, a 30 percent drop in nuclear medicine therapy programs, a 21 percent reduction in students in radiographer programs, and a whopping 67 percent drop in respiratory therapy programs. Such trends indicate that if we don’t work to remedy the problem of fewer training programs, health care providers will find themselves without staff. This predicament will only be exacerbated by the baby boomers, a generation that has begun to retire from the health care professions. 

Source: Health Matters, Bernard Hodes, January 2006


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Ira S Wolfe