Who Are Allied Health Professionals?

Exceptional patient care requires the expertise of specialized healthcare professionals. At Assured Nursing, we seek highly trained individuals to staff our allied health team. We understand their work is important to ensure the best possible outcomes for our patients. Allied health professionals are an integral part of the healthcare system, and there’s a growing demand for them to support medical staff. Understanding what opportunities are available for allied health professionals can help you decide whether it’s the right career for you.

Allied health encompasses a broad group of health professionals who use scientific principles and evidence-based practice for the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of acute and chronic diseases; promote disease prevention and wellness for optimum health and apply administration and management skills to support health care systems in a variety of settings. The professions included as allied health vary from country to country; however, estimates have suggested that as much as 60% of the U.S. healthcare workforce may be classified as allied health. Allied health plays an essential role in the delivery of health care and related services in the U.S. and throughout the world.

Allied health professionals are concerned with the identification, diagnostic evaluation, and treatment of acute and chronic diseases and disorders; provision of dietary and nutrition services; rehabilitation services; and the management and operation of health systems. Allied health professionals apply scientific principles and evidence-based practice in order to optimize patient or client outcomes. Allied health professionals must also attend to the prevention of disease and the management of patients with chronic disease. Thus, the scope of allied health practice extends to the individual, the family, the community, and public education; many allied health professions specialize in the promotion of optimum function and health and the improvement of health-related quality of life. In addition, healthcare administration and health systems management are important components of allied health.

Types of Allied Health Professionals

Allied health professionals include a wide range of health providers. If you’re considering an eventual career in health care, you might want to take a closer look at some of these allied health roles. This overview can help give you a better understanding of what opportunities are out there for you.

• Primary Care Provider. A primary care provider works at a clinic or institution and often is the first point of contact for patients and health care professionals. This may be in an urgent care clinic, pharmacy, or community health center. Primary care providers often work alongside physicians and work to diagnose and treat illnesses in patients. Some of the allied health professionals who work in primary care are dental hygienists, nutrition supervisors, pharmacists, community health professionals, health care technicians, and certified nursing assistants.
• Health Promotion. Some allied health professionals provide education on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Many work in community centers and nonprofit organizations to educate the masses, particularly the underserved populations. Some may work for the government, informing citizens about health-related issues and helping establish healthcare policies. Businesses may hire health promotion professionals to visit their offices to discuss health conditions and practices. Some jobs for health promotion allied health professionals include environmental health specialists, health educators, dietitians or nutritionists, and health coordinators.
• Rehabilitative Professionals. Rehabilitative professionals help patients restore function to their bodies, minds, and emotional well-being. Patients come to these professionals after having a traumatic injury or a mental or physical illness. Patients typically have a series of appointments with a rehab professional to help them regain their abilities. Some jobs that a rehab allied health professional may include are, occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychologists, respiratory therapists, social worker, and speech pathologists.
• Diagnostic Professionals. Diagnostic professionals are allied health professionals who use diagnostic machinery, like X-ray machines and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines, to help diagnose patients with internal diseases or injuries. They often are technicians who train with specific machinery. They may work in hospitals or in offices that specialize in running diagnostic tests. Some jobs that diagnostic professionals may include are radiology technician, ultrasound technician, medical sonographer, nuclear medicine technologist, and cardiovascular technician.

Where Do Allied Health Professionals Work?

Many allied health professionals work with physicians and nurses in hospitals or clinics. They have access to patients and are present during their treatment. Administrative professionals also may be in the hospital to perform administrative tasks and duties. Many diagnostic professionals work in hospitals to operate or use the health care devices, equipment or machinery to do their jobs. At hospitals, allied health professionals often work in teams that include other allied health professionals, physicians, and nurses when treating patients. A patient’s physicians and health care team may call an allied health professional to consult, so even if an allied health professional primarily works outside a hospital or clinic, they may still perform some of their duties there.

Some allied health professionals work in private practices. Professionals like physical and mental health therapists, nutritionists, and dietitians can set up their own practices. They often are specialists whom patients approach after their primary care health professionals recommend further tests or treatment. These specialists typically work in their own offices but may have close ties with local hospitals, clinics, or other private practices where they can send and receive referrals or provide consultations.

Allied health professionals who have jobs that are primarily administrative or involve the use of online databases and billing often work from home. For example, medical billers can access financial records from their home computers. This is becoming increasingly popular as technology increases the ability to access records and databases from anywhere. Other allied health professionals, such as medical writers, medical coders, and transcriptionists, also can work in home settings.

A List of Allied Health Professionals

Professions that are often listed as “allied health” include many of the well-known non-nurse, non-physician health care providers including audiologists and speech-language pathologists; physical therapists, occupational therapists and respiratory therapists; diagnostic medical personnel (medical laboratory scientists, cytogenetic technologists, diagnostic molecular scientists, histotechnologists, and pathologists’ assistants); imaging specialists (radiographers, nuclear medicine technologists, and sonographers); nutritionists and dietitians; and physician assistants. Others often included in allied; emergency medical personnel (EMTs, paramedics); exercise science professionals (athletic trainers, exercise physiologists, Kinesio therapists ); health information technologists; health educators (asthma educators, diabetes educators); counselors (genetic counselors, mental health counselors, family therapists); specialists in cancer diagnosis and treatment (medical physicists, medical dosimetrists, and radiation therapists); There are also a very large number of less well-known healthcare professions generally considered as allied health.

Our commitment to helping you find top-tier healthcare jobs means that you have the opportunity to establish lasting relationships with premier hospitals, surgery centers, physician offices, medical centers, and clinics in your desired location. With over 25 years of experience staffing a wide range of allied health roles, Assured Nursing is the perfect choice for allied health professionals nationwide. Our team of expert recruiters are eager to help you find the perfect role that caters to your skills and qualifications, whether it’s within rehabilitation facilities, surgical centers, long-term acute care, or other areas. Start your allied health career with Assured Nursing today!