Press the print button on your browser.
Click here to return to the previous page.
Health Care Careers e-Letter, July 2008
From the Editor: A head start to health care careers for high school students
- New data book based on survey: Please complete it now!
- Featured profession: Dentist
- Featured program: U at Buffalo (SUNY), dentistry program
- New York Health Careers Web site expands
- Recruiting rural, minority medical professionals starts early
- A hot summer deserves a cool job in health care
- Submit your proposal for arts in health care grants
- Apply now for health policy fellowship
- For many patients, music beats meds in pain relief
- New group promotes professionalism within health care teams
- Nuclear medicine technologist receives research grant
- Plan to attend NN2 meeting in Baltimore this October
- Disaster medicine course available online
Subscribe to this e-letter.
From the Editor: A head start to health care careers for high school students
In our June issue, we asked, "To help college freshmen get a jump on their health care education, what should the model curriculum of a high school health science look like? What content should be included? What are the current gaps in learning that need to be addressed?"
Thanks to all for your insightful responses. Probably the number-one suggestion was the importance of shadowing/internship/service learning/real-life exposure to health care.
In addition to igniting interest among those kids who'll be our future health professionals, it can also serve the useful purpose of a reality check for those who would be better off choosing a different field. (Sort of a negative success, but a success nonetheless.)
The recent National AHEC Organization meeting in Denver was a gold mine of information on successful Area Health Education Center initiatives throughout the country to "prime the pump" of future health professionals (stay tuned for more on that august event in our, um, August issue).
Some of the suggestions received for specific curricula included:
-
Medical terminology
-
Biology, chemistry, math (including algebra and trigonometry), physics, geology--"the tougher, the better!"
-
Anatomy, physiology
-
First aid, preventive medicine
-
Medicare and Medicaid coverage
-
CPT or ICD9 codes
-
Critical thinking, not just rote memory
-
Logic (rational, deductive, and inductive reasoning)
-
Reading, writing
-
Foreign language skills
-
Computer skills
-
Professional behaviors (attendance, interaction with patient or health care team, dress code etc.)
One comment was particularly perceptive: "The smartest and brightest typically get the attention of educators. But there are students in the other 80 percent that have enough interest, desire, and curiosity to become a member of our future health care workforce."
Here's to the counselors, teachers, advisors, mentors, and health professionals who help find the hidden gems among our youth, polish them, and turn them into the next generation of caregivers.
Best regards,
Fred Donini-Lenhoff, editor
1. New data book based on survey: Please complete it now!
The new Health Professions Education Data Book includes 30 tables of data for academic year 2006-2007, including number of programs and enrollments, attrition, and graduates by occupation, state/province, and race/ethnic origin and gender.
To order the publication in Adobe Acrobat pdf format, e-mail us at meded@ama-assn.org.
The price is $20 for AMA members or directors of health professions programs and $40 for nonmembers.
The data in this publication are based on the AMA's annual Survey of Health Professions Education Programs -- have you completed yours?
If not, please contact Dorothy Grant-Bryant at dorothy.grant-bryant@ama-assn.org (312 464-4936) for login information.
NOTE: Respondents to this year's survey will be entered in monthly drawings to win a complimentary copy of The Art of JAMA (list price $70), with full-color reproductions of a wide range of artwork from the world's finest museums.
And congratulations to Debbie Shaffer, RN, director of the medical assistant program at Southeastern Community College (West Burlington, IA), the winner of this month's drawing!
2. Featured profession: Dentist
In June, we featured three fields that play a crucial role in the dentistry profession:
-
Dental assistant
-
Dental hygienist
-
Dental laboratory technician
This month, we focus on the profession of dentistry itself.
Check out these informative links, from the AMA (53KB) and the American Dental Association, respectively, for more information on education and careers in the field.
Also, be sure to consult the AMA's chart of health care career income ranges, for salary in this and other health professions fields.
3. Featured program: U at Buffalo (SUNY), dentistry program
Each issue we profile a randomly selected educational program from the Health Care Careers Directory. This month we feature the dentistry program at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York.
Established in 1892 with 46 students and 10 faculty, the school has expanded its programs and scope over the years. Today, it offers education and training leading to the DDS, MS, and PhD degrees, as well as certificates of proficiency in seven specialty practice areas.
The school is also one of five institutions in New York state participating in the Minority Dental Faculty Development Program, with funding from the American Dental Education Association and the W K Kellog Foundation.
4. Distance learning successful in health informatics education
A study comparing distance-learning and on-campus health informatics students found that distance students perform academically as well as their on-campus counterparts when comparing final GPA scores and Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) certification exam scores.
The study's authors conclude that "distance learning is a viable alternative to the traditional face-to-face instruction that has dominated healthcare education."
5. Recruiting rural, minority medical professionals starts early
The Colorado Rural Health Scholars Program allows sophomores and juniors get a glimpse of what is involved in the medical field (Craig Daily Press, June 4).
Similarly, the AMA Doctors Back to School program targets minority pupils and encourages them to consider a career in health care (American Medical News, June 9).
6. A hot summer deserves a cool job in health care
Everybody wants to have a good job, but it's even better to have a cool job.
The allhealthcare.com Web site recently came out with a list of the 10 coolest jobs in health care. The list includes athletic trainer (#2), art therapist (#3), and medical illustrator (#6).
7. Submit your proposal for arts in health care grants
Johnson & Johnson (J&J), in partnership with the Society for the Arts in Healthcare (SAH), seeks to promote the use of the arts to enhance the health care experience for patients, their families, and caregivers.
Since 2001, J&J/SAH have provided funding to 115 programs in the US and Canada representing leading models and initiatives in high-quality health care through the use of arts.
Proposals are now being sought from health care and/or arts organizations that have established arts in health care programs.
Letter of Inquiry Deadline: August 8
8. Apply now for health policy fellowship
The Association for Prevention Teaching and Research (APTR) and the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP), US Department of Health and Human Services are accepting applications for the ehealth fellowship as part of the APTR-ODPHP Health Policy Fellowship Program .
This newly offered fellowship offers opportunities in public health planning as well as federal initiatives in ehealth and health communication. Fellows will gain leadership experience working in the Federal government and training alongside leading experts in health policy and health communication.
Deadline for submissions is July 25; fellows would start in early to mid summer or early fall, 2008.
9. For many patients, music beats meds in pain relief
As a growing number of studies show the beneficial effect of music in healing and pain relief, about one third of US health facilities offer some type of music to patients ("Music provides healing grace note for hospital patients," USA Today, June 17).
"Often, music therapy is more cost-effective than administering medication, especially for patients with anxiety, sleep disturbances or pain," Al Bumanis, spokesman for the American Music Therapy Association, told USA Today.
10. New group promotes professionalism within health care teams
The importance of effective health care teams is continuing to receive increased attention. Along with the National Board of Medical Examiners, eight health care professions associations, representing dentistry, physical therapy, medicine, and others, are collaborating to promote the understanding and practice of inter-disciplinary professionalism.
The group's initial work is focused on identifying behaviors common to all health professions that reflect professional behavior in health care teams.
11. Nuclear medicine technologist receives research grant
Congratulations to Donna Lee Mason, MS, CNMT, RT(N), assistant professor of nuclear medicine technology in the Nuclear Medicine Department at Robert Morris University, on receiving a $6,000 research grant from the American Society of Radiologic Technologists Education and Research Foundation.
Mason's research project is titled "Perspectives from Nuclear Medicine Technologists: Should Parents Be Permitted in the Nuclear Medicine Imaging Suite during Procedures? "
12. Plan to attend NN2 meeting in Baltimore this October
Mark your calendars to attend the annual meeting of the National Network of Health Career Programs in Two-Year Colleges (NN2) in Baltimore, Maryland, October 8-11.
Hosted by the Community College of Baltimore County, the meeting will focus on the theme "Access, Advocacy, and Accountability." George Boggs, PhD, president of the American Association of Community Colleges, will be the keynote speaker, delivering the next presentation in the Norman Clark National Issues lecture series.
Join NN2 at the historic Tremont Plaza Suites Hotel, just a short walk from the Baltimore Inner Harbor, for speakers, exhibits, and networking. For a registration form, meeting agenda, or hotel information.
13. Disaster medicine course available online
A new electronic Core Disaster Life Support® course (eCDLS[TM]) is available from the AMA and National Disaster Life Support Foundation, Inc.
Funded by the Department of Homeland Security, eCDLS is an awareness level, all-hazards course for all potential health system responders. The 4-hour course comprises nine modules, a pre-test, and a post-test.
The course is available at no charge. Persons completing the course by September 30, 2008 receive a course completion certificate, a CDLS course manual, the AMA virtual library CD-ROM "Management of Public Health Emergencies," and a CDLS wallet-card.
Want to learn more about graduate medical education?
The Graduate Medical Education (GME) e-Letter is a free monthly e-mail newsletter that covers a wide range of issues affecting GME — everything from resident work hours and health workforce concerns to updates on accreditation activities and development of new subspecialties.
About us...
The Health Care Careers e-Letter is produced by the American Medical Association (AMA).
This periodic newsletter covers educational trends and career-related issues for 77 health professions.
Newsletter readers and contributors include staff of health professions accrediting agencies, educational programs and institutions, professional organizations, certifying/licensing boards and media contacts.
Note: By using any external links on this page, you will be leaving the AMA's Web site. Although the sites are evaluated and reviewed, the AMA cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information that is provided by each of the links, nor does the AMA necessarily endorse the content on any of these links.
Give us your story ideas and feedback
What's happening in the world of health professions? If you have any leads or story ideas, please contact us. Also, let us know what you think about this newsletter—and feel free to forward it to your colleagues.
Direct suggestions, comments, compliments, gripes, to:
Fred Donini-Lenhoff
Medical Education Products
515 N. State St.
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 464-4635
(312) 464-5830 fax
meded@ama-assn.org
Content provided by: Medical Education Products