This book is the fourth in a series designed to provide a current appraisal of the developments in allied health education and research, through original articles contributed by recognized leaders in the health field. The Review of Allied Health Education speaks, through enlightened commentary, to help bind the health professions into a true alliance.

With estimates of their numbers ranging from one million to almost four million people, allied health care personnel make up a large part of the health care work force. Yet, they are among the least studied elements of our health care system. This book describes the forces that drive the demand for and the supply of allied health practitionersâ€"forces that include demographic change, health care financing policies, and career choices available to women. Exploring such areas as credentialing systems and the employment market, the study offers a broad range of recommendations for action in both the public and private sectors, so that enough trained people will be in the right place at the right time.

The Institute of Medicine study Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001) recommended that an interdisciplinary summit be held to further reform of health professions education in order to enhance quality and patient safety. Health Professions Education: A Bridge to Quality is the follow up to that summit, held in June 2002, where 150 participants across disciplines and occupations developed ideas about how to integrate a core set of competencies into health professions education. These core competencies include patient-centered care, interdisciplinary teams, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and informatics. This book recommends a mix of approaches to health education improvement, including those related to oversight processes, the training environment, research, public reporting, and leadership. Educators, administrators, and health professionals can use this book to help achieve an approach to education that better prepares clinicians to meet both the needs of patients and the requirements of a changing health care system.

A valuable appraisal of current developments in the rapidly expanding field of allied health education is provided in these nine original articles by leaders in the field. Most of the articles examine specific areas of training—programs for emergency medical technicians, nurse practitioners, rehabilitation counselors, respiratory therapists, dietitians, and social workers. Others are focused more generally on the burgeoning field of allied health education as a whole. This series seeks, through enlightened and descriptive commentary, to help bind the health professions into a true alliance, and to guide those entering training for careers of human service.