Each year there are thousands of students applying to courses like medicine and pharmacy. These programmes are fantastic for those interested in becoming doctors or pharmacologists, among others. But competition can be very high. Quite often, students have not considered the wide variety of alternative routes they can pursue or, are simply unaware that they even exist. I will provide a guide to some of these here.
When informing students of the options
available to them, it is important that we do not
forget some of the lesser known - but no less
important - careers in healthcare. The allied
health professions (AHP) are comprised of
fourteen different areas of practice, making
up the third largest workforce in the NHS.
From operating department practitioners and
speech and language therapists to therapeutic
radiographers and dieticians, the skill sets
required are often very similar to those required
for medicine and pharmacy degrees.
Some of the AHPs struggle to recruit more
than others, such as therapeutic radiographers,
podiatrists, and orthoptists. It is these
professions and degree programmes that need
the support of advisors, informing prospective
students of what is available to them at higher
education level.
These types of degree programmes are
regulated by either the Health and
Care Professions Council (HCPC) or General
Osteopathic Council (GOC). This offers
students the opportunity to spend time on
an industrial placement within their three
years of study.
They will become familiar with various
medical environments and experience life
as a professionally autonomous healthcare
practitioner. Due to the collaborative nature of
the healthcare sector, many of the AHPs find
themselves working closely with doctors and
surgeons daily.
Financial support for students studying these
degrees is also a factor worth considering. The
introduction of the NHS Learning Support Fund
(LSF) in 2020 has provided students on certain
eligible courses with a training grant of at least
£5,000 in each year of study (subject to terms
of the LSF). That is certainly worth exploring further and UniTasterDays have additional resources to tell you more.
It is important to stress the importance of
the role these professions play within the
healthcare sector. The work that has been
done to bring attention to these pivotal roles
has resulted in a welcome increase to study
these degrees at university. Health Education
England’s campaigns have included raising the
profile of the AHPs in the military, including
roles as a Radiographer and Operating
Department Practitioner.
We must continue this work to shed light on
the AHPs. To ensure that they are given equal
consideration to courses like medicine and
dentistry when prospective students come to
consider viable career paths within healthcare.
Check out a guide to studying Medicine in Episode 13 of The Uni Guide podcast. A medicine special!
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