Every year, thousands of students apply to courses such as medicine and pharmacy. These degrees 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.
If your young person is considering the
options available to them, it’s important not to
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.
These types of degrees 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.
Financial support for students studying
for these degrees is also a factor worth
considering. The introduction of the NHS
Learning Support Fund (LSF) in 2020 provided
students on eligible courses with a training
grant of at least £5,000 in each year of study
(subject to terms of the LSF).
It’s important to stress the importance
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 the study of these
degrees at university. Health Education
England’s campaigns have included raising
the profile of the AHPs in the military,
including roles such as radiographers and
operating department practitioners.
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