IN PHYSIOTHERAPY & ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSION
Since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020, there has been a seismic shift in healthcare delivery. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought challenges but also opportunities.
We are living in unprecedented times. Life is moving in directions which we cannot imagine. We are moving with the twists and turns in this topsy turvy world. The health sector has only gained further encouragement in recent times.
As the Covid 19 pandemic is taxing the medical system globally, there is a huge demand for healthcare professionals worldwide. The field of health sciences includes a broad category of diverse disciplines encompassing human healthcare with the integration of science, engineering, and most of all technology.
Life after pandemic will not remain the same. We will experience a new normal and new way of life. People will be forced to practice new habits resulting in significant changes in their lifestyle. Health and wellbeing will take the center stage. Governments will redefine their health care policies and build future ready infrastructure to manage adversities. Universities will encourage professional more on research and development to prepare for the future as well self-sustainability.
It’s true that in every adversity there is new opportunity. Coming year will have a boom in the healthcare industry with very aggressive growth in demand for allied health professionals and physiotherapists. This demand will encourage a lot of youngsters to choose Health care as the sunrise profession for the future.
Better social recognition, High disposable incomes and an urge to contribute to society will attract a lot of young talent to this industry.
When a student reaches a stage to choose a career, the foremost thing everyone wants to achieve is success. A successful career can be achieved only when we choose the right options. Many sectors in health are untapped. Especially courses like Physiotherapy and allied health sciences.
Aspirants choose medical education for a number of reasons, like have a diverse medical career opportunities, finding jobs anywhere in the world, alleviate people’s pain and sufferings, health professionals are high in demand, careers in healthcare offer high salaries and job safety, find new cures and treatment techniques through research etc
Health professionals like physiotherapists, Occupational therapists etc or Allied health professionals like Respiratory Therapists, Medical Laboratory Technologist, Medical Imaging Technologists, Perfusion Technologists etc works with the interdisciplinary team and play a key role in almost all areas and departments of hospitals.
This is because the rise in technology in health care, blood tests, MRI, CT have now become integral to treatment and medical practitioners heavily rely on the accuracy of these reports to diagnose and prescribe treatments. Consequently, with rising diseases and pandemics like COVID-19, where diagnosis and specialized testing is vital, job opportunities would naturally increase.
Physiotherapists who work in primary healthcare facilities will likely play a major role in the management of patients admitted to hospital with confirmed or suspected COVID-19.
Rehabilitation delivered by the physiotherapist is tailored to patient needs and depends on the conscious state, psychological status and physical strength of the patient. It incorporates any active and passive therapy that promotes movement and includes mobilization. Role of Physiotherapists marked heavily in ICU due to pandemic, with the main change in practice being the routine use of full Personal Protective Equipment while working within the ICU environment. A recent review suggests that several established physiotherapy techniques can be safely applied in these patients to reduce atelectasis and improve outcomes.
Physiotherapy has an onus of being in demand even before the pandemic. Well that said, what this Covid-19 has done to up the demand. Chest physiotherapy is a lifesaving treatment in the. This is one of the reasons physiotherapists got into demand. Secondly the very nature of immunity is raised with good exercising.
So, the adage goes “a Physiotherapist adds life to the years” has only got better in today s world. Around the globe, the profession has been noticed for Respiratory rehabilitation or otherwise.
Moving on to Allied services, there have been many allied courses namely perfusion technology Respiratory therapy, Operation technology, Hospital Administration, Anesthesia technology and the list goes on. These fields have also gained importance in recent times.
Due to the patient overload, and the excellence required for every life, it’s the experts in allied fields that put in their services. When it comes to administration, there has been mismanagement when things haven’t been handled well. Hence a degree in future will definitely increase the prospects to get jobs in the health sector.
Job opportunities have increased by leaps and bounds both in India and abroad. People are becoming aware of these professions. Many of them approach these professionals directly. Ultimately the service rendered is immense.
As frontline support, allied health professionals provide diagnostic, therapeutic, preventive, curative, and rehabilitative services, which is critical in treating patients with COVID-19 and improving their quality of life. The allied health professionals include; Medical Laboratory Technologist, Respiratory Therapist, Optometrist, Audiology & Speech-Language Pathologist, Health Information Managers, Health Data Analyst, Clinical Nutritionist, Medical Imaging Technologist, Emergency Medicine Technologist, Perfusion Technologist, Cardiovascular Technologist, etc.
Allied health domain includes a wide range of disciplines, where each discipline is unique and spread across the hospital and healthcare industry and provides an opportunity for prospective students to choose ‘allied health profession’ as a career. The allied health is the only domain where the students, depending on their interest, get many options to choose, whether to work in a hospital, industry, academic institution, research organization, rehabilitation centers, home care, or work as a freelancer.
The career graph and the compensation go higher and higher with the achievement of Diploma, Bachelors, Masters, Doctorate with years of experience in delivering quality patient care. Last two decades, the country has witnessed an increase in the number of diseases and outbreaks among the population and that has given rise in the number of hospitals and specialized clinics to reach out to the population and provide quality healthcare. But to do so, they require trained and skilled allied health professionals to provide diagnostic, therapeutic, preventive, curative, and rehabilitative services. The future healthcare job opportunities would be mainly for those who have earned credentials in the allied health domain.
The estimate of many professional surveys indicated half of the total healthcare jobs as allied-health jobs. Health information managers and health data analyst provide patient data for seamless patient care; medical imaging technologist operates sophisticated diagnostic imaging equipment and generates report require for continuous care; public health professionals contribute for improving public health outcomes; respiratory therapist performs respiratory care modalities in ICU and take care of patients respiratory dysfunction, clinical nutritionist decide on the diet and suitable food intake for improving the health and immunity of the patient.
It will be important for the talents to attain new skills to move from being generalist to specialist. Specialization will become a new normal .So continuous learning and upgrading will be the need of the hour. Brands will play a bigger role in attracting the right target audience. So it is important for the professionals to focus on brand building. The ever increasing demands on health care, rehabilitation workers, researchers and allied health workers would see a boom in the employment market. Embrace the future and make your mark in serving the nation and mankind on whole.
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