Uni degree question: allied health occupation (1 Viewer)
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Re: best allied health occupation
I have an AHA qualification so may be a little bias. However, when I was doing my placements I thoroughly enjoyed working with the OTs and PTs, as you can do upper and lower limb exercises, take patients on outings to improve their functioning in daily activities, engage with hydrotherapy, conduct timed up and go assessments, perform splinting, work with rehabilitation patients, conduct exercise classes and look at adaptive tools to make life easier i.e. car handle bars, specialised walking frames, kitchen designs, etc.
I didn't mind SLP either (coming from a previous education/ linguistics background) but I enjoyed the more physical work with patients seeing the results more sooner. For SLP you need a good basis of linguistics, syntax, speech disorders, grammar, articulation and pronunciation.
As for dieticians I didn't have much to do with them but basically they looked at nutritional outcomes, seen whether the patient was at risk for developing sarcopenia etc, conducted assessments on fluid and food intake, and prescribed items with health benefits.
Also, I know people who were dental hygienists and didn't really like this area as they believed that there was no scope for further development. Whether this is true or not I cannot answer as I have not been involved in that field. But if you are interested in oral hygiene and teeth you would probably enjoy it.
Ultimately, like others have said choose whichever one you're most interested in and would enjoy. Furthermore, med is certainly not out of the question as there are always other pathways to get in and is interdependent upon your motivation and passion to succeed and make a difference in the lives of others. Plus, there are plenty of UMAT prep books and sites if you still wish to head down the med pathway.
I have an AHA qualification so may be a little bias. However, when I was doing my placements I thoroughly enjoyed working with the OTs and PTs, as you can do upper and lower limb exercises, take patients on outings to improve their functioning in daily activities, engage with hydrotherapy, conduct timed up and go assessments, perform splinting, work with rehabilitation patients, conduct exercise classes and look at adaptive tools to make life easier i.e. car handle bars, specialised walking frames, kitchen designs, etc.
I didn't mind SLP either (coming from a previous education/ linguistics background) but I enjoyed the more physical work with patients seeing the results more sooner. For SLP you need a good basis of linguistics, syntax, speech disorders, grammar, articulation and pronunciation.
As for dieticians I didn't have much to do with them but basically they looked at nutritional outcomes, seen whether the patient was at risk for developing sarcopenia etc, conducted assessments on fluid and food intake, and prescribed items with health benefits.
Also, I know people who were dental hygienists and didn't really like this area as they believed that there was no scope for further development. Whether this is true or not I cannot answer as I have not been involved in that field. But if you are interested in oral hygiene and teeth you would probably enjoy it.
Ultimately, like others have said choose whichever one you're most interested in and would enjoy. Furthermore, med is certainly not out of the question as there are always other pathways to get in and is interdependent upon your motivation and passion to succeed and make a difference in the lives of others. Plus, there are plenty of UMAT prep books and sites if you still wish to head down the med pathway.