25 Popular Allied Medical Courses

Down with a disease? A doctor immediately comes to mind. However, it’s allied medical professionals, paramedics, pharmacists, nurses and the like who complete the picture. Who exactly are these allied medical professionals?

- Prabha Dhavala

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) defines them as ‘individuals involved with the delivery of health or healthcare-related services, with qualification and competence in therapeutic, diagnostic, curative, preventive and/or rehabilitative interventions’.

You may be wondering how and where to gain qualifications to make a career for yourself in allied medical fields. Here’s a snapshot of courses to help you take the final call.

They work in multidisciplinary health teams in tandem with doctors, nurses and public health officials in various multidisciplinary settings to promote, protect, treat an individual’s well-being (physical, mental, social, emotional, environmental health).

Allied health professionals are diagnostic medical sonographers, medical technologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, radiographers, respiratory therapists, speech language pathologists, optometrists, physiotherapists, to name a few.

1. Bachelor of Science in Respiratory Therapy (BSc RT)

A respiratory therapist specializes in the evaluation, treatment, education and rehabilitation of patients with respiratory diseases. They provide respiratory care under the supervision of a physician. They are involved in clinical work in the outpatient area, the pulmonary medicine wards, labs. They help in the management of chronic diseases such as COPD, Bronchiectasis, Interstitial Lung Disease, Sleep Apnoea, Asthma and allergies. Respiratory therapists mainly work in labs and ICUs.

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