Allied health applicant pools and employment opportunities--1987

This study sought information relative to student capacity and enrollment, quality of applicants, numbers in the applicant pool, and program directors' estimates of the job market and salaries, as well as overall impressions of their respective professions in six allied health disciplines: medical technology, physical therapy, radiologic technology, occupational therapy, dietetics/nutrition, and medical record administration. Of 105 four-year colleges and universities surveyed, 252 programmatic responses were received from 83 institutions (79% response rate). Generally, the status of these six allied health professions appeared very good, with a 2 to 1 overall ratio of applicants to graduates, and an almost 6 to 1 ratio in physical therapy. The average GPA for incoming allied health students was 3.01. Job opportunities were considered plentiful, and 93% of program directors rated the overall outlook for their respective professions as good to excellent. However, there were four areas that program officials may wish to examine more closely: excessive length of some professional programs, numbers of minorities in the institutions surveyed, entry-level salaries for several professions, and a somewhat less positive atmosphere in medical technology as compared to the other five disciplines.