Statewide articulation for allied health: a conceptual model in action

Under the auspices of the Kentucky Council on Higher Education, and with the aim of delineating issues in allied health education and making recommendations for alleviating the issues, an indepth, two-year study was completed in 1975. The primary recommendations pertained to the development of a statewide plan for allied health education that would result in an articulated statewide system permitting entry and exit of prepared personnel at a variety of levels and improving inter-institutional efforts to share educational resources. In the following four years a foundation was laid for developing the system. An articulated system of allied health education was developed in six disciplinary clusters to serve as a model for other states: clinical laboratory, dental auxiliaries, dietetics/nutrition, rehabilitation therapies, radiological science, and respiratory therapy programs. All levels of programs within each discipline cluster existing in Kentucky are included in the system. The study includes a design phase and an implementation phase. During the design phase, six discipline advisory groups developed articulation models for the programs in each discipline. Implementation phase accomplishments include signed transfer agreements, development of model and core curricula, design for graduate follow-up, publications, development of manpower models, and increased cooperation among project participants.