1 Elizabeth J. Protas, P.T., Ph.D., FACSM, FAPTA Member, Statewide Health Coordinating Council Vice President and Dean, School of Health Professions University of Texas Medical Branch (409)

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3 What Are the Health Professions? Clinical Laboratory Scientist (Medical Technologist) Radiologic Technologist EMT / Paramedic Physical Therapist Dental Hygienist Respiratory Therapist Medical Records Technologist Medical Assistant Speech-Language Pathologist Audiologist Occupational Therapist Dietitian / Nutritionist Cytogenetic Technologist Dental Laboratory Technologist Respiratory Therapist Physician Assistant etc... Over 200 distinct disciplines that provide direct care to patients or essential services to patients and other care providers

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5 US Dept of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook

Profession Much faster (21% or more) Faster (14- 20% more) About as fast (7-13% more) Slower than Average Clinical Lab Scientist  Physician Assistant  Occupational Therapist  Dental Hygienist  Physical Therapist  Registered Nurse  EMT  Respiratory Therapist  Speech Lang Therapist  Dietician  Dentist  Physician/Surgeon  Dental Lab Technologist  6 US Dept of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook

Profession # Annual Openings# Growth% Growth Physical Therapist 5304,05039% Respiratory Therapist 3902,80039% Dental Hygienist 5303,55038% Registered Nurse 8,56559,60037% Occupational Therapist 3302,35036% Pharmacist 8655,70033% Speech Language Pathologist 5103,10030% Physician 4302,65029% EMT/Paramedic 4803,35028% Clinical Laboratory Scientist 5153,20025% Dentist 2451,10016% 7 Texas Workforce Commission, Data Link, Future Job Growth by Occupation

Profession Metro Non- Border Nonmetro Non-BorderMetro Border Nonmetro Border Dental Hygienist Dentist Primary Care Physician Nurse Practitioner Occupational Therapist Physical Therapist Physician Assistant Psychologist Speech & Language Pathologist Supply Trends Among Licensed Health Professions, Texas,

Profession # Annual Openings 1 # Supplied 2 #/Percent Unfilled Positions 1 Clinical Laboratory Scientist / 52% Dental Hygienist / 39% EMT/Paramedic / 43% Occupational Therapist / 60% Physical Therapist / 71% Physician Assistant / <1% Respiratory Therapist / 7% Speech Language Pathologist (est)339 / 66% Registered Nurse8,5657, / 10% 9 1. Texas Workforce Commission, Data Link, Future Job Growth by Occupation AreaSelection.asp?tableName=Occprj 2. Froeschele, Rick. Economist, Texas Workforce Commission. Personal conversation, March 25, 2009

10 Key Issues related to Health Professions in Texas Maldistribution of the workforce Diversity Aging workforce Education

11 Key Strategies for the Addressing Health Professionsl Workforce Shortages in Texas Strategy 1: Increase the supply of health professionals in Texas Strategy 2: In order to produce more health professionals, educational institutions must be able to: admit more students hire additional faculty increase the number of educational programs

12 Obstacles to Strategies for Addressing Health Professional Workforce Shortages Strategy 1: Increase the supply of health professionals in Texas Obstacles Lack of awareness of the health professions Few pre-professional programs to prepare students for professional programs Stagnant or inadequate funding for educational programs Financial aid is limited, especially for post-baccalaureate entry-level programs (e.g., physical therapy, physician assistant, audiology, speech-language pathology, etc.)

13 Obstacles to Strategies for Addressing Health Professional Workforce Shortages Strategy 2: In order to produce more health professionals, educational institutions must be able to: admit more students, hire additional faculty, increase the number of educational programs Obstacles Lack of awareness of academic careers among health care professionals Heavy faculty workloads Differences between salaries in academia and the industry

14 Obstacles to Strategies for Addressing Health Professional Workforce Shortages Strategy 2: In order to produce more health professionals, educational institutions must be able to: admit more students, hire additional faculty, increase the number of educational programs Obstacles (continued) Cost and time to earn an advanced degree to meet accreditation requirements Late point of entry for faculty careers

15 Recommendations for Addressing Health Professionsl Workforce Shortages Strategy 1: Increase the supply of health professionals in Texas Recommendations Encourage partnerships between high schools, community colleges, universities, and academic health centers to promote allied health professions (e.g., dual credit courses, pre-professional training, etc.) Increase financial aid for students in health professional education programs (grants, scholarships, work study, etc.) Extend student loan forgiveness programs to health professionals; extend loan forgiveness programs in medically-underserved areas

16 Recommendations for Addressing Health Professional Workforce Shortages Strategy 2: In order to produce more health professionals, educational institutions must be able to: admit more students, hire additional faculty, increase the number of educational programs (continued) Recommendations Extend student loan forgiveness programs to health faculty Offer tuition reimbursement program to children of health faculty similar to that offered nursing faculty Offer tuition assistance for health professional faculty who must earn an advanced degree

17 Recommendations for Addressing Access to Quality Health Care (Recommendations from the Professions) Recommendations Expand patients access to dental hygienists to the underserved for triage, preventive care, and education services, e.g., collaborative practice in Head Start centers, schools, rural areas, etc. (TDHA) Increase efficiency and effectiveness of dental care by allowing dental hygienists to administer local anesthesia (TDHA) Require training for expanded practice responsibilities of dental assistants (TDHA) Allow patients full, direct access to physical therapists for therapy services (TPTA)

18 Recommendations for Addressing Access to Quality Health Care (Recommendations from the Professions) Recommendations (continued) Increase reimbursement and grants to improve emergency medical services in medically underserved, rural, and border communities (TAA) Fund emergency medical service training in underserved, rural, and border communities (TAA) Require licensure for medical technologists and clinical laboratory scientists to practice in Texas (TACLS) Make no changes to the practice act for respiratory therapy (TSRC)

19 Recommendations for Addressing Access to Quality Health Care (Recommendations from the Professions) Recommendations (continued) Allow patients full, direct access to physical therapists for diagnosis of movement disorders and therapy services (TPTA) Increase reimbursement and grants to improve emergency medical services in medically underserved, rural, and border communities (TAA) Fund emergency medical service training in underserved, rural, and border communities (TAA) Increase dual credit high school courses to include pre-health topics, e.g., anatomy and physiology, pharmacology (TxHIMA)

20 Recommendations for Addressing Access to Quality Health Care (Recommendations from the Professions) Recommendations (continued) Increase dual credit high school courses to include pre-health topics, e.g., anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, medical terminology, pathophysiology (TxHIMA)

21 Professional Associations Consulted Texas Society of Allied Health Professions (TSAHP) Texas Physical Therapy Association (TPTA) Texas Association for Clinical Laboratory Science (TACLS) Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (TSHA) Texas Ambulance Association (TAA) Texas Dental Hygiene Association (TDHA) Texas Society of Medical Assistants (TMA) Texas Health Information Management Association (TxHIMA) Texas Society for Respiratory Care (TSRC)

22 Professional Associations Consulted Texas Academy of Physician Assistants (TAPA) Texas Society of Radiologic Technologists (TSRT) Texas Occupational Therapy Association (TOTA) American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA)