While you still can’t get a legitimate M.D. online, you can study over the Internet for numerous other degrees and certificates in the allied health fields. Modern medicine and fitness are supported by vast amounts of technology, administration, and professional assistantship, all of which are in high demand and easily studied online. Why not become part of this growing field with a low-cost education you can undertake from anywhere?
How Online Programs Work in Allied Health
Universities and colleges are the primary institutions providing this kind of training. By and large, you can get into a net-based allied health program just as you would any campus-based program: register, enroll, and so on. Cindy Glewwe, the Health Information Technician (HIT) Programming Coordinator at Rasmussen College asserts that when it comes to institutional procedures, “everything is identical from admission to graduation” for both online and campus students. Most people with a high school diploma or GED will qualify for undergraduate study; graduate schooling will have higher requirements. “Along with an undergraduate degree,” prospective students for the online Health Administration MBA at Benedictine University “must have at least two years of work experience,” says Sharon Borowicz, Ph.D., Chair of Benedictine’s MBA programs. “Our average student has seven.”
Beyond that, courses and programs will vary based on how much of content is available over the Internet and how you access it. Michael Rogich, Ph.D., Director for the Center of Online Learning at Saint Leo University, states that all of their B.A. in Business Administration for Healthcare course content, except textbooks, is online, including “video lectures, discussion questions, and homework assignments,” and students’ progress is “evaluated through [online] tests, projects, or papers. Each class is as interactive as possible through our message boards.” John Ryan Cottam, Instructional Developer for the Rueckert-Hartman School of Health Professions (RHSHP) at Regis University (which offers a highly unusual Transition Doctorate of Physical Therapy online) touts their courses’ “media-rich enhancements,” citing as an example “video of faculty performing manipulations on patients.” Borowicz says the Benedictine MBA is “fully online; yes, books are needed, but several courses use eBooks.” She goes on to state that students have “no necessity to visit the campus, although we welcome you to stop by if you’re visiting the area.”
While Borowicz avers that their degree requires “no practicum and no thesis,” this is very much the exception to the rule. Most online allied health programs will understandably require, or at least encourage, some kind of internship, practicum, or other field work at a clinical site. Rogich says that “if a student wants to arrange an internship, we can substitute that for one of the standard classes.” Glewwe highlights the “internship portion” of the Rasmussen HIT degree, which takes “sixty hours toward the end of the program.” Their students intern at “hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, veterans’ clinics, and insurers such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield.”
Online Schools and Programs Offered for Allied Health Students
Many schools offer allied health certificates and degrees online or by distance learning. In particular, here are a few net-based programs of study accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP):
- Independence University’s California College for Health Sciences awards a Respiratory Therapist associate degree, among many other programs that don’t yet have similar accreditation.
- Jackson Community College confers various Diagnostic Medical Sonographer certificates and associate degrees.
- Southeast Community College teaches Surgical Technologist and Radiologic Technologist programs (you’ll need to make arrangements with clinical sites to do an internship or practicum).
- The University of Texas Medical Branch offers a Specialist in Blood Bank Technology graduate certificate. They also provide numerous other degrees and certificates that aren’t yet accredited in the same way, including a Bachelors in Applied Technology in Health Services Technology (BAT-HST), an RN to BSN program, and Nursing Education and Health Science Technology Teacher graduate certificates.
Paying for an Online Education
For the most part, you can get the same types of financial aid for studying allied health subjects online as you would for studying on campus. Benedictine students can get the “standard loans and grants through FAFSA,” reports Borowicz; the university offers “no scholarships [of its own], but the program is exploring that.” At Saint Leo, Rogich points out that “Florida students can get the Florida Resident Access Grant (FRAG),” and he also mentions that many students, no matter where they’re from, can take advantage of “tuition reimbursement from employers and military educational benefits.”
Besides the scholarships listed at MedicalSchools.com: Medical and Allied Health Financial Aid & Scholarships and at CampusRN.com, you should explore aid from all kinds of sources, including:
- Professional associations, such as The American Occupational Therapy Association.
- Companies associated with the field, such as Benjamin Cummings, a publishing company for anatomy and physiology textbooks.
- Current or future employers such as Legacy Health System which offers scholarships and loan repayment based on strict guidelines.
- The educational institutions themselves.
Employment in the Allied Health Professions
The allied health field is huge. It includes careers such as anesthesiology; emergency/paramedicine; health administration/management; medical assistantship, illustration, imaging, records, and transcription; pharmacy; sports training; and technology of all kinds (blood bank, cardiovascular, cyto/histo, EEG, health information, lab, etc.). Not all of these can be studied online yet, but most can.
Once you get your certificate or degree, you can pursue jobs the same way you would with any campus-based equivalent. The Bureau of Labor Statistics for the U.S. sees employment in many allied health fields increasing by over 20% nationwide between 2004 and 2014, including 20.2% for medical/clinical lab technologists, 25% for medical/clinical lab technicians, 21.5% for nuclear-medicine technologists, 23.2% for radiologic technologists and technicians, 22.9% for other healthcare technologists, 22.8% for medical and health-services managers, 23.3% for medical transcriptionists, 27.3% for EMTs and paramedics, 28.9% for medical-records and health-information technicians, and 34.8% for diagnostic medical sonographers.
It’s not just the sheepskin that matters; other aspects of your education can help you land a position. Glewwe points out that Rasmussen’s HIT degree is approved by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). “If students want to be credentialed [as health-information technicians], they must graduate from an accredited program.”
Who hires online allied health graduates? Borowicz says of Benedictine’s MBAs that “…some go into places with a private [medical] practice, some work in the nutrition field or with pharmaceuticals, but most work in large hospitals.” Glewwe says Rasmussen’s HIT AAS graduates find jobs in “coding, billing, law & ethics, quality improvement, and management.” Talk to your school’s placement office, if it has one, and don’t hesitate to approach people or firms with whom you’d like to work while you’re still studying. Chances are that you’ll be able to find a job even before you graduate.
Summary
“As the population ages, this field is going to expand,” observes Rogich. This is all too true. The proportion of the population that is elderly and needs more medical services will be increasing for years to come. If you want to be one of the people who provides those services, online study is an inexpensive and convenient path to that goal. Borowicz muses that its “primary benefit is flexibility; it’s not less time, it’s flexible time.” Cottam agrees, and adds, “it’s an ideal environment for all types of learners and accommodates to your schedule.” Simply put, using the Internet to get an allied health education is a great way to prepare for a secure career that can immeasurably benefit your community.
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