Allied Health Professional

Turn your people skills and desire to help others into a fulfilling career in the medical field. Earn an allied health degree at Aims and prepare for roles in a variety of settings in a medical office, clinic or hospital. Allied health professionals can pursue a variety of career paths to offer quality patient care. These include: 

• Medical clinical assistant - Check blood pressure and vital signs and run basic medical tests
• Medical front office assistant - Schedule patient appointments, process insurance and maintain patient files
• Nurse aide - Help patients with activities of daily living
• Phlebotomist - Draw blood and other fluids for medical testing
• Sterile processing technician - Ensure equipment and instrumentation for surgeries are sterilized and in proper repair

Along with doctors, nurses, pharmacists and dentists, allied health professionals play a vital role in the medical field. According to Explore Health Careers, allied health professionals represent more than 60% of all healthcare providers. 

Learn about common diseases and conditions, study medical terminology and learn how to develop a friendly and professional demeanor with patients. Gain practice in conducting a variety of basic medical tests performed in a doctor’s office. Plus, learn how to perform many of the front office functions at a medical practice such as processing health insurance and financial information. 

Choose one of these allied health professional careers and the coursework will give you hands-on training to prepare for opportunities in the medical field. The Aims allied health degree program partners with the following regulatory and certifying organizations: 

• Colorado Department of Regulatory agencies (DORA)
• Healthcare Sterile Processing Association (HSPA)
• National Center for Competency Testing (NCCT)

Using skills assessments and practice tests, you can prepare for national accreditation testing and become a certified allied health professional. After graduation you can sit for exams and become a certified medical clinical assistant, phlebotomy technician, sterile processing technician or nurse aide.

Shannon Navarette, medical assisting instructor at Aims, shares the many healthcare career options you can pursue with an allied health professional associate degree.

Gain the Skills You Need To Prepare for a Job in the Medical Field

The allied health professional classes combine lectures with labs to give you the hands-on learning experience needed to work in this field. 

Learn how to:

• Run basic medical tests including flu and strep throat 
• Take blood pressure, check vital signs, and measure height and weight
• Help patients with daily living activities (feeding, toileting, bathing, etc.)
• Draw blood and other bodily fluids
• Understand and verify health insurance coverage and coding
• Prepare and maintain instruments and equipment used for surgical cases

In addition to your medical studies and hands-on training, the allied health degree program also teaches you the important soft skills that employers are seeking. Gain practice developing rapport with patients in scenarios designed to help you think on your feet. Learn how to present a professional demeanor and remain calm in situations where patients may be scared or worried.