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Health and Medicine
Chiropody/Podiatry
‘Allied Health Professions – Key players in the healthcare team’ (National Health Service Careers website, 2010)
Chiropodists or podiatrists, dieticians, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, radiographers and speech therapists are all ‘allied health professions’. You must register with the Health Professions Council before you can work in them.
In all of these jobs you work closely with patients, often on a one-to-one basis. You treat patients and help them to live independently.
Each job has a specialist area of work.
- Chiropodists or podiatrists treat feet and lower legs.
- Dieticians give advice on diet.
- Occupational therapists help people with physical or mental health problems to do as much as they can for themselves.
- Physiotherapists use movement, exercise and technology to restore fitness after illness or injury.
- Radiographers identify injuries and diseases (diagnostic radiography), or use radiation to treat illnesses (therapeutic radiography).
- Speech and language therapists help children and adults who have difficulty speaking or communicating with others.
In some jobs, unqualified assistants help professional staff.
To work in any of these jobs you should be responsible, observant, patient and tactful. You should get on with people from all backgrounds and of all ages, and be able to respond to their needs. You must be able to take decisions and work alone.
To qualify for any of these jobs, you need a degree in the appropriate subject. To work as an assistant, you do not need formal qualifications.
Most jobs are in the NHS. There are also jobs in private practice (especially in chiropody or podiatry) and, for physiotherapists, in sports centres.
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