Allied Health Insights Vol.1, No.2: Small But Critical Workforces In Allied Health

Welcome to the second edition of Allied Health Insights™, a weekly newsletter published by HealthWork Publishing in collaboration with AHP Workforce. We’re so thrilled to have you with us on this journey, providing a voice and an inclusive community for all Allied Health professionals and professional bodies, worldwide. We’re here for all allied health professions, big and small.

Throughout June and July, we’re exploring the concept of small-but-critical workforces in the Allied Health space.

What do we mean by this? For most people, the term ‘allied health’ conjures an image of a physiotherapist or an occupational therapist, but perhaps not a pedorthist, orthoptist or music therapist. We’d like to highlight these unsung allied health professions—small, quite niche, yet crucial to healthcare. This week, Dr Susan Nancarrow offers her insights into the challenges faced by “small but critical” allied health professions. Small may be beautiful, but sometimes small size creates risks to the sustainability of a profession.

For our professional focus this week, we’re shining a light on pedorthists, an under the radar profession that plays a key role in managing pain, assisting mobility and maintaining independence.