George L. Card (Professor of Biological Sciences), Advisor

The paramedical arts refer to the special qualifications and competencies required in individuals who, because of their academic and clinical training, aid and assist physicians, surgeons and other medical professionals in providing quality health care services. Not all persons in allied health occupations must have academic training at the university level, and a few clinical training programs are open to applicants with only secondary school diplomas. But the most rewarding and responsible careers are those based on one or more years of post-secondary education.

Training programs are available at many academic and medical institutions leading to such occupations as medical assistant, ophthalmic assistant, histologic technician, medical laboratory technician, physician's assistant, radiologic technologist, radiation therapy technologist, respiratory therapy technician and respiratory therapist. These training programs include both a classroom or didactic component and an in-service or clinical training component. Some or all of the courses listed in the suggested curriculum in paramedical arts may be applicable toward the didactic component of a particular program. However, any student contemplating transfer to one of the above programs should consult the catalog of the receiving institution in order to plan a program which the receiving institution agrees will satisfy its requirements.

The curriculum suggested below meets the University reuirements for the Associate of Arts degree. (See the Associate of Arts section of this catalog.) It includes the fundamental courses in human biology, chemistry, mathematics, psychology, and communications skills important for the allied health professional, and also satisfies many of the lower-division course requirements for majors in the biological sciences. Consequently, students in the paramedical arts curriculum have considerable latitude for mobility to and from baccalaureate degree programs.

Suggested Course of Study