Brief Description of the Health Professions in the Case Study

Clinical
Laboratory
Sciences

Nurses

Nutrition and
Metabolism

Occupational
Therapy

Physical
Therapy

Physician
Assistant

Physicians

As a Clinical Laboratory Scientist, you become a behind-the-scenes detective in the healthcare

industry, accurately and precisely performing laboratory procedures to provide crucial information
in diagnosing, preventing, and treating diseases. Using the latest in biomedical instruments, Clinical
Laboratory Scientists analyze samples of blood, tissue and body fluids to generate accurate,
reliable test results. The field of CLS is a dynamic, exciting profession that continually changes as
new scientific and medical knowledge is discovered.
Nurses work in almost every healthcare setting available and are often the member of the
healthcare team seen most frequently by patients. They coordinate all care of a patient under the
physician including, but not limited to, medication, wound care, supervision, education and
advocacy for patients needs.

Registered dietitians work in many areas including clinical nutrition, community nutrition,
the food service industry, and research. In the hospital setting, RDs manage patient
nutrition, food allergies, intolerances, texture/consistency modifications, alternative
nutrition such as TPN, and patient education for diets specific to patient needs. RDs may
also work with professional athletes to manage nutrition or in federal programs to
supervise school-based nutrition requirements, WIC, and USDA guidelines.
Occupational Therapists provide rehabilitative services designed to return patients to the highest
level of independence possible following a significant life event. OT utilizes therapeutic goaldirected activities to evaluate, prevent, or correct physical or emotional dysfunction to maximize
function in the life of the individual. Often in a treatment team OTs will be responsible for the
upper extremity and fine motor skills related to participation in activities of daily living.
Physical therapists seek to restore patients to their best quality of life and individual functional
independence through the process of examination, evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis, intervention,
and outcome measures. Physical therapists treat a variety of patients with muscular, skeletal,
neurological, circulatory, and respiratory system disabilities as well as provide prevention
programs for a range of individuals of different ages and physical fitness with the goal of
maintaining optimal health. Physical therapists use many types of exercise and physical modalities
in the treatment of their patients, including gait and assistive/adaptive device training.
The PA may be delegated a wide range of medical tasks and skills. The scope of responsibilities for
a PA include interviews and examinations, synthesis of laboratory and care record data, diagnosis
& treatment, and follow-up care. The PA works directly under the supervision of the physician. The
physician, therefore, remains medically, legally and administratively responsible for the patient;
the PA is directly and administratively responsible to the physician.
Physicians can work in a variety of settings, including the hospital, private practice, research lab, or
radiology clinic. Because of the many different clinical settings, they have a wide range of
responsibilities, mainly depending on the area of medicine they work in. Their main obligation is to
diagnose and treat patients for a variety of medical conditions, along with referring to other
physicians for more specific care, or ordering tests and imaging to provide patients with treatment
options. They are responsible for promoting health education, working with other medical
professions to provide the best possible patient care, and carrying out procedures when necessary.

Brief Description of the Health Professions in the Case Study

Rehabilitation
Sciences

Respiratory
Care

Rehabilitation sciences focuses on recovery, physical activity, and nutrition. This school is designed
to educate and train future rehab scientists, increase the quality and quantity of rehab research,
provide structured research experiences, and disseminate research. It contains the Rehabilitation
Research Career Development Program (RRCD), Center for Rehabilitation Research using Large
Datasets (CRRLD), a PhD program, Postdoctoral training, and a seminar series and seed grants
Work as part of the health care team in hospitals, intensive care units, operating rooms, asthma
education programs, air and ambulance transport teams, cardiopulmonary diagnostic laboratories,
rehabilitation facilities, and home care agencies. Respiratory Care Practitioners perform
therapeutic and life support procedures, such as oxygen and aerosol procedures, airway clearance
therapies, ventilator management and lifesaving cardiopulmonary resuscitation. In addition, they
perform pulmonary function tests, blood gas analysis, sleep studies and educate families and
patients about living with lung disease.

This document was a UTMB IP Scholars Program Final Project for the following members:
Sara Arnold, PAS
Alyssa Auch, OTS
Nicole Choe, OTS
Maegan Hinze, OTS
Laura Kim, SPT
Emma Lowry, OTS
Kaitlyn Nelson, PAS
Alex Winchester, OTS