When you think of patient-facing jobs, does your mind jump to doctors and nurses? It might surprise you that an estimated  60% of US healthcare jobs are actually allied health positions.

Broadly speaking, allied health encompasses the jobs that fall outside the traditional healthcare professions of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and dentists. And unlike the required medical school to become a surgeon or physician, educational requirements for allied health can range from on-the-job training to graduate degrees. Some of these jobs are state-regulated and require special licensing or certifications while others depend more on what employers require.

Allied health includes a diverse range of professions, from surgical technologists to dental hygienists to medical billers. Though it’s difficult to provide a concrete allied health definition, most experts agree that the sector can be divided into three groups: 

• primary care workers

• health promotion, administrative and rehabilitative workers

• diagnostic professionals (e.g. laboratory technicians and MRI technicians).