There are 14 allied health professional roles, including physiotherapist, prosthetist and therapeutic radiographer just to name a few. And they all have one thing in common: they play a vital part in treating, rehabilitating and improving the lives of patients.
Hear from some of those in an allied health profession:
Victoria
Sean
Ashley
Victoria was an Officer in the Royal Engineers for 17 years before deciding to leave the Forces for an Allied Health Profession. She recently gained a degree as an Operating Department Practitioner from the University of Leicester
Sean served as a Gunner with 26 Regiment Royal Artillery for 6 years, leaving the Army in January 2014. He then decided to pursue a career as a physiotherapist.
Ashley served as a trainee Electronics Technician in the British Army before leaving it in 2000. He then completed a BSc degree in Dietetics and pursued an allied health profession. Ashley is now a critical care specialist dietitian and is currently heavily involved in supporting COVID-19 patients.
David
Ben
Christopher
David served in the Royal Marines until being medically discharged in 2012 due to a series of injuries. After completing a degree in Physiotherapy, he now works as a junior rotational physiotherapist at his local NHS trust.
Ben was a Lance Corporal in the 9/12 Lancers regiment of the British Army, leaving it in 2005. After coming into contact with Occupational Therapists, he felt the role might be right for him and it turned out to require many of the qualities he had learned in the Army.
Christopher Knight has successfully transitioned to a rewarding career in the NHS as an apprentice psychological wellbeing practitioner (PWP) and cognitive behavioural therapist in NHS Talking Therapies after serving in the Royal Military Police.
For more information on a career in the allied health professions, visit the health careers website.