General Purpose: To persuade

 

Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience to be engaged in the policy-making process that informs the clinical training policies of Allied Health students during their clinical training process.

 

Time: 7 min.

 

INTRODUCTION

(Attention)

 

Attention Material/Credibility Material
Imagine spending numerous years in school, taking all prerequisite majors required for a particular program and failing graduate due to lack of training opportunities for full professionalism.
The situation would present a considerable challenge for the students leading to loss of academic motivation.
The outcome would be reduced interest in the subject and a subsequent reduction of professional

Recently I sat for my final examinations and met all the academic requirements needed for one to graduate as a Radiology Technologist. Shockingly, I have read the educational vision propagated by Tony Thurmond in Assembly Bill 387 which was fortunately outvoted. This Bill, if effected as it is, it will deter thousands of Allied Health students from graduating, hugely affect the delivery of medical services and compromise the training of health professionals throughout the state.

 

Tie to the Audience:

One of the people seeking the education in Allied Health programs might be you or someone you know. Furthermore, once or many times in our lifetimes we all become patients seeking medical help and expect to be accorded the best health service.

 

Thesis and Preview
Thesis Statement – The Bill 387 threatens the existence of all Allied Health programs in California as it seeks to force medical institutions to compensate the students for their practical services given to the institutions. The medical facilities already pay the high cost regarding students training hence its most ideal for them to close the opportunities for training than pay additional costs. This Bill will drive professionals from the field, creating an enormous shortage of allied health providers, a scenario which will have a detrimental effect on access to health care.

Today I would like to talk to you about first, allied health professions and programs at community colleges, second, hospitals and students’ clinical hours, third, Assembly Bill 387, and finally, the solution to prevent future educational disaster once Assembly Bill 387 becomes law.

[Transition into body of speech]: I’ll begin by telling you about the allied health professions, their programs at community colleges and how AB387 will affect the training of students pursuing these programs.

 

BODY

(Need)

 

Allied Health professionals that are adequately trained are needed for the provision of quality healthcare.

Main Point #1: A. Allied Health professionals fall into two broad categories: assistants and therapist/technologists.

These professionals’ practice in the fields of health administration and management, dental hygiene, occupational therapy, physical therapy, physician assistants, respiratory therapy, radiation therapy, radiography, just to name few.
To qualify as professionals in these occupations of Allied Health, thousands of students need practical experience during their health educational programs. Such experience will allow them to acquire marketable skills that lead to timely employment.

The Foothill Radiologic Technology program is restricted regarding the number of students that can be accepted based on the number of clinical spots available.

During clinical practice, the California Health and Safety Code and accreditation standards requires a one to one ratio of student to technologist for proper supervision. Therefore, the Foothill program can accept only 23 students at this time (Foothill College, 2017).
In the event that AB 387 becomes law as it is, the community colleges will no longer be able to offer program enrollment without clinical training. Therefore, they will be forced to discontinue those programs.

Main Point #2: The Bill 387 was introduced to the state legislature in 2017 and was pulled from voting (Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography, 2017).

Statement of Need for Action: Allied Health students need practical experience during their education in hospitals and medical facilities under a professional supervisor for professionalism.

Currently, the Assembly Bill 387 is an inactive file, but being a two-year bill, it can be brought back to the floor of the house at any given time.
The bill seeks to force the medical institutions to pay the students a minimum wage for the hours spent at the institution (Cordova, 2017).
Therefore, hospitals will incur additional costs for paying the supervisors as well as the students (Corley, 2017).
The bill will discriminate against the students by limiting their access to practical knowledge, which will be detrimental to their careers.

Description of Problem:

 

Allied Health Students like me need practical experience under a professional supervisor for professionalism.
Millions of students enjoy the available opportunities to acquire marketable skills that lead to instant employment.
The Bill sponsors cites the need for diversity within the student population of allied health programs, as well as the need to remove the bearers for low-income students.
The AB 387 seeks to force the medical institutions to compensate the students for their practical services given to the institutions (California Healthline, 2017).
They assert that low income students do not aspire to these professions because of unpaid clinical hours, hence they want students to be paid the minimum wage for their training.

Signs, Symptoms, Effects of Problem:

The Bill fails to recognize that state and federal laws prohibit students from providing unsupervised patient care.
AB 387 does not recognize that students are not employees. Thus, implementation of the bill would increase health care costs in California without any improvement in quality of that care.
According to the California Hospital Association, the medical facilities in the state offer training to 40,000 students on yearly basis (Foothill College).
Therefore, the hospitals would incur financial burden amounting to millions of dollars as payment for the students.
Due to inability of the hospitals to meet the costs, the career of future radiologists like me is at stake.
California Community Colleges will have to reduce the number of students accessing the training to a number that economically sustainable.
The repercussion is a significant drop in the number of professionals and huge pressure on the available practitioners to meet the huge demand (LegiNation, 2017).

​Importance of Problem: Clinical training for an allied health practitioner is very important.

​Extent of Problem: Implementation of AB387 will erode clinical training opportunities available to allied health students.

Facts/Statistics:

1.According to the California Hospital Association, the medical facilities in the state offer training to 40,000 students on yearly basis. Therefore, the hospitals would incur financial burden amounting to millions of dollars as payment for the students (California Healthline, 2017).

Additionally to the minimum wage for every student they have to pay the supervisor that teach the student, as well as workers compensation, insurance and mentors.
Hospitals hire students after they graduate from the program. According to Foothill College 100% of its graduates are hired after they get practicing licenses and accreditation (Foothill College, 2017).

[Transition: I’m sure that you can see the need for unlimited availability of opportunities for allied health students to undertake their much need clinical training.  The majority of this class agrees to the fulfillment of this necessity. But you might be asking, well, how will AB387 hinder these students from getting the necessary clinical training experience? Let me tell you.]

(Satisfaction)

Description of Solution: Talk to your community leaders and faculty staff on the need to repeal AB387.
How Solution Satisfies Need: They will be tasked with amending the Bill and giving input into the policy framework that guides the clinical training of allied health students.

 

How Solution can be Implemented: If they do not know your complaints and reservations about AB387, then your professional needs in terms of clinal training experience will never be met.

Plan of Action:  Write and present your complaints and reservations about AB387 to the relevant bodies.

Step 1 of Plan: Draft emails and letters to your representatives in the state assembly detailing how the enactment of AB387 will affect you as an allied health student.

Step 2 of Plan: Outline that instead of enacting the bill, the assembly should put measures in place to ensure equal opportunities in the allied health department from the entire population.

[Transition: You can see that it is possible to reach out to your state representative and faculty staff and air your opinions regarding AB387. Now let’s look at what may happen if you choose to raise your concerns regarding AB387.]

 

Visualization

Main Point #3- Visualize Results: Failure of enactment of AB387 guarantees allied health students the opportunities to undergo clinical training.

1.Describe Expected Results of Action:

Creation of diversity is possible through scholarships that cater for the tuition fees for children from poor families.
The sponsorship should also cater for students with disabilities to create a diversified team without any form of discrimination.

The current programs receive all the funding from the hospitals in terms of insurance, supervisors and mentors.

Reduce the prerequisite requirements to allow all the potential students to apply for the program in the country.
Ensure that to join the profession, the applicant has ample academic knowledge in sciences and their personal statement and letters of recommendation are analyzed thoroughly.
Availability of employment opportunities with a very attractive salary for the graduate students.

Using the salary, the students are able to pay for their academic loans and recover the money invested in the education.

2.Describe the Consequences of Inaction:

The success of Assembly Bill 387 will prolong the waiting list for the internship programs leading to long delays.
California Community Colleges will have to reduce the number of students accessing the training to a number that economically sustainable.
The repercussion is a significant drop in the number of professionals and huge pressure on the available practitioners to meet the huge demand (LegiNation, 2017).

III. CONCLUSION:

 

[Transition: As you can easily see…]

 

(Action)

Brake-light: The law seeks to compensate the students for the time spent in the medical facilities (Assembly Committee, 2017). However, the rule tends to create confusion by reducing the number of students accessing the practical lessons due to financial constraints. The best step is to oppose the bill and instead promote diversity through enrollment of people from all backgrounds and offering sponsorship for the less privileged (Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography, 2017).
​Summary: I’ve told you about the need for the non-implementation of the AB387, how you can play your role in ensuring that the bill is not passed into law, and how you stand to benefit once this bill is thrown out of the State Assembly. You become a role-player in the law-making process by actively making your views known, particularly on matters that directly affect you and more so those that may curtail your career growth.
Tie Back to the Audience: What if among the allied health students or graduates-to-be is someone you care about; would you want to see them subjected to such career debilitating legislation? Think of the satisfaction and possible comfort knowing that courtesy of your social and political engagement, their career and hence their livelihood has not only been secured but propelled.

References

Assembly Committee. (2017). ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT.             Retrieved from             https://foothill.edu/workforce/documents/2016/AB387InfoAssemblyLaborAndEmploym            ent29Mar2017.pdf

Cordova, J. (2017). Assembly Bill 387 (Thurmond). Retrieved from             https://sccrcolleges.org/healthcare/item/assembly-bill-387-thurmond

Corley, A. (2017). Call to Action: Call Your Assembly Member — AB387 to be heard on Assembly        floor June 2, 2017. Retrieved from http://www.csrt.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=115:call-to- action–call-your-assembly-member—-ab387-to-be-heard-on-assembly-floor-june-2–       2017&catid=23:news&Itemid=163

Foothill College. (2017). Foothill College Program Review.

LegiNation. (2017). CA – AB387. Retrieved from https://www.billtrack50.com/BillDetail/821127

California Healthline. (2017, May 7). Should Health Care Trainees Be Treated As Paid     Employees? Retrieved from https://californiahealthline.org/news/should-health-care-      trainees-be-treated-as-paid-employees/

Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography. (2017, June 5). California State Assembly Failed to Approve AB 387. Retrieved from https://www.sdms.org/news/2017/06/05/california-      state-assembly-failed-to-approve-ab-387