College Health
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
College Health is a field of medicine that exclusively deals with the medical care of college age students (from age 18 through 28 years). Many colleges and universities campuses offer some sort of student health service, but there is wide variability in the healthcare resources available from campus to campus, with models of student health ranging from first aid stations employing a single nurse to large multi-specialty clinics with hundreds of employees. The vast majority of college health services are set up as service units rather than academic departments. The educational aspect of college health is sometimes referred to Health Promotion in Higher Education.
In 1988, it was estimated that there were approximately 27.3 college health staff per 10,000 students,[1] which if amortized to the 20.7 million students attending the more than 3,400 colleges and universities in the United States (in 2003) ),[2] suggests that there are approximately 56,500 college health professionals in the United States. College health professionals include physicians, physician assistants, administrators, nurses, nurse practitioners, mental health professionals, health educators, dietitians and nutritionists, and pharmacists. Some college health services extend to include massage therapists, and athletic trainers.
College health professionals are often members of a national body, such as the American College Health Association. Another national body among college health is the National Collegiate Emergency Medical Services Foundation, which is dedicated to the promotion and support of emergency medical services on college and university campuses.
There are currently two journals devoted exclusively to college health, the Journal of American College Health, available by subscription since, and collegehealth-e, a web-based journal available without subscription since October 2005.
Only one textbook is devoted entirely to the subject of college health has been published. “The History and Practice of College Health” was published in 2006 by The University Press of Kentucky, and edited by H. Spencer Turner, MD and Janet L. Hurly, PhD.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Patrick, K (1988). "Student health. Medical care within institutions of higher education". JAMA 260 (22): 3301-5. PMID 3054192.
- ^ Current Population Survey, October 2003 (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2006-10-30.
- ^ (2002) Turner HS: The History and Practice of College Health, Hurley JL, Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-2257-0.
