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A health care system is only as good as the people working in it. The most valuable resource in health care is not the latest technology or state-of-the-art facility, but the health workers who are the heart of the system.
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In this chapter, we discuss the nation’s four largest health professions—nurses (including nurse practitioners), physicians, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, and social workers—as well as physician assistants and medical assistants (Table 9–1). How many of these health care professionals are working in the United States, and where do they practice? Do we have the right number? Too many? Too few? Is the growing racial-ethnic diversity of the nation’s population mirrored in the racial-ethnic composition of the health professions? To answer these questions, we begin by providing an overview of each of these professions. In the latter portion of the chapter, we discuss several cross-cutting issues pertinent to all these professions.
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As shown in Tables 9–1 and 9–3, an intricate array of entities accredit educational programs and license and certify practitioners across these occupations.
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