Accreditation, core curriculum and allied health education: barriers and opportunities.

There is considerable discussion today about the future directions of accreditation of allied health education. A number of discussions and public debates have taken place in recent years which consider and speculate on appropriate directions, how these might be achieved, and what the ramifications will be for allied health education. Current attention to core curriculum in allied health has implications for accreditation of such curricula. This paper reviews the definition and purpose of accreditation, addresses the current accreditation system in allied health, summarizes multiple perspectives in the current debate over the future of allied health accreditation, and examines how accreditation might help or hinder development of core curricula. A set of accreditation standards for evaluating a core curriculum in allied health is proposed.