If you're looking for a unique and rewarding career, you might want to consider the field of prosthetics. Prosthetics is the evaluation, fabrication and custom-fitting of artificial limbs. The profession is unique because it combines art with science and rewarding because of the personal satisfaction in improving the quality of life for amputees. The positions available are:
• Prosthetists
- Responsibilities – Prosthetists work closely with the physician, surgeon and physical therapist to provide total rehabilitation services for amputees. They are responsible for taking measurements or molds of the patient's limb, designing the prosthesis, and selecting materials for, fabricating, and fitting it.
- Credentials – Prosthetist students must earn a bachelor's degree, complete specialized prosthetic training, and complete 1,900 hours of clinical experience. Students are then eligible to sit for the national board examinations and become certified by a certifying agency.
- Salaries – According to the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association (AOPA), prosthetists earned from $30,000 to $65,000 in 2000. With more experience comes higher pay – up to $100,000 a year.
• Prosthetic Assistants and Technicians
- Responsibilities – Technicians and assistants work under the direct supervision of prosthetists and share the responsibilities. They may also be assigned repair and maintenance work. Technicians usually do not have direct contact with patients.
- Credentials – A graduate of a technical program is eligible to become a registered technician upon successful completion of the technical examination.
- Salaries – The average wage for assistants/technicians at all levels of experience is $12.20 per hour. Those with several years of experience can earn up to $20 per hour.
Today, there are approximately 3,500 prosthetists in the United States, at an average age of 55. In the next 10 years, more than half in the field will be retiring. To make matters worse, the number of aging baby boomers and their need for healthcare is rapidly increasing. This number will continue to grow as the incidence of obesity, diabetes and dysvascular disease increases. It has been predicted that by the year 2020, there will be a 47 percent increase in the amputee population. If the shortage of prosthetists continues, only 68 percent of those in need of prosthetic care will have access to a trained prosthetist.
So why aren't more young people getting involved in a field that could offer a 100 percent employment rate? One reason may be that there is less public awareness of the profession compared to other healthcare careers. Many current prosthetists became interested in the field of prosthetics as the result of friends, family members or themselves becoming amputees. The American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists is hoping to change that through a series of outreach efforts to increase high-school students' awareness and interest in the O&P profession. Project Quantum Leap is the overall term for these programs as well as several other long-term projects designed to benefit the profession as a whole. In addition to disseminating information through highschool guidance counselors and job fairs, the key feature of the awareness campaign is a one-stop Web site (www.opcareers.org) that includes:
- How to enter the profession
- What it takes (the ideal O&P candidate)
- Educational pathways
- O&P technology
- Employment opportunities.
For more information, you may contact one of the schools or resources below. However, it takes more than education to be a good prosthetist. Other qualities include:
- Artistic skills such as dexterity and creativity
- Mechanical and engineering skills to fabricate a prosthesis
- Knowledge of anatomy and physiology to understand how the prosthesis will fit a patient's body and meet his or her needs
- Interest in new challenges and technology in a profession that is constantly evolving
- Compassion and understanding of a patient's needs and challenges. Amputees are ideal candidates in this regard. After all, who can understand the needs of an amputee better than another amputee?
O&P PRACTITIONER PROGRAMS
CALIFORNIA
California State University
27402 Aliso Viejo Pkwy
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
949/643-5374
www.csudh.edu/oandp#
Bachelor's Degree Program
Post Degree Certificate Program
Rancho Los Amigos
Medical Center
(Orthotics only – currently inactive status)
7450 Leeds Street
Downey, CA 90242
562/940-7655
www.oandp.com/resources/education/larei
Post Degree Certificate Program
CONNECTICUT
Newington Certificate Program
181 Patricia M. Genova Drive
Newington, CT 06111
860/667-5304
www.hanger.com/ncp/index.html
Post Degree Certificate Program
GEORGIA
Georgia Institute of Technology
281 Ferst Drive
Atlanta, GA 30332
404/894-7658
Master's Degree Program
ILLINOIS
Northwestern University
345 E. Superior Street, Room 1723
Chicago, IL 60611
312/238-8006
www.nupoc.northwestern.edu
Post Degree Certificate Program
MICHIGAN
Eastern Michigan University
319 Porter Building
Ypsilanti, MI 48197
734/487-4096
www.emich.edu/coe
Post Degree Certificate Program
MINNESOTA
Century College
3300 Century Avenue, N.
White Bear Lake, MN 55110
651/773-1739
www.century.mnscu.edu/programsdepts/
programs/orthprosindex.html
Post Degree Certificate Program
TEXAS
University of Texas
Southwestern Medical Center
5323 Harry Hines Blvd.
Dallas, TX 75235
214/648-1580
www.utsouthwestern.edu/po
Bachelor's Degree Program
WASHINGTON
University of Washington
Box 356490
Seattle, WA 98195
206/616-8586
depts.washington.edu/rehab/po
Bachelor's Degree Program
Post Degree Certificate Program
O&P ASSISTANT PROGRAMS
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma State University – Okmulgee
1801 E. 4th Street
Okmulgee, OK 74447
918/293-5330
www.osu-okmulgee.edu/academics/health_and_environmental/orthotics_and_prosthetics
Associate's Degree Program
O&P TECHNICIAN PROGRAMS
MICHIGAN
Baker College of Flint
1050 W. Bristol Road
Flint, MI 48507
810/766-4194
www.baker.edu
Associate's Degree Program
Post Degree Certificate Program
MINNESOTA
Century College
3300 Century Avenue, N.
White Bear Lake, MN 55110
651/773-1739
www.century.mnscu.edu/programsdepts/programs/orthprosindex.html
Associate's Degree Program
Post Degree Certificate Program
OKLAHOMA
Francis Tuttle Technical Center
12777 N. Rockwell Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK 73142
405/717-4199
www.francistuttle.com/programs
Associate's Degree Program
Post Degree Certificate Program
PENNSYLVANIA
Median School of Allied Health Careers
125 Seventh Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
800/570-0693
www.medianschool.com
Associate's Degree Program
Post Degree Certificate Program
WASHINGTON
Spokane Falls Community College
3410 West Ft. George Wright Drive
Mail Stop 3011
Spokane, WA 99224
888/509-7944
www.sfcc.spokane.cc.wa.us
Associate's Degree Program
Post Degree Certificate Program
DEVELOPING PROGRAMS
FLORIDA
St. Petersburg College
P.O. Box 13489
St. Petersburg, FL 33733
727/341-3406
www.spjc.edu
Associate's Degree Program
Bachelor's Degree Program
Post Degree Certificate Program
RELATED RESOURCES
American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists
703/836-0788
www.abcop.org
American Board for Certification in Orthotics & Prosthetics (ABC)
703/836-7114
www.opoffice.org/abc
American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association (AOPA)
571/431-0876
www.aopanet.org
Board for Orthotist/Prosthetist Certification (BOC)
877/776-2200
www.bocusa.org
National Commission on Orthotic and Prosthetic Education
703/836-7114
www.ncope.com/info_students/schools.asp
Orthotics and Prosthetics
www.opcareers.org
