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It's Time To Turn the Tide in Education
By Paul Prusakowski, CPO, FAAOP  When I was in high school, I was lucky enough to
stumble across orthotics and prosthetics as a career choice. My
junior and senior year was spent continually flipping through the
ragged pages of the Clinical Prosthetics and Orthotics journal that
contained information and curriculum for all the O&P schools.
Being from western New York, my mind was set on New York University
(NYU), and two road trips to meet the faculty and tour the campus
confirmed my desire to attend the school and get my bachelor of
science degree in O&P.
After completing high school and then working diligently at a
local university to complete all the prerequisites, I was accepted
by NYU, but within weeks my dreams were absolutely shattered as I
was told that NYU would be shutting its doors in just a few short
months. I quickly learned about the profession's dependency upon
the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) and how our
O&P schools had traditionally been funded. I also learned that,
besides the faculty at the universities, only a few professionals
in leadership positions at the time were deeply concerned about the
impact that this trend would have on the future of this great
profession--and that not much was being done about it.
Since graduating from Florida International University (FIU),
another O&P program that does not currently exist, I have been
troubled by seeing little emphasis placed upon the importance of
establishing our professional identity through the development of
higher educational standards. As an industry, lots of effort has
been spent over the last decade fighting for reimbursement issues,
but that is only half the battle that needs to be fought.
Our schools kept shutting down or being threatened with being
shut down. The recent issue of "who is a qualified provider" is an
absolute no-brainer for those of us who have gone through an
accredited O&P program.
The future of our profession lies not solely in reimbursement,
but in defining who we are as professionals--and the only way to do
that is through strengthening our educational pathways and not
allowing them to deteriorate. Other allied healthcare professions
have successfully elevated their entry-level standards, while we as
a profession have just stood by the wayside to watch our
educational centers and foundation wither away. It's time to turn
the tide and take responsibility for our profession's future and
fulfill some of the dreams of the visionaries who established the
Academy's College Fund over a decade ago.
It's time for a new breed of O&P practitioner who is armed
with the knowledge required to function in today's rapidly changing
world. We can help create this future by identifying bright
individuals and introducing them to O&P through the Academy's
O&P Awareness Campaign ( www.opcareers.org). We can encourage them to
apply to O&P schools, and by developing strong residency
programs at our facilities, we can mentor interested college and
high school students, recognizing that these students will one day
lead our profession.
There have been signs of a revitalized enthusiasm for the
establishment of new programs and higher educational standards for
entering the profession of orthotics and prosthetics. Endeavors
such as the new masters degree program at Georgia Tech, the promise
of a new program in Florida at St. Petersburg College, and the
saving of the California State University Dominguez Hills (CSUDH)
O&P Program through intervention by Ossur are telling signs
that there is finally a shift beginning to occur.
The rest is up to us as O&P professionals to get involved at
the grassroots level and work with our state associations,
chapters, and national organizations to make education of future
O&P practitioners an absolute priority. Our education is the
only thing that will differentiate us from anyone else and define
who we are as a profession and as truly qualified providers of
comprehensive O&P care. Paul E. Prusakowski, CPO, FAAOP, practices at his company, O&P Clinical Technologies, Gainesville, Florida. He also is president and founder of oandp.com. Contact him at paulcpo@oandp.com 
Table Of Contents - December 2003
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