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Five Questions for Angela Montgomery, CPO Angela Montgomery, CPO, grew up in a small
Pennsylvania town that afforded her the opportunity to do a little
of everything. Growing up, she worked on a farm, sang in the
chorus, played sports, and performed in the school band. Her
pursuit of all things new and interesting led her by chance to
prosthetics. "I thought, Wow. What could be more challenging than
trying to mimic human movement with artificial means,??" Montgomery
says. "It is the perfect combination of my two passionsart and
science!" Montgomery manages a patient care center for Hanger
Prosthetics and Orthotics in Boulder, Colorado, where she still
manages to enjoy the outdoors, shoot photos, and play her
banjo.
1.Describe your approach to patient care. What are your top
priorities when working with a patient?
My number one goal is to improve my patients quality of life. I
believe the three most important things that make this possible are
listening, communicating, and admitting your limitations. Usually
you can learn everything you need to know by just listening to your
patients needs. A thorough discussion including as much of the
clinical team as possible will make sure everyone is working toward
the same goals. The ultimate professional maturity, however, is to
know when to say when. If you are not going to improve [a patients]
quality of life, you need to question the purpose.
2. Who or what has motivated you in your professional
pursuits?
I met my mentor in a photography class, of all places. His name
is Gary M. Berke, MS, CP, FAAOP, and he was [chief of orthopaedic
surgery and rehabilitation, prosthetics, at the Childrens Hospital
at the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Medical Center] at
the time. I had never heard of prosthetics before and was
immediately intrigued. During our second week of class I asked him
if I could do an internship with him, and the rest was history. I
think I spent less than a week shadowing him before calling my
parents to tell them I figured out what I wanted to do for the rest
of my life. "It was one of those bizarre, chance meetings," says
Berke, immediate past president of the American Academy of
Orthotists and Prosthetists, who now runs Berke Prosthetics in
Redwood City, California. "We started chatting, and pretty soon she
became really interested in the field."
3. What emerging trends or advances do you see for the
profession?
This is a very exciting time to be in this profession. There is
a lot of money being put into research, which is allowing us to
question things we have always believed to be true. We are starting
to demand objective proof of the effectiveness of our claims as a
profession.
4. What do you see in the future for O&P/rehab?
I dont know&there are so many theories and directions we
could head as a profession. However, there is one thing for sure
that we will seean amazing increase in the human/computer
interface. "Intelligent" prostheses/orthoses are certainly the next
wave of innovation.
5. How has your career progressed (highlights, achievements,
obstacles faced, etc.)?
Managing a patient care center has been a lot of fun. It is a
slow process of creating your own environment and running a
business the way you see fit for yourself and your community. The
main obstacle Ive faced is being patient enough to allow time to
prove my skills to the community as a young practitioner, who looks
even younger. I love my patient population in Boulder and find it
extremely rewarding as people here tend to push everything to the
limit! However, my career highlight thus far was probably the
prosthetic outreach work I had the opportunity to do in
Ecuador. 
Table Of Contents - May 2008
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