Academy Urges Bylaw Changes

The Academy is meeting the challenge.

In a move which it feels will contribute to unity in the O&P profession and advance its mission to promote continuing education, the American Academy of Orthotists & Prosthetists (AAOP) Board of Directors is recommending changes in the Academy's bylaws.

The current bylaws define practitioners eligible for the Active Membership category as being those certified by, and in good standing with, the American Board for Certification in Orthotics & Prosthetics (ABC). However, after the breakdown in negotiations between the ABC and the Board for Orthotist/Prosthetist Certification (BOC) in early March, ABC extended an opportunity to become certified to practitioners without their having to meet the education requirements in place up until that time and without having to pass the ABC exam.

This decision impacted the Academy with complex issues to consider, so it declared a 90-day moratorium on accepting new members to allow time for thought and discussion.

The Academy Board wanted to recognize the accomplishments of previous ABC-certified practitioners while extending opportunities to new ABC certifees to make a commitment to continuing education and benefit from the Academy's educational offerings, Katz said.

With this in mind, the Academy Board is recommending a restructuring of membership categories. Changes include a restructuring both the Associate Membership and Affiliate categories, elevating the distinction of becoming a Fellow of the Academy, and creating new Professionals Membership and Student Membership categories.

Voting ballots have been mailed to the Academy's membership and must be returned to the Academy by June 5, said Academy President Don E. Katz, CO, LO, FAAOP. A two-thirds majority of those voting must be in the affirmative for the bylaws to pass, he added.

Here are the changes:

To be an Active Member and eligible to vote and hold office at the national level, practitioners must either have been ABC-certified before March 1, 2004, or be ABC-certified and a graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited practitioner program.

Continuing Education Required

Practitioners who are ABC-certified through other pathways may join the Academy as Associate Members and become eligible for Active Membership after demonstrating a commitment to continuing education by earning a specified number of ABC-approved professional continuing education units (PCEs). The Associate Member category also includes licensed practitioners from states requiring graduation from a CAAHEP-accredited practitioner program as the minimum standard to practice in that state, but who do not currently meet all the requirements for Active Membership. To become eligible for Active Membership, Associate Members must earn at least 75 PCEs for a single credential and 100 PCEs for a dual credential.

The reason the Board decided on accepting only ABC-approved PCEs was to establish a common denominator for continuing education, Katz told The O&P EDGE in a telephone interview. "The problem was that states have varying requirements for continuing education, and often times the methods in which these credits are earned is not tracked very closely-they rely on the 'honor system' in reporting and only do random audits. This approach ensures that each practitioner is equal with others in continuing education achievements."

Fellow Requirements

The Board has enhanced the criteria for becoming a Fellow. Rather than being open to all Active members of the Academy, the new criteria states those Active Members with ABC certification dates prior to March 1, 2004, and Active Members with ABC certification dates of March 1, 2004 or later must be a graduate of a CAAHEP-accredited practitioner program (masters/baccalaureate degree or certificate), and must have passed the ABC certification exam to be eligible to pursue the pathways to become a Fellow.

New Student Membership

The new Student Membership category is open to students currently enrolled in a CAAHEP and NCOPE [National Commission on Orthotic & Prosthetic Education] education program. The new category is in response to students requesting membership in order to use all the Academy's journal articles and other resources currently available only to members for research and study, Katz said. The new category complements the existing Candidate category, which embraces those who have earned a degree or certificate from a CAAHEP-accredited program but have not yet sat for the ABC exam, such as NCOPE residents.

New Professional Membership

The Professional Membership category is new, being a subset of the current Affiliate Membership category. It includes persons who work directly in the O&P field but who do not meet requirements for other types of membership, such as certified pedorthists, physical and occupational therapists, physicians, engineers, podiatrists, and case managers.

Other categories remain unchanged.

"I'm very proud of the work of the Academy Board," Katz said. "This is a group of professionals that are incredibly dedicated to what it really means to be a professional orthotist or prosthetist and what it really means to be a member of the Academy. What we are recommending to our members as bylaw changes is the seventh scenario we developed. Each suggested scenario was intensively examined as to whether it was in keeping with our mission to promote education and professional development and our vision as a professional association. If not, it was pushed aside and we continued revising. The analysis also went before our Professional Issues Council for a further perspective, which helped shape the final scenario that was ultimately approved by the Board.

"Now it is up to the members," he continued. "It would be easy to skim the surface of the recommendations and decide quickly what you agree or disagree with, but we urge careful consideration. There's a lot of detail here. Our litmus test for each recommendation was the mission of the Academy."

For more information or to request a ballot if not yet received, contact the Academy, 703.836.0788; fax: 703.836.0737; academy@oandp.org; www.oandp.org