Re: We are not the only ones!
Jim Rogers, CPO
Description
Collection
Title:
Re: We are not the only ones!
Creator:
Jim Rogers, CPO
Text:
Collegues and Mr. Baracos:
Twenty years ago the issue was: should we let the pharmacists fit corsets?
Ten years ago it was physical therapists fabricating and fitting direct
molded orthoses. Historically, we as a profession have not had the leadership
or the foresight to see that medical technology would soon provide orthotic
(and soon prosthetic) accessability without the need for fabrication. As a
consequence, orthotists lost a portion of their scope if you will. Today
the issue is not different; only the products differ. The number of
professionals offering traditional orthotic services has increased. What you
describe is not unique to our profession. Physical therapists feel encroached
upon by chiropractors and sometimes occupational therapists, orthopedists
feel that podiatrists perform orthopedic surgery without appropriate
credentials and neurosurgeons fight over back surgery with the orthopedists.
With twenty-seven years in this profession I can assure you the one other
constant has been our profession's consistent tendency to cry about
everything but change very little; to react inneffectively instead of
proactively.
Today like yesterday we should recognize that the real battle is for our
professional expertise, not our territory. We provide a comprehensive and
ongoing service that just so happens to occasionally include a custom made
product. As long as we sell a product the list will get shorter and
shorter. Technology will not stand still.
If all the other professionals who provide overlapping services were doing
such a poor job, patients would be flocking to us. The public doesn't seem to
have a problem with it, so in effect we don't have a problem either. Quit
bitchin and be proactive. Continue to provide yourself with the best
educational opportunities available to you, provide your service without
disdain for others but with professionalism and integrity, market your
credentials ethically without demeaning others, and look for opportunities to
provide your services in areas that are not traditionally thought of as
principally ours. If you still have time enough to complain on the net then
consider lobbying congress, working on the national level in one of our three
organizations, or work with your state legislature to change the payment of
O&P. Not only will your career be more satisfying, but your contributions
will be uplifting.
Jim Rogers, CPO
Twenty years ago the issue was: should we let the pharmacists fit corsets?
Ten years ago it was physical therapists fabricating and fitting direct
molded orthoses. Historically, we as a profession have not had the leadership
or the foresight to see that medical technology would soon provide orthotic
(and soon prosthetic) accessability without the need for fabrication. As a
consequence, orthotists lost a portion of their scope if you will. Today
the issue is not different; only the products differ. The number of
professionals offering traditional orthotic services has increased. What you
describe is not unique to our profession. Physical therapists feel encroached
upon by chiropractors and sometimes occupational therapists, orthopedists
feel that podiatrists perform orthopedic surgery without appropriate
credentials and neurosurgeons fight over back surgery with the orthopedists.
With twenty-seven years in this profession I can assure you the one other
constant has been our profession's consistent tendency to cry about
everything but change very little; to react inneffectively instead of
proactively.
Today like yesterday we should recognize that the real battle is for our
professional expertise, not our territory. We provide a comprehensive and
ongoing service that just so happens to occasionally include a custom made
product. As long as we sell a product the list will get shorter and
shorter. Technology will not stand still.
If all the other professionals who provide overlapping services were doing
such a poor job, patients would be flocking to us. The public doesn't seem to
have a problem with it, so in effect we don't have a problem either. Quit
bitchin and be proactive. Continue to provide yourself with the best
educational opportunities available to you, provide your service without
disdain for others but with professionalism and integrity, market your
credentials ethically without demeaning others, and look for opportunities to
provide your services in areas that are not traditionally thought of as
principally ours. If you still have time enough to complain on the net then
consider lobbying congress, working on the national level in one of our three
organizations, or work with your state legislature to change the payment of
O&P. Not only will your career be more satisfying, but your contributions
will be uplifting.
Jim Rogers, CPO
Citation
Jim Rogers, CPO, “Re: We are not the only ones!,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 2, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/215075.
