Re: New beginnings and opportunities for O&P
Benveniste, David Mark
Description
Collection
Title:
Re: New beginnings and opportunities for O&P
Creator:
Benveniste, David Mark
Date:
1/8/2001
Text:
<<Point 3) Take some of those expensive dues you pay to the various
organizations and earmark them to prepare a professional reference book that
describes in detail all that you know and think you know (it can be revised
later when what you think you know doesn't work)-Stan LaCount. >>
Good idea!
Mark Benveniste CP
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Stan LaCount [SMTP: <Email Address Redacted> ]
> Sent: Sunday, January 07, 2001 5:35 PM
> To: <Email Address Redacted>
> Subject: [OANDP-L] New beginnings and opportunities for O&P
>
> Dear List;
>
> Hope all the food you ate over the holidays hasn't reacted badly with the
> new legislative news concerning O&P. I think there is a good deal of work
> for O&P in the next year and it has little to do with legislation or
> repeals of legislation or in boycotting NOMA of all things. Exciting
> times are ahead for us all.
>
> It's high time we stopped looking to legislate our way out of our
> predicaments and realize that O&P has to be proactive and fleet footed
> right now. This industry has been somewhat crippled by a lack of
> foresight and good planning. I'm not blaming any individual,
> organization, or association because it goes way beyond all that. Some of
> you may not even know that big changes are in store for you but let me
> just say they are coming, and soon. The ramifications are going to be
> huge! In one smell poop O&P will be brought screaming and kicking into
> the new millennium whether you want it to be or not.
>
> First, lets look at the education and certification processes that need to
> change. If you want a professional allied health organization, everyone
> in it needs to meet much higher minimum standards than are currently
> prescribed. Grandfathering-in does not mean that everyone being certified
> will have children and will get old. It doesn't mean that they won't have
> to do anything but attend a convention once a year for some PCE credits or
> play golf with the president of the AOPA while the referrals and the money
> roll in. Grandfathering meant that those in the profession who did not
> have a college degree could still hold on to their certification. This is
> not what has been happening and O&P is beginning to look like a profession
> filled with old uneducated men and women. In fact, many grandfathers in
> O&P have yet to turn 25 years of age. Amazingly enough, some are Fellows
> with CPO after their names, incredible! Point 1) All Certified
> Practitioners beyond a certain date need to be college graduates.
>
> Secondly, O&P together sounds nice but what do they have in common? I
> suppose they both need to know how to bill for insurance, they both may
> use the same liability insurance carriers, they like to refer to their
> clients as patients, they wear the same white smock for a uniform, and
> some practitioners are CPO's. Other than that, how is an orthosis like a
> prosthesis and how similar are their clients. Oh I suppose if you did a
> really rotten job of fitting them, an orthotic patient might then become a
> prosthetic patient but in point of fact there is very little crossover.
> As far as CPO's are concerned I can not for the life of me see how you can
> do both. In fact, I rather believe that a jack of all trades is master
> of none. Does anyone here think that they have the experience of two
> lifetimes to be a certified expert at both prosthetics as well as
> orthotics? Is being an expert so easy these days? Be honest! CPO's
> should serve an internship at an institutional level facility for both
> Orthotics and Prosthetics as well as the appropriate classes in both.
> Point 2) A CP should not be certified as a CO also simply by taking a
> 6-8 hour exam.
>
> Finally, O&P does not have a set of standards for its practitioners to
> follow like other professions. No modern (within the last 50 years)
> comprehensive manual or handbook has been produced that provides this
> industry with a resource that details all the processes, materials,
> techniques, and tabulates the findings for outcomes of either Prosthetic
> or Orthotic treatments (never mind both). All real professions have one.
> For example, Mechanical Engineers have Marks Handbook as well as several
> others. Let's not overlook the standards found in ASTM either. Point 3)
> Take some of those expensive dues you pay to the various organizations and
> earmark them to prepare a professional reference book that describes in
> detail all that you know and think you know (it can be revised later when
> what you think you know doesn't work).
>
> I could go on but I'll stop right here. I'm sure I'll be getting enough
> nasty little responses to last me for awhile. Thanks for listening and
> for those of you who have been kept out of the O&P club, keep in mind that
> there is a real need for you all. If you can't join em, beat em.
>
> Stan LaCount
> Physical Restoration Engineer
> Beach Biotech
> Virginia Beach, VA
>
>
organizations and earmark them to prepare a professional reference book that
describes in detail all that you know and think you know (it can be revised
later when what you think you know doesn't work)-Stan LaCount. >>
Good idea!
Mark Benveniste CP
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Stan LaCount [SMTP: <Email Address Redacted> ]
> Sent: Sunday, January 07, 2001 5:35 PM
> To: <Email Address Redacted>
> Subject: [OANDP-L] New beginnings and opportunities for O&P
>
> Dear List;
>
> Hope all the food you ate over the holidays hasn't reacted badly with the
> new legislative news concerning O&P. I think there is a good deal of work
> for O&P in the next year and it has little to do with legislation or
> repeals of legislation or in boycotting NOMA of all things. Exciting
> times are ahead for us all.
>
> It's high time we stopped looking to legislate our way out of our
> predicaments and realize that O&P has to be proactive and fleet footed
> right now. This industry has been somewhat crippled by a lack of
> foresight and good planning. I'm not blaming any individual,
> organization, or association because it goes way beyond all that. Some of
> you may not even know that big changes are in store for you but let me
> just say they are coming, and soon. The ramifications are going to be
> huge! In one smell poop O&P will be brought screaming and kicking into
> the new millennium whether you want it to be or not.
>
> First, lets look at the education and certification processes that need to
> change. If you want a professional allied health organization, everyone
> in it needs to meet much higher minimum standards than are currently
> prescribed. Grandfathering-in does not mean that everyone being certified
> will have children and will get old. It doesn't mean that they won't have
> to do anything but attend a convention once a year for some PCE credits or
> play golf with the president of the AOPA while the referrals and the money
> roll in. Grandfathering meant that those in the profession who did not
> have a college degree could still hold on to their certification. This is
> not what has been happening and O&P is beginning to look like a profession
> filled with old uneducated men and women. In fact, many grandfathers in
> O&P have yet to turn 25 years of age. Amazingly enough, some are Fellows
> with CPO after their names, incredible! Point 1) All Certified
> Practitioners beyond a certain date need to be college graduates.
>
> Secondly, O&P together sounds nice but what do they have in common? I
> suppose they both need to know how to bill for insurance, they both may
> use the same liability insurance carriers, they like to refer to their
> clients as patients, they wear the same white smock for a uniform, and
> some practitioners are CPO's. Other than that, how is an orthosis like a
> prosthesis and how similar are their clients. Oh I suppose if you did a
> really rotten job of fitting them, an orthotic patient might then become a
> prosthetic patient but in point of fact there is very little crossover.
> As far as CPO's are concerned I can not for the life of me see how you can
> do both. In fact, I rather believe that a jack of all trades is master
> of none. Does anyone here think that they have the experience of two
> lifetimes to be a certified expert at both prosthetics as well as
> orthotics? Is being an expert so easy these days? Be honest! CPO's
> should serve an internship at an institutional level facility for both
> Orthotics and Prosthetics as well as the appropriate classes in both.
> Point 2) A CP should not be certified as a CO also simply by taking a
> 6-8 hour exam.
>
> Finally, O&P does not have a set of standards for its practitioners to
> follow like other professions. No modern (within the last 50 years)
> comprehensive manual or handbook has been produced that provides this
> industry with a resource that details all the processes, materials,
> techniques, and tabulates the findings for outcomes of either Prosthetic
> or Orthotic treatments (never mind both). All real professions have one.
> For example, Mechanical Engineers have Marks Handbook as well as several
> others. Let's not overlook the standards found in ASTM either. Point 3)
> Take some of those expensive dues you pay to the various organizations and
> earmark them to prepare a professional reference book that describes in
> detail all that you know and think you know (it can be revised later when
> what you think you know doesn't work).
>
> I could go on but I'll stop right here. I'm sure I'll be getting enough
> nasty little responses to last me for awhile. Thanks for listening and
> for those of you who have been kept out of the O&P club, keep in mind that
> there is a real need for you all. If you can't join em, beat em.
>
> Stan LaCount
> Physical Restoration Engineer
> Beach Biotech
> Virginia Beach, VA
>
>
Citation
Benveniste, David Mark, “Re: New beginnings and opportunities for O&P,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 2, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/215724.
