New beginnings and opportunities for O&P
Stan LaCount
Description
Collection
Title:
New beginnings and opportunities for O&P
Creator:
Stan LaCount
Date:
1/7/2001
Text:
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
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
Stan LaCount, “New beginnings and opportunities for O&P,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 2, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/215725.
