O&P Education
Jim DeWees
Description
Collection
Title:
O&P Education
Creator:
Jim DeWees
Date:
10/17/2006
Text:
I just got the online O&P Edge today, and was reading about various issues
in the field. One of the articles of interest is on the topic of education.
Once again, on paper it looks like we are really working to make big strides
to improve something, while in reality we are NOT doing that in the real
world.
A perfect example is the article O&P Ascends Professional Summit, where it
maps out what they are planning over the course of basically the next THREE
years. By the year 2010 it will be implemented that the introductory level
education will be a masters degree.
That is really some big jump, since just last year the entry level education
to be a CP, CO or CPO was just a GED. Not even a high school diploma was
required to buy the $75 certificate, which is the gateway to getting a
medicare provider number, and having a business to do the O&P work. So,
between the years 2005 and 2010, we are expected to go from a GED to a
Master's degree to be a practitioner. That is a MAJOR change, which we need
to see if that is even realistic.
I am in favor, in a very strong way, of having a formal education in order
to work in a profession, if no formal education is required to do the
work, then it is merely a trade and not a profession, look it up in a
dictionary. I have been a firm believer and supporter of education, that is
why I quit a very good paying job in another medical profession (yes, a real
profession), and went to school full time for the certificate in
prosthetics. I had NO income for over a year, moved 750 miles or so to LA
to go to school, sold basically everything that I could sell, put the rest
in a storage unit, etc. I made that sacrifice because I thought it was
worth it. I know that many people complain that they cannot go to school
for various reasons, that schools are not accessible or too far away, that
they are financially unable to make that decision to go to school, etc.
Although I feel badly for them and wish they could somehow get the financial
assistance or motivation they need to go to a formal program, sometimes that
just does not work out. But, if I can make that sacrifice, leaving a good
paying career and a nice comfortable home, etc, then anyone can do it if
they really want it bad enough.
Anyway, I do not mean to offend anyone with this email, that is not the
point of it. But, the point is, while this Summit was meeting and trying
to figure out the academic pathway for this field, even the people at
Northwestern were in agreement, and stated, Northwestern University,
Chicago, Illinois, is working toward offering a masters degree, according to
Mike Brncick, MEd, CPO, administrative director. We are [currently]
scheduled to approach the graduate school in April of 2008.
But, if that is true, then how are they making a distance learning, study at
home, online learning, corespondence course, or whatever you call it.
Doesn't that seem to be going the exact opposite direction? They will be
producing more graduates with a Bachelor's degree, maybe.
I got a couple emails from people at Northwestern after my last posting
where I questioned the quality and legitimacy of such a program. The
responses were justifying this kind of program, because more and more
universities are going that direction. I can understand taking some writing
class, history class, math class or something like that through some online
course. But, I don't think that the PT schools could teach therapy
techniques over the internet, or nursing students learning how to give shots
or starting an IV. Those are all skills that need to be taught in person,
with hands on skills.
Another justification was on the issue about the current programs not being
easily accessible to the students. With a distance learning program, most
of the class work would be done over the internet, and then the students
have to spend 8 weeks in Chicago at the school. How will this help? How
could any working person take off 8 weeks to go to Chicago? I never had
that much vacation time at my jobs. And, how many trips is this? Who pays
for transportation, where do you stay while you are in Chicago? You can't
have an apartment for the short time periods you are there. But, there are
many hotels right close to the school, all starting at about $189 per night.
Multiply that by 50-some nights, and it gets quite expensive.
It just does NOT MAKE SENSE at all. And, with NCOPE pushing for a masters
program, how in the world did they justify allowing this kind of education
program.
What does make sense is that Northwestern can greatly enhance their revenue
by adding more students on the rosters, taking their money, and NOT having
to provide a classroom to meet in, no housing, nothing. Just a camera and a
computer in some closet will generate A LOT OF MONEY. I do not believe it
will generate graduates that will come out of school with the skills
necessary to actually cast patients and know what they really need to do for
the patients.
If the residency programs were functioning like they are designed to do,
according to the NCOPE requirements, that would be the ideal method for the
new graduates to get the experience they need. But, if you were an amputee,
and you can only get a new leg every 3 years, would you want some resident
seeing you and being the guinea pig for him/her to learn on. Just think, if
they do a horrible job, the amputee has to live with that teaching
experiment for the next 3 years.
Also, according to NCOPE, the resident can work alone in a facility, as long
as some certified practitioner is within a 60 mile radius of that resident.
There is NO time limits on how much time the overseeing practitioner has to
work directly with that resident. In fact, the only requirement is that the
certified practitioner must meet with the resident every quarter, just long
enough to write the evaluation. And that doesn't even have to be done in
person.
I know from my experience from working for Hanger, there are MANY residents
that are sent to fly solo in some office. They are CHEAP LABOR!!! A
whopping $25,000 salary is all it takes to have a practitioner working in
some office, a mere $12.50 per hour employee. Nice!! There are many office
jobs that require NO education that pay more than that. And Hanger is not
the only place that does that.
Here is the plan of the summit meetings:
Timeline
A proposed timeline was developed at the planning session in February:
2006�Curriculum guide for bachelors degree programs finalized;
2007�Masters degree curriculum guides/standards developed and a proposed
first draft available;
2008�The draft presented to the profession and standards/guidelines
finalized;
2009�Feedback considered and adjustments/modifications made as necessary;
2010�Entry-level masters degree requirement implemented..
I hope this works and they stick to the plans. But as long as ABC continues
to open up the back door and allow anyone and everyone into this field,
these standards mean nothing.
ABC never took the paragraph off the website where it states that they value
education, and that a formal education, bachelors degree or certificate
course, is required to become a CP, CPO, or CO. But, is that really true?
Not at all.
We need to be vigilant and support the education drive in this field. It
will produce better practitioners, better research in this field (right now
most, if not all, of the research is being done by people outside this
field...but yet we claim that it is OUR field, and that WE are the only ones
that are worthy of doing the work.....why then don't we do the research and
publish it??), and hopefully better results and outcomes for the patients.
These are just my thoughts on education, and I am glad to see that the
leadership has taken the time to write and publish such lofty goals for the
field, and a plan. It looks good on paper, I just wonder if it will be
worth the trees that were cut down to make the paper that it took to write
it up. Hopefully it will be worth more than the papers that have the joke
of Disciplinary measures....we all know that doesn't work. If it did, we
would not see so many cases like what Phillipe Cartaya wrote about that
causes such a mess on the list. There should be some oversight committee
that could get involved and make sure the amputees were getting treated
correctly.
Oh wait, we do have some oversight committee out there.....ON PAPER...and
with big TITLES. But, I would love to see any action that has been taken
over the past few years against facilities or practitioners that have
committed fraud, had sex with patients (yes, that is in there), stolen
narcotics from patients and found guilty in court, or just plain out right
being dishonest and putting their own financial interests ahead of patient
care. I would really like to know how many complaints have been filed just
in the past year, and how many have even been looked at and acted upon.
I know that Tony Barr has filed at least one, dealing with a fraud case.
The latest I have heard on that is that Scott Williamson has stepped aside
from dealing with these complaints, and a new person has been placed in that
position. I would like to know the reasons for that shuffle of chairs.
Well, as always, there are several really big issues going on. The Linkia
deal is still a big one, but the talk about it here has seemed to die down.
It should NOT DIE DOWN. We need to keep a close eye on it.
Also, if you value your business and having patients, you need to be careful
who you buy things from and who you are giving all the information to.
There are several vendors out there, pick one of them wisely that can help
you succeed, and NOT come to town and try to take your business.
Have a great evening.
Jim DeWees, CP
With current and developing programs to raise the level of the O&P clinician
and researcher, as well as providing needed training and education for
technicians, fitters, and others who play an invaluable role in O&P, the
future is looking bright for the profession, despite the plethora of current
challenges.
********************
To unsubscribe, send a message to: <Email Address Redacted> with
the words UNSUB OANDP-L in the body of the
message.
If you have a problem unsubscribing,or have other
questions, send e-mail to the moderator
Paul E. Prusakowski,CPO at <Email Address Redacted>
OANDP-L is a forum for the discussion of topics
related to Orthotics and Prosthetics.
Public commercial postings are forbidden. Responses to inquiries
should not be sent to the entire oandp-l list. Professional credentials
or affiliations should be used in all communications.
in the field. One of the articles of interest is on the topic of education.
Once again, on paper it looks like we are really working to make big strides
to improve something, while in reality we are NOT doing that in the real
world.
A perfect example is the article O&P Ascends Professional Summit, where it
maps out what they are planning over the course of basically the next THREE
years. By the year 2010 it will be implemented that the introductory level
education will be a masters degree.
That is really some big jump, since just last year the entry level education
to be a CP, CO or CPO was just a GED. Not even a high school diploma was
required to buy the $75 certificate, which is the gateway to getting a
medicare provider number, and having a business to do the O&P work. So,
between the years 2005 and 2010, we are expected to go from a GED to a
Master's degree to be a practitioner. That is a MAJOR change, which we need
to see if that is even realistic.
I am in favor, in a very strong way, of having a formal education in order
to work in a profession, if no formal education is required to do the
work, then it is merely a trade and not a profession, look it up in a
dictionary. I have been a firm believer and supporter of education, that is
why I quit a very good paying job in another medical profession (yes, a real
profession), and went to school full time for the certificate in
prosthetics. I had NO income for over a year, moved 750 miles or so to LA
to go to school, sold basically everything that I could sell, put the rest
in a storage unit, etc. I made that sacrifice because I thought it was
worth it. I know that many people complain that they cannot go to school
for various reasons, that schools are not accessible or too far away, that
they are financially unable to make that decision to go to school, etc.
Although I feel badly for them and wish they could somehow get the financial
assistance or motivation they need to go to a formal program, sometimes that
just does not work out. But, if I can make that sacrifice, leaving a good
paying career and a nice comfortable home, etc, then anyone can do it if
they really want it bad enough.
Anyway, I do not mean to offend anyone with this email, that is not the
point of it. But, the point is, while this Summit was meeting and trying
to figure out the academic pathway for this field, even the people at
Northwestern were in agreement, and stated, Northwestern University,
Chicago, Illinois, is working toward offering a masters degree, according to
Mike Brncick, MEd, CPO, administrative director. We are [currently]
scheduled to approach the graduate school in April of 2008.
But, if that is true, then how are they making a distance learning, study at
home, online learning, corespondence course, or whatever you call it.
Doesn't that seem to be going the exact opposite direction? They will be
producing more graduates with a Bachelor's degree, maybe.
I got a couple emails from people at Northwestern after my last posting
where I questioned the quality and legitimacy of such a program. The
responses were justifying this kind of program, because more and more
universities are going that direction. I can understand taking some writing
class, history class, math class or something like that through some online
course. But, I don't think that the PT schools could teach therapy
techniques over the internet, or nursing students learning how to give shots
or starting an IV. Those are all skills that need to be taught in person,
with hands on skills.
Another justification was on the issue about the current programs not being
easily accessible to the students. With a distance learning program, most
of the class work would be done over the internet, and then the students
have to spend 8 weeks in Chicago at the school. How will this help? How
could any working person take off 8 weeks to go to Chicago? I never had
that much vacation time at my jobs. And, how many trips is this? Who pays
for transportation, where do you stay while you are in Chicago? You can't
have an apartment for the short time periods you are there. But, there are
many hotels right close to the school, all starting at about $189 per night.
Multiply that by 50-some nights, and it gets quite expensive.
It just does NOT MAKE SENSE at all. And, with NCOPE pushing for a masters
program, how in the world did they justify allowing this kind of education
program.
What does make sense is that Northwestern can greatly enhance their revenue
by adding more students on the rosters, taking their money, and NOT having
to provide a classroom to meet in, no housing, nothing. Just a camera and a
computer in some closet will generate A LOT OF MONEY. I do not believe it
will generate graduates that will come out of school with the skills
necessary to actually cast patients and know what they really need to do for
the patients.
If the residency programs were functioning like they are designed to do,
according to the NCOPE requirements, that would be the ideal method for the
new graduates to get the experience they need. But, if you were an amputee,
and you can only get a new leg every 3 years, would you want some resident
seeing you and being the guinea pig for him/her to learn on. Just think, if
they do a horrible job, the amputee has to live with that teaching
experiment for the next 3 years.
Also, according to NCOPE, the resident can work alone in a facility, as long
as some certified practitioner is within a 60 mile radius of that resident.
There is NO time limits on how much time the overseeing practitioner has to
work directly with that resident. In fact, the only requirement is that the
certified practitioner must meet with the resident every quarter, just long
enough to write the evaluation. And that doesn't even have to be done in
person.
I know from my experience from working for Hanger, there are MANY residents
that are sent to fly solo in some office. They are CHEAP LABOR!!! A
whopping $25,000 salary is all it takes to have a practitioner working in
some office, a mere $12.50 per hour employee. Nice!! There are many office
jobs that require NO education that pay more than that. And Hanger is not
the only place that does that.
Here is the plan of the summit meetings:
Timeline
A proposed timeline was developed at the planning session in February:
2006�Curriculum guide for bachelors degree programs finalized;
2007�Masters degree curriculum guides/standards developed and a proposed
first draft available;
2008�The draft presented to the profession and standards/guidelines
finalized;
2009�Feedback considered and adjustments/modifications made as necessary;
2010�Entry-level masters degree requirement implemented..
I hope this works and they stick to the plans. But as long as ABC continues
to open up the back door and allow anyone and everyone into this field,
these standards mean nothing.
ABC never took the paragraph off the website where it states that they value
education, and that a formal education, bachelors degree or certificate
course, is required to become a CP, CPO, or CO. But, is that really true?
Not at all.
We need to be vigilant and support the education drive in this field. It
will produce better practitioners, better research in this field (right now
most, if not all, of the research is being done by people outside this
field...but yet we claim that it is OUR field, and that WE are the only ones
that are worthy of doing the work.....why then don't we do the research and
publish it??), and hopefully better results and outcomes for the patients.
These are just my thoughts on education, and I am glad to see that the
leadership has taken the time to write and publish such lofty goals for the
field, and a plan. It looks good on paper, I just wonder if it will be
worth the trees that were cut down to make the paper that it took to write
it up. Hopefully it will be worth more than the papers that have the joke
of Disciplinary measures....we all know that doesn't work. If it did, we
would not see so many cases like what Phillipe Cartaya wrote about that
causes such a mess on the list. There should be some oversight committee
that could get involved and make sure the amputees were getting treated
correctly.
Oh wait, we do have some oversight committee out there.....ON PAPER...and
with big TITLES. But, I would love to see any action that has been taken
over the past few years against facilities or practitioners that have
committed fraud, had sex with patients (yes, that is in there), stolen
narcotics from patients and found guilty in court, or just plain out right
being dishonest and putting their own financial interests ahead of patient
care. I would really like to know how many complaints have been filed just
in the past year, and how many have even been looked at and acted upon.
I know that Tony Barr has filed at least one, dealing with a fraud case.
The latest I have heard on that is that Scott Williamson has stepped aside
from dealing with these complaints, and a new person has been placed in that
position. I would like to know the reasons for that shuffle of chairs.
Well, as always, there are several really big issues going on. The Linkia
deal is still a big one, but the talk about it here has seemed to die down.
It should NOT DIE DOWN. We need to keep a close eye on it.
Also, if you value your business and having patients, you need to be careful
who you buy things from and who you are giving all the information to.
There are several vendors out there, pick one of them wisely that can help
you succeed, and NOT come to town and try to take your business.
Have a great evening.
Jim DeWees, CP
With current and developing programs to raise the level of the O&P clinician
and researcher, as well as providing needed training and education for
technicians, fitters, and others who play an invaluable role in O&P, the
future is looking bright for the profession, despite the plethora of current
challenges.
********************
To unsubscribe, send a message to: <Email Address Redacted> with
the words UNSUB OANDP-L in the body of the
message.
If you have a problem unsubscribing,or have other
questions, send e-mail to the moderator
Paul E. Prusakowski,CPO at <Email Address Redacted>
OANDP-L is a forum for the discussion of topics
related to Orthotics and Prosthetics.
Public commercial postings are forbidden. Responses to inquiries
should not be sent to the entire oandp-l list. Professional credentials
or affiliations should be used in all communications.
Citation
Jim DeWees, “O&P Education,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 2, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/227485.
