ABC Assistant credential
Hewey, Bernard
Description
Collection
Title:
ABC Assistant credential
Creator:
Hewey, Bernard
Date:
10/15/2010
Text:
Here are more responses to my earlier post concerning the ABC Assistant credential.
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I read your listserve post and the subsequent responses with great interest, however with little optimism about the possibility of anyone outside the inner circle having any influence on the process. I thought the variety of tone was interesting in the responses as it seems some would want to make a genuine contribution to a civil discourse and others would pontificate with an extra dash of arrogance.
Most practitioners are overwhelmed with their daily workload and the ever increasing complexities of reimbursement to step back and reflect on all the ramifications of ABC's latest proposal. There are probably many viewpoints reflecting varying agendas from many who would seek to promote or obstruct an assistant credential, and the crucial point was made by one of your respondents as to the devil being in the details.
Just how would this be in the patient's best interest, and how would it be differentiated from fitter, technician, associate, pedorthist, shoe fitter and everything else ABC has created at one time or another? It may sound simplistic, but these credentials all seem to have gray areas that are blurred with each facility owner's particular staffing issues on any particular day.
Or is it all simply subterfuge to cover for the fact that moving directly to a mandatory masters credential was an ill-conceived and impractical change that will severely limit the availability of practitioners in the future? Other professions like nursing and therapy can impose a limited gateway because there is no other way to be licensed and be employed. P&O however has BOC, and several other smaller organizations who can enable an individual to be employed and receive the same reimbursement as the dedicated student who goes through the NCOPE and ABC gauntlet. I am one of those folks who have been doing this long enough to remember when the bachelor's requirement was proposed, and was supposed to have been implemented back in 1980, but was postponed because of implementation problems. Even today we still have people in practice who are high school graduates and went to a few short term courses in New York or UCLA. A little reflection on what we actually do each day, instead of what we would like to do is probably in order, practice analysis surveys notwithstanding. While the moved to increasing educational requirements is understandable, the loss of technical literacy among new graduates is not. P&O practitioners are expected to provide devices that accomplish a functional goal, not theorize about them, and one has to understand material and technique to accomplish that, even if they don't do it on a daily basis. I am currently mentoring a resident out of a masters program that didn't even have a functioning sewing machine, making me wonder about what direction the field is headed.
Whether the assistant position would be a helpful adjunct to a busy practice or just another way for large organizations to cut payroll costs remains to be seen. Since ABC is not a membership organization, and a few large groups make most of the moves in AOPA I feel this will be like the $75 credential decision in that there will be little that the average practitioner can do to influence this process.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have a dream that one day we (collectively) will wake up and smell the coffee. This field; business; industry; profession needs to recognize just what it is we do, how we do it, and what its value is to those we serve. Since the Educational Conference meeting held in Pheonix, (1994 I believe) I have maintained that we need to be moving as rapidly as possible to a PhD. level for practitioners.
Who knows more about orthotics and prosthetics than a practicing orthotist/prosthetist? Who is it that writes the orthotic and/or prosthetic prescriptions that most medical doctors sign or at the very least approve. Having said that, a truly professional degree will require a greater amount education which will entail far more real research which will benefit not oly the patient, but also the doctors and our professional community
Therefore, the assistant credential is, in my opinion a very necessay addition to our process. It is not necessarily a pathway to certification/licensure but neither is it exclusionary. I see the assistant as just that; assisting the practitioner, just as a Physician's Assistant is used in a medical practice. It can be a very valuable and viable means to provide better services to more people.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Favorite quote I forget the exact lingo the office of the future-types use for this minimally qualified (read lowest paid) monkey, but I am sure you get my point.
This position has been in existance as long as the industry itself and this is the first step into legitmizing it. Like everything everything else its scope and merit will be refined over time to meet the needs of the industry and patients.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When practitioners lack the education and/or motivation to provide adequate care and use flawed techniques such as laser-scanning, global reduction, and single wrap casts for fittings there is a serious problem in patient care. When these same individuals seek to expand their services by using those with less training there is a catastrophy.
I wonder where concern for quality care begins to be a meaningful goal instead of an occasional concern buoyed by inadequate training and meaningless letters of academic achievment.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for the continued reflection and commentary.
Bernard Hewey, CPO
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I read your listserve post and the subsequent responses with great interest, however with little optimism about the possibility of anyone outside the inner circle having any influence on the process. I thought the variety of tone was interesting in the responses as it seems some would want to make a genuine contribution to a civil discourse and others would pontificate with an extra dash of arrogance.
Most practitioners are overwhelmed with their daily workload and the ever increasing complexities of reimbursement to step back and reflect on all the ramifications of ABC's latest proposal. There are probably many viewpoints reflecting varying agendas from many who would seek to promote or obstruct an assistant credential, and the crucial point was made by one of your respondents as to the devil being in the details.
Just how would this be in the patient's best interest, and how would it be differentiated from fitter, technician, associate, pedorthist, shoe fitter and everything else ABC has created at one time or another? It may sound simplistic, but these credentials all seem to have gray areas that are blurred with each facility owner's particular staffing issues on any particular day.
Or is it all simply subterfuge to cover for the fact that moving directly to a mandatory masters credential was an ill-conceived and impractical change that will severely limit the availability of practitioners in the future? Other professions like nursing and therapy can impose a limited gateway because there is no other way to be licensed and be employed. P&O however has BOC, and several other smaller organizations who can enable an individual to be employed and receive the same reimbursement as the dedicated student who goes through the NCOPE and ABC gauntlet. I am one of those folks who have been doing this long enough to remember when the bachelor's requirement was proposed, and was supposed to have been implemented back in 1980, but was postponed because of implementation problems. Even today we still have people in practice who are high school graduates and went to a few short term courses in New York or UCLA. A little reflection on what we actually do each day, instead of what we would like to do is probably in order, practice analysis surveys notwithstanding. While the moved to increasing educational requirements is understandable, the loss of technical literacy among new graduates is not. P&O practitioners are expected to provide devices that accomplish a functional goal, not theorize about them, and one has to understand material and technique to accomplish that, even if they don't do it on a daily basis. I am currently mentoring a resident out of a masters program that didn't even have a functioning sewing machine, making me wonder about what direction the field is headed.
Whether the assistant position would be a helpful adjunct to a busy practice or just another way for large organizations to cut payroll costs remains to be seen. Since ABC is not a membership organization, and a few large groups make most of the moves in AOPA I feel this will be like the $75 credential decision in that there will be little that the average practitioner can do to influence this process.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have a dream that one day we (collectively) will wake up and smell the coffee. This field; business; industry; profession needs to recognize just what it is we do, how we do it, and what its value is to those we serve. Since the Educational Conference meeting held in Pheonix, (1994 I believe) I have maintained that we need to be moving as rapidly as possible to a PhD. level for practitioners.
Who knows more about orthotics and prosthetics than a practicing orthotist/prosthetist? Who is it that writes the orthotic and/or prosthetic prescriptions that most medical doctors sign or at the very least approve. Having said that, a truly professional degree will require a greater amount education which will entail far more real research which will benefit not oly the patient, but also the doctors and our professional community
Therefore, the assistant credential is, in my opinion a very necessay addition to our process. It is not necessarily a pathway to certification/licensure but neither is it exclusionary. I see the assistant as just that; assisting the practitioner, just as a Physician's Assistant is used in a medical practice. It can be a very valuable and viable means to provide better services to more people.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Favorite quote I forget the exact lingo the office of the future-types use for this minimally qualified (read lowest paid) monkey, but I am sure you get my point.
This position has been in existance as long as the industry itself and this is the first step into legitmizing it. Like everything everything else its scope and merit will be refined over time to meet the needs of the industry and patients.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When practitioners lack the education and/or motivation to provide adequate care and use flawed techniques such as laser-scanning, global reduction, and single wrap casts for fittings there is a serious problem in patient care. When these same individuals seek to expand their services by using those with less training there is a catastrophy.
I wonder where concern for quality care begins to be a meaningful goal instead of an occasional concern buoyed by inadequate training and meaningless letters of academic achievment.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for the continued reflection and commentary.
Bernard Hewey, CPO
Citation
Hewey, Bernard, “ABC Assistant credential,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 1, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/231855.
