September 2005 • Vol. 1, No. 3
	Advancing Orthotic and Prosthetic Care Through Knowledge

PROJECT QUANTUM LEAP UPDATE

Reaching Out to Students

The Academy’s national outreach campaign focused on high school students and counselors through exhibits at the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) and the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Annual Meetings. As part of the Academy’s grant through the U.S. Department of Education, the Academy is spreading the word about careers and schooling in O&P through nationwide outreach programs, advertising and exhibits such as these.

Approximately 5,200 high school students interested in health careers and their advisors attended the HOSA meeting June 22–25 in Nashville, Tennessee. Just after HOSA wrapped, The Academy exhibited in Orlando, June 26–29 at the ASCA Annual Meeting which attracted more than 1,600 school counselors nationwide.

At the HOSA meeting, The Academy presented a workshop to students and advisors. Former Paralympian Todd Schaffhauser was joined by local prosthetist Aaron Fitzsimmons, CP, OTR/L, to talk about how the O&P profession differs from some of the other medical career options.

“You truly make a difference every day as an orthotist or prosthetist,” explained Schaffhauser who lost his leg at age 15. “My prosthetist gave me the ability to walk again. That is a very powerful thing.”

“There is never a ‘typical’ day with O&P,” added Fitzsimmons. “One day I can be at the hospital and the next day I’m at the office. I may be working with an elderly patient in the morning and a young, new amputee in the afternoon. Each patient is different and offers unique challenges.”

The HOSA students were excited by orthotics and prosthetics. Because of their interest in the health professions, their questions went beyond the general career topics. “How is the socket made? How do you know you have good hand skills? Can you learn hand skills? How do you know which components work best with each other?” are just some of the questions posed by the bright young minds we are looking for to help shape the future of the O&P profession.

State-of-the-Science Conferences (SSCs) Continue

The state of the art in prosthetic foot/ankle technology is advancing so quickly it is hard to keep up with. As foot/ankle mechanisms have progressed, so have methods and means to understand how they work or compare to one another, and what impact they may have on a user’s function. In April, as part of the latest Academy SSC, a select group of engineers, biomechanists, prosthetists, therapists, and physicians, chaired by Don Cummings, CP, and Susan Kapp, CPO, spent nearly three days reviewing the literature and attempting to summarize the current state-of-the-science of prosthetic feet and ankles. They found that while there were numerous diverse studies, few provided the kind of conclusive information that could help clinicians make practical recommendations about the best foot for a particular patient. Still, some fascinating trends are emerging, and the near future for research and development in this area should be exciting. These and other findings will be detailed in the October JPO supplement.

The final SSC of 2005 will take place in Chicago, Illinois, September 7–9. The conference on “Lower-Limb Prosthetic Outcomes Measures” will be chaired by Laura Miller, CP, and Julie McCay, CP.

Advanced Education Discussions Continue

In mid-June numerous subject matter experts convened in Seattle, Washington, to continue discussions relative to the Advanced Education & Research Training Initiative [AERTI]: Prosthetic-Orthotic Strategic Plan for a Ten-Fold Increase in the Academic and Research Capacity of the Profession. This conference addressed the four recommendations identified in the AERTI plan developed in Grant Year I, which included:

The outcomes will be formally documented for distribution later this year.