April 2007 • Vol. 3, No. 2
	Advancing Orthotic and Prosthetic Care Through Knowledge

A Report on Ongoing Efforts to Advance the O&P Profession

The Academy’s U.S. Department of Education grant activities continue to advance the profession through awareness, education, and research. Significant progress based on our efforts was reported during the 33rd Academy Annual Meeting and Scientific Symposium held in March in San Francisco.

We were thrilled to announce the debut of our new DVD promoting the profession at the opening session on Thursday, March 22. All members will receive complimentary copies included in a media kit that will really help build our grassroots outreach efforts needed to make the awareness campaign a success nationwide. The DVD will also be streamed onto our website for additional viewings. The DVD and media kit will complement a series of public-service announcements to promote the profession nationally and through local markets. The new media kit will include a turnkey piece that provides a succinct snapshot of the profession and career opportunities that our members can use when talking about the Academy and the profession.

Meeting attendees also had the chance to hear the latest update on the grant’s Geographic Distribution project on Saturday, March 24. This is phase two of a three-part study to establish preliminary data comparing the number of CPOs to the number of eligible Medicare beneficiaries likely to need O&P services. This analysis was done by metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) to provide additional insight into the distribution of qualified practitioners in high- and low-population-density regions of the country. Practical implications from this new research were discussed. Grant Co-PI, John W. Michael, MEd, CPO, FAAOP, was joined by Sharon Hubbard, MS, business manager and Department of Education/Academy grant manager for the Prosthetics Research Study at the University of Washington, Seattle, to present these findings.

Earlier this month, the Academy’s eighth State-of-the-Science Conference (SSC) was held in Chicago, Illinois. The topic was “Biomechanics of Ambulation After Partial Foot Amputation.” The conference was led by Chair Jack Uellendahl, CPO, and Co-Chair Elaine Uellendahl, CP. The purpose of this SSC was to review the scientific literature regarding the biomechanical function during level-ground walking of persons with partial foot amputations to establish what is known, what is believed to be true, and what needs to be known to optimize ambulation for these patients. This SSC investigated a broad range of custom-made prostheses, orthoses, and hybrid “prosthoses” commonly prescribed for this population in an effort to determine key biomechanical distinctions that may influence prescription criteria for specific individuals. Conference proceedings will be published in spring 2007.

The SSCs led to the development of two new online professional continuing education (PCE) courses based on their findings. Courses based on SSCs #6 (Lower-Limb Prosthetic Outcomes Measures) and #7 (KAFOs) will also be available in spring 2007. The online courses offer exceptional education that is available at your convenience.

As we strive to make our O&P professionals better consumers of O&P research, the Academy’s grant programs are focused on helping practitioners understand the existing research and the methodology behind literature reviews and evidence reports. Brian Hafner, PhD, research director of the Prosthetics Research Study at the University of Washington, Seattle, led a team of subject-matter experts in January 2007 to develop a detailed guideline for the creation of an evidence report in support of SSCs. Meanwhile, Mark Geil, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health at Georgia State University, Atlanta, led a panel of experts in presenting “Evidence-Based Practice: Justifying Patient Care” Friday, March 23, at the Academy’s Annual Meeting. To thrive in today’s “pay-for-performance” (P4P) reimbursement environment, the vast majority of practitioners must be educated consumers of emerging scientific research. Participants in this session learned what evidence-based practice is and how it directly affects clinical care.

The entry-level education program continues to move forward, focused on developing a curriculum guide for the master’s program. A series of meetings were held throughout 2006, and the final wrap-up meeting took place in February 2007.

For updated reports on the grant and its findings, visit www.oandp.org/grants.