Academy - A Historical Perspective

The Formative Years

The American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists was founded in November of 1970 to further the scientific and educational attainments of professional practitioners in the disciplines of orthotics and prosthetics. The need for such an organization had earlier been agreed to by the leadership of the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association (AOPA), a trade association serving the interests of orthotic and prosthetic facilities, manufacturers, and suppliers; and the American Board for Certification in Orthotics and Prosthetics (ABC), the sole U.S. credentialing agency at that time for practitioners and facilities in this area of rehabilitation health care.

According to its Bylaws, the Academy is dedicated to: (1) attainment of the highest standards of technical competence and ethical conduct by its members; (2) the professional recognition of qualified practitioners; (3) the assurances that practitioners who apply for or are admitted to membership maintain high standards of professional conduct; and (4) collaboration with other educational, research and related organizations in developing technical and ethical standards for the profession of orthotics and prosthetics. In order to comply with these objectives, membership in the Academy is restricted to individuals who have been certified in orthotics and/or prosthetics by the ABC, and who maintain their certification in good standing.

Following the first three years of organizational and structural development, the Academy held is 1st Annual Membership Meeting in 1974, along with two days of scientific presentations on current concepts in the practice of orthotics and prosthetics.

As the Academy grew and began to further identify its role and responsibility within the profession and the educational needs of orthotic and prosthetic practitioners, so did the content and professional quality of its Annual Meetings. Along with this, the Academy became involved in publishing. In 1978, the Academy assumed the responsibility of publishing the Newsletter of Amputee Clinics, formerly published by the Committee on Prosthetics and Research Development, a subcommittee of the National Academy of Sciences. Renamed Newsletter ... Prosthetics and Orthotics Clinics, the quarterly publication focused on clinical, multi-disciplinary approaches to a particular orthotic or prosthetic topic. In 1980, the eight-page Newsletter became a professional journal titled, Clinical Prosthetics & Orthotics, and began attracting an increasing number of technical, as well as clinical manuscripts written by O&P practitioners.

Additionally, during the late 1970's the Academy became more actively involved in research, though its Clinical Research and Development Committee. This led to the successful submission of its first research proposal to the Veterans Administration Prosthetic Center (VAPC). Funds were awarded by the VAPC for the purpose of evaluating new prosthetic skin materials for external prostheses and involved the efforts and input of numerous Academy member practitioners.

Professional Development and Recognition Prosper

As the early 1980's got underway, the Academy continued to pursue the professional development and recognition of the profession and its practitioner members. It began developing more formalized professional liaisons with other medical and allied health care organizations, such as the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, the American Physical Therapy Association, and The American Occupational Therapy Association, etc.

Along with the Academy's efforts to gain recognition of the profession and its members, in 1983, the Academy successfully gained recognition by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) for the ABC Certified Prosthetist and Orthotist.

1983 led to even higher aspirations for professional development as the Academy founded its College Fund. With a vision of higher education, the purpose and goal of the Academy College Fund was to see the eventual development of a doctoral degree program in orthotics and prosthetics. Although controversial in its time, the Fund raised well over $100,000 in its first three years towards this effort. These donations primarily came from within the profession and by Academy member practitioners. This remains the greatest single amount ever contributed from within the profession towards advanced educational needs. To this day, it demonstrates a strong commitment within the profession towards higher education. Plans are currently underway to solicit the existing university programs offering orthotics and prosthetics education for proposals towards the development of a doctoral degree in orthotics and prosthetics. Many Academicians, supporting this effort, have felt a doctoral degree program is essential to the development of advanced degree education beyond the current baccalaureate degree requirement for practitioners, as well as to meet the growing research needs of the profession.

In 1984, to further its educational goals and needs, the Academy began developing and publishing educational information for consumers. This led to the publication of its first patient-oriented Care & Use Guide in 1986 on "Plastic Ankle/Foot Orthosis". This effort was spearheaded by the Academy's College Fund, which awarded a $1,000 scholarship to a 2nd year orthotic or prosthetic student producing the best manuscript on a consumer-related subject. The effort eventually led to the publishing of another Care and Use Guide, "For the Below/Knee Amputee".

Additionally in 1984, the Academy formalized its support of the existing orthotic and prosthetic education programs by joining with AOPA to fund biannual meetings of the Committee on Orthotic/Prosthetic Education (COPE) and the University Council of Orthotic/Prosthetic Educators (UCOPE). This was an effort to see greater continuity of the subject matter being taught to entry level students, and to better address the needs and concerns of the education programs. This effort eventually led to a formal merger of COPE/UCOPE into one organization, the National Association of Prosthetic - Orthotic Educators (NAPOE), and represents all of the orthotic or prosthetic programs recognized at that time by the Education Accreditation Commission (EAC).

Taking a more formalized approach to professional development and continuing education, the Academy held its first national Continuing Education Conference (CEC) in Chicago in late 1984. This first CEC was focused on the current clinical concepts in upper/limb prosthetics and was held in Thorn Hall on the campus of Northwestern University Medical School. Historically, Thorn Hall was the site of the first nationally organized meeting to discuss orthotic and prosthetic technology. The Department of Defense brought together officials from numerous federal and private organizations to address the needs of disabled veterans. This meeting led to the first formalized course on above/knee prosthetics at the University of California at Los Angeles. Ironically, the Academy's first CEC was the last formalized meeting on prosthetics to be held at Thorn Hall, as it was later demolished for expansion of the University.

Starting in 1985, the Academy began sponsoring a series of five CECs annually to bring advanced continuing education to the profession and its members. The CECs are hosted in different geographical regions to offer continuing education to as many practitioners as possible. They are routinely co-sponsored with one of the Academy's sixteen regional and state Chapters.

Along with initiating its CEC Program in 1984, the Academy expanded the content of its Annual Membership Meeting to include a greater number of scientific presentations, as well as to include exhibits by the manufacturers and suppliers of O&P components and materials. The Academy further enhanced its annual membership event by giving it the title of Academy Annual Meeting and Scientific Symposium to better identify the professional content and the significance of the Meeting. The Academy's Symposium has become the largest attended and most comprehensive annual educational event in orthotics and prosthetics in the U.S. The number of scientific presentations, educational workshops, and exhibits offered during the Symposium has expanded the entire Meeting from three days to a full week. A full 2 1/2 days are now devoted to concurrent scientific sessions on orthotics and prosthetics. Besides ABC-certified practitioners, the Symposium is attended by physicians and other allied health rehabilitation professionals.

Underscoring the Academy's commitment to ongoing education, in 1985, the Board of Directors unanimously adopted a program for enhancing professional and ethical competence through Mandatory Continuing Education (MCE). The Academy Bylaws were changed to require MCE as a prerequisite for membership in the Academy, along with the requirement of being an ABC Certified Orthotist and/or Prosthetist in good standing. Through the Academy's efforts to identify the need for continuing education and competency, in 1988, the ABC adopted the same MCE requirements for all newly certified practitioners. Like members of the Academy, all ABC certified practitioners were required to earn a minimum of 75 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) every five years to maintain their certification status.

That same year, in order to enhance and broaden the sphere of knowledge on orthotics and prosthetics, the Academy's Journal, Clinical Prosthetics & Orthotics, was merged with AOPA's Orthotics & Prosthetics Journal to become the JPO: Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics. Although the combined publications remained quarterly, the new Journal grew to 64 pages, placed more emphasis on research-based articles, and instituted a comprehensive peer-review process for reviewing all manuscripts.

In 1989, to further its commitment and interest in orthotic and prosthetic research, the Academy joined forces with the Veterans Administration to co-sponsor a consensus conference on the emerging technology of computer aided design and computer assisted manufacturing (CAD/CAM). This conference brought together an international delegation of researchers and practitioners involved in this advanced area of technology to better assess and determine its future in the delivery of orthotic and prosthetic health care services.

Also in 1989, recognizing that advancing technology affected the educational needs of the profession, the Academy through its involvement with the Education Accreditation Committee (EAC), the educational standards setting organization for orthotics and prosthetics, took on the task of establishing new academic and clinical "essentials" for students enrolled in O&P schools. This effort lead to a major restructuring of the O&P education accreditation process and spurred the transformation of the EAC into the National Commission on Orthotic and Prosthetic Education (NCOPE) as the primary accreditation organization for O&P educational and residency programs. The Academy's involvement further led to the development of education essentials, and eventually, the official recognition of orthotics and prosthetics as an allied health care profession by the American Medical Association (AMA).

Breaking New Ground

The Academy's focus, however, did not remain internal as it began to embrace the consumers of orthotic and prosthetic services by inviting their participation and attendance at the 12th Annual Meeting and Scientific Symposium in 1986. This gave them the opportunity to enhance their knowledge on emerging technologies and interact with practitioners at another level. Prosthetic consumers took advantage of this opportunity to interact with one another, and it served as a catalyst for the foundation of the Amputee Coalition of America (ACA) in 1989. The ACA has now become a recognized voice on legislative and research issues affecting the quality of life and care to prosthetic consumers.

As the new decade dawned, the Academy branched into new activities with a distinctly international flair. In 1990, nine Academy members journeyed to the former Soviet Union to give presentations during a week-long O&P conference in Moscow.

Furthering its commitment towards consumers and the issue of quality care assurance, the Academy became a Sponsoring Member of the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) in 1990. This led to the first appointment by the profession of an orthotic and prosthetic practitioner to the CARF Board of Trustees. Additionally, this commitment of participation to the ongoing effort of assuring quality care standards to persons with disabilities, further established the Academy as the primary professional organization dealing with quality assurance and goal-oriented outcome rehabilitation health care issues at the national level. The Academy furthered its commitment to consumers with the appointment of the first "Consumer Liaison" to the Board of Directors in 1991.

In 1992, the Academy joined ABC and AOPA in hosting the World Congress of the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO). Held in Chicago, the event attracted practitioners from around the globe, as well as the United States and surpassed all other World Congresses in attendance.

Additionally in 1992, with the profession becoming more specialized both clinically and technologically, the need for sharing information in specific areas of practice arose. This led to the development of professional membership Societies to provide a forum for practitioners interested in specific areas of orthotic and prosthetic education and research. The Academy created five specialized Societies in the areas of spinal orthotics, lower/limb orthotics, upper/limb prosthetics, lower/limb prosthetics and computer aided design and computer aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM).

Also during the 1992 year, in an effort to better recognize and honor colleagues who have made outstanding contributions to the profession, the Academy introduced professional recognition awards for Educator of the Year and Clinician of the Year, along with awards for Advancements in Research and Creativity.

1992 further led to the Academy's involvement in the first Orthotics and Prosthetics Research Consensus Conference sponsored by the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR) of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This was a direct result of increased Federal funding for orthotic and prosthetic research, spawning a renewed interest in research, which led to the Academy's development of grantsmanship seminars for its membership.

By 1993, the Academy's full-time staff had grown to five, including a director of affairs, manager of continuing education, project manager and two administrative staffers. In addition, the Academy, along with AOPA and ABC, employed the services of the National Office executive director and some 14 other National Office departmental employees for meeting planning, management information services, accounting, office management, publications, and marketing.

The staff serves a membership of 1600, many of who attended the 1993 Annual Meeting and broke the record for the largest attendance. For the first time, the Academy's Societies sponsored sessions during the Scientific Symposium, and all registrants received a Journal of Proceedings that contained 75 entries. That same year, the first Video Institute -- Management of the Neuropathic and Dysvascular Patient -- made its debut. The Academy's emphasis on continuing education for its members did not go unnoticed by ABC, which in 1993, extended MCE requirements to all certified practitioners, effective December 1, 1994.

1993 also saw the introduction of the Program for Professional Development (PPD), an initiative to ensure the Academy offers a variety of continuing education opportunities to appeal to members in different locations, work environments, and with different experience levels. This initiative led to the formation of the Education Development Council, comprised of the chairs of the Academy's various education programs. The Council's charge, which is currently being implemented, is to develop a topic-driven system of high-quality continuing education offerings that are not only available in different formats and locations, but also cost-effective for members.

1994 has led to the development of another Society in the area of Gait Analysis. Along with this, the Academy College Fund has initiated plans to see the endowment of professorship at an existing educational institution to enable the development of an advanced degree education program. Requests for proposals to several universities with existing orthotic and prosthetic programs are being planned before the year's end, and will bring the dream of a doctorate in orthotics and prosthetics one step closer.

1995 represented the "Silver Anniversary" of Academy and its 25 years of service and dedication to advancing the knowledge of ABC credentialed practitioners through continuing education. The 21st Annual Meeting and Scientific Symposium was the highlight of the year, with the largest single attendance ever at an Academy Annual Meeting. During the "Silver Anniversary" celebrations at the Annual Meeting, the Academy renewed its commitment to excellence in education with the establishment of a series of Certificate Education Programs beginning with Clinical Patient Management concepts. Along with its traditional education goals, the Academy formally embraced another responsibility on behalf of its members by initiating a grass-roots effort to market the ABC credentials of its member practitioners.