Strategic Plan for Advanced Degrees


Did you know that the conceptual basis for virtually all contemporary O&P techniques stems from research conducted between 1945 and 1965? Since education provides the stepping stone into the research arena, one of the Academy's grant-related initiatives is taking a systematic look at how to meet contemporary research needs by creating advanced educational pathways in the US, including academic doctoral programs.

In addition to making strategic recommendations, the Academy's strategic planning to train future scientists and academic leaders will foster the development of the academic and clinical environments necessary to establish advanced degree programs, and identify and recruit academic faculty with the ability to mentor PhD students. To learn more, read the Advanced Education Research Training Initiatives (AERTI) report.
AERTI Report


Year II of the Academy grant began by creating the infrastructure and networks needed to overcome existing barriers to obtaining advanced degrees, to foster the development of the necessary academic and clinical environment to establish such programs, and to identify and recruit academic faculty to serve as mentors to those individuals currently in prosthetics and orthotics who are willing and capable of earning advanced degrees.

Summary of Grant Year II meeting (PDF - 69 kB)

The Academy continues to work towards building the research capacity of the profession by focusing and advancing educational towards scientific and clinical research. To assist interested individuals in both O&P and the allied health profession, activities in Grant Year IV included the development of the 2007 Guide to Financial Aid for Advanced Education in Orthotics and Prosthetics.

The guide provides a concise summary of currently available, potential sources of financial aid for O&P students from baccalaureate through doctoral level studies. These resources can offer up to $300,000 to help offset costs of tuition, books, and living expenses incurred while earning academic degrees. While some of these resources are narrowly targeted and highly competitive, candidates from the field of P&O can pursue these existing funding sources. This document also highlights key grant programs that might become open to P&O candidates in the future.

Increased interest in advanced education must coincide with expanding academic programs. To respond to increasing educational demands, grant efforts included contacting eleven US colleges and universities that currently offer Doctoral Programs in Rehabilitation Sciences to request inclusion of an O&P emphasis within the curriculum.

AERTI 2009

The American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists has long recognized the valuable synergy between research and education, and the mutual importance of each in advancing the field. Consequently, a focal point of an Academy grant initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Education has been a systematic analysis of research capacity and advanced education. A grant project in 2004 convened a series of meetings and produced the Advanced Education and Research Training Initiative (AERTI) report. Continuing the initiative, a multidisciplinary and multinational group of experts convened in Chicago July 17 - 19, 2009 to review the 2004 AERTI Report, evaluate its recommendations in light of the evolution of the profession over the past five years, and to make suggestions for consideration by the field that would accelerate the ace of progress. This group included clinicians, researchers and educators with widely varying backgrounds, training, and experiences. There was broad consensus that the original recommendations from the AERTI, summarized below, remain sound. In addition, noteworthy progress has been made in recent years toward several of the goals defined in the AERTI. Finally, there was broad agreement that the philosophy articulated in the AERTI report remains sound:

"Fostering advanced education and research within the field is important because the resulting infrastructure will lead to higher quality, more effective health care that is of better value to society. This would create a culture within the profession that values science and expects clinicians to consume and apply research."

The group agreed that significant progress had been made toward achieving the original AERTI goals. For example, in the time since the original report it has become possible for a prosthetist/orthotist to obtain a Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Science at the University of Washington and a Ph.D. in Applied Physiology at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Not only do these institutions encourage a dissertation topic focused on O&P-related topics, but also several students are currently enrolled. In addition, Georgia Tech has been awarded a substantial, multi-year student training grant for their new Ph.D. program.

Primarily due to other Academy grant initiatives, awareness about the value and principles of EBP has increased significantly within the field. The need for better objective outcome measures is now widely recognized within the profession and by research funding agencies. Several clinicians have earned academic master's and doctoral degrees since 2004 and a significant number are currently enrolled in master's and PhD programs.

Recommendations:

While encouraged by the progress to date, the group unanimously agreed that further effort is required to fully achieve the original AERTI goals. Furthermore, experience since 2004 has enabled identification of some additional strategies deemed likely to accelerate these positive changes. These recommendations are summarized below under the headings of three general goals:

  1. Goal I: Facilitate use of evidence in clinical practice
  2. Goal II: Facilitate generation of clinically relevant applied research
  3. Goal III: Facilitate increased inter-disciplinary contributions

The Academy will continue to support the goals of outlined in the AERTI Reports through the work of its Councils and Committees.

Read the full AERTI 2009 Report here.


These projects have been funded by a grant from the United States Department of Education Special Demonstration Programs—Projects for Orthotic and Prosthetic Research. The purpose of this program is to provide funding in response to the Department of Education Appropriations Act for one or more projects designed to improve the quality of applied orthotic and prosthetic research and to help meet the increasing demand for provider services.
Grant Year One Award Details
Grant Year Two Award Details
Grant Year Three Award Details
Grant Year Four Award Details