2003 Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA. The Academy invited local high school students from the San Diego area to participate in a seminar that focused on awareness of the O&P profession. The seminar included a tour of the exhibit hall and an informational luncheon.

Academy Outlines Ambitious Plans for Project Quantum Leap in 2004

2004 is expected to be a banner year for the Academy’s Project Quantum Leap (PQL) initiatives - an umbrella term for activities designed to advance the orthotic and prosthetic profession. Activities in six substantive program areas have already begun with a progress report expected at the Academy’s Annual Meeting in New Orleans, February 25-28, 2004.

“I truly believe that what we intend to accomplish in the coming year is nothing short of ushering in a new era for the Academy,” said Academy President Donald E. Katz, CO, FAAOP. “This incredibly aggressive time-table of activities would not have been possible to even consider if it weren’t for the vision of Academy leadership in recent years and the generous support of countless others. The profession will certainly benefit from them and I’m very honored to be involved.”

Six program areas have begun:

• A national awareness and recruitment campaign,

• A series of conferences to develop a pathway to an advanced degree in O&P,

• Two more Clinical Standards of Practice (CSOP) consensus conferences,

• A “Master Agenda” conference on establishing the formats and goals for future CSOP consensus conferences,

• A geographic assessment of underserved O&P populations, and

• The development of online continuing education courses based on the findings of CSOP conferences.

National Awareness & Recruitment Campaign

Some of the activities within the national awareness and recruitment campaign began last year, such as the career website and National 2003 Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA. The Academy invited local high school students from the San Diego area to participate in a seminar that focused on awareness of the O&P profession. The seminar included a tour of the exhibit hall and an informational luncheon.

O&P Awareness Week. The goal of the campaign is to increase the number of qualified students entering schools and pursuing careers in O&P. As part of the effort the Academy is working cooperatively with O&P schools, related O&P organizations, allied health groups, O&P consumer organizations, career counselor associations, and a nationwide network of practitioner volunteers to systematically increase students’ awareness of careers and schooling in orthotics and prosthetics.

Earlier this year a survey of O&P students in four schools found students need to be made aware of careers in O&P while in high school so that they may better tailor their choice of majors and course selection in college. Career counselors have very limited information on the profession and what it takes to become an orthotist/prosthetist. Arming counselors with information and helping them recognize the traits of an ideal O&P candidate will help them guide interested individuals toward pursuing careers in O&P.

The awareness program also includes outreach to student programs, activities to educate career counselors, media programs, a career information website, and partnerships with other organizations such as:
American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), American School Counselor Association (ASCA), the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), and the National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions (NAAHP).

The centerpiece of the awareness program is a partnership with O&P Marketing Solutions’ Dennis Oehler and Todd Schaffhauser, former Paralympic track and field champions, who will present programs in high schools and technical schools in states where O&P school programs exist. The sites chosen will be based on the O&P school’s existing relationships with local area schools with the goal of delivering the program through a student assembly or health science classes. The Academy will contact O&P manufacturers suppliers for loaner components to create a traveling exhibit. This will allow the students to see various O&P technologies firsthand.

Pathway to an Advanced Degree

The ever-increasing sophistication of available technology, the burgeoning need for evidence-based practice and the steady increase in the percentage of challenging cases to manage are three trends that support the need to accelerate the development of a more scientific basis for O&P practices. However, there are very limited opportunities to earn an advanced academic degree in the field.

At present, there is only one program in North America offering a masters degree in orthotics and prosthetics (Georgia Institute of Technology). It has just accepted the second class of students. No doctoral level O&P programs have ever been offered in this hemisphere. Worldwide, there are only three academic O&P doctoral programs in: Scotland, Australia and Hong Kong.

The Academy will involve individuals who are ABC certified practitioners who have earned an academic doctoral degree and experts in graduate education who have experience with advanced degree programs in the health sciences.

Clinical Standards of Practice (CSOP)

The Academy has already hosted two conferences Orthotic Treatment of Idiopathic Scoliosis and Scheuermann’s Kyphosis and Post-Operative Management of the Lower Extremity Amputee. Findings from the scoliosis conference were recently published as a supplement to the Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics, and the findings from the second conference are currently in review. The intent of a CSOP consensus conference is to establish standards to help guide patient care for individuals challenged by diagnoses which can be considered difficult to treat or controversial in nature. Consensus conferences can tackle some of the biomechanical considerations of how practitioners approach O&P patient care challenges with a critical analysis of what is understood to be the outcome of a given approach. The next two CSOPs will likely be on the Diabetic/Dysvascular Foot and Transfemoral Socket Design. The sequence of topics to be examined will be determined by a conference to set a master agenda.

“I feel strongly that the ultimate purpose of a professional association is to develop a knowledge base that will maximize the effectiveness of practice.”
Donald E. Katz, CO, FAAOP
Academy President
Excerpt from his July 2003 President’s Corner on the Academy website.

Master Agenda for O&P Research

The Academy will develop a Master Agenda of priority topics and a method for planning and conducting consensus conferences. “This will give us a list of priority topics and a standard way of defining the focus of the topic, reaching consensus, identifying the gaps in needed research, and disseminating the outcomes of each conference,” explained John W. Michael, MEd, CPO, FISPO, FAAOP, who will oversee the mechanics of this master plan. It will provide conference organizers with planned objectives and standardized outcomes measurements to ensure successful conference programming and evaluation. A proposed list of 15 topics will begin the discussions of need and prioritization.

Documenting Underserved Populations

One activity of Project Quantum Leap will look at where the underserved populations are with respect to O&P care. The Academy will identify the geographical distribution of certified prosthetists/orthotists comparing the availability of qualified practitioners and accredited facilities with the geographic distribution of the U.S. population requiring O&P care. This study will investigate the possible mal-distribution of O&P clinicians and will establish baseline data upon which to base future planning.

Developing Online Continuing Education

The Academy’s Board of Directors feels it is important that the information developed as a result of the consensus conferences on Clinical Standards of Practice be widely distributed and the results be transformed into practice through online PCE courses and incorporated into O&P curricula. The Academy will contract with accredited O&P schools to develop three online continuing education courses based on best practices identified in the conferences. The online courses will be made available to Academy members, students and others via the Academy website.

Funding for Project Quantum Leap

Project Quantum Leap is expected to stretch over 15 years and include more than two dozen activity areas. Timelines and dates for the 2004 activities are currently being scheduled. Initial funding for PQL has come from individual contributions from the O&P field, the Academy, its chapters and other O&P organizations, and a grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

FL, NC, Ohio Chapters Add to PQL Support

Kale Hinnant, CP, FAAOP, North Carolina Chapter President smiled broadly as he handed over a $2,000 check in support of Project Quantum Leap to Academy Board member James Rogers, CPO, FAAOP. This was the second contribution from the North Carolina chapter. Rogers attended the chapter’s meeting held in conjunction with the South Carolina O&P society and had spoken to the combined group about the progress of PQL and other Academy activities. Florida Chapter President Chester Littlefield, CPO, said support for the goals of Project Quantum Leap are strong in Florida and included a check for $5,000, bringing Florida’s total contributions to date to $10,000.

Heading north, PQL also reined in $2,500 in support from the Ohio Chapter. Chapter President William Neu, III, CP, explained, “PQL is right on target. We want to help the Academy reach these important goals.”

The most recent PQL supporters include:

Individual Practitioners

Friend

Jon Leimkuehler, CPO, FAAOP
Ellen Leimkeuhler

Facilities

Supporter

Allen Orthotics & Prosthetics

2003-04 Manufacturers/Suppliers

Otto Bock Health Care

2004 Meeting Promises to be ‘Best Ever’!

Internationally Renowned Speakers Provide Top Quality Content

Malcolm MacLachlan
University of Dublin, Ireland

The Academy’s Annual Meeting February 25-28 in New Orleans will likely be the BEST the Academy has ever put together according to frequent attendees. The program is set with commitments from internationally renowned speakers, such as: Malcolm MacLachlan from University of Dublin, Ireland, M.E. Condie from the University of Strathclyde in Scotland, Christopher Morris, MS from Great Britain, Bill Contayannis from Monash University (LIVE via video hook-up from Melbourne, Australia), and Kenneth Guidera, MD, David Kline, MD, Robert Gailey, PhD, PT, among others from the United States. In addition, the planning committee headed by James H. Campbell, PhD, CO, FAAOP has borrowed a great idea from Europe in the form of two Clinical Techniques sessions, which provide tangible knowledge that attendees can immediately implement in their practices. The sessions devote four hours each over two days to learning transfemoral casting or gait and physical assessment. Participation in these specialized two-day, two-hour programs is limited to 50 participants to ensure each participant receives the appropriate attention. The Annual Meeting occurs about three weeks earlier than previous year’s meetings and will feature six instructional courses and six symposia. Core elements return for the 2004 meeting including case presentations, certificate programming, professional development sessions, technical workshops, the Thranhardt Lecture Series, Product Display Showcases, the technician/fabrication sciences program, and a new fitter education program. Details about the meeting were mailed in early November. Details are also available on the Academy’s website (www.oandp.org).

Kenneth Guidera, MD
Shriners Hospital, Tampa, FL

Robert Gailey, PhD, PT
University of Miami

4 Reasons to Act on Registering for the Annual Meeting NOW

1. The meeting is three weeks earlier than the usual late March date. Good airfares are available now.

2. If you plan to come early to catch the tail end of Mardi Gras you need to make your plans now. Rooms at the Hyatt are available at the discounted meeting rate.

3. Early bird registration rates (by January 23) will save you $75 now.

4. Peace of mind...you have enough things to worry about. Enjoy the pleasure of crossing this one off your to-do list now.

NEW Products at the Academy Bookstore

Atlas of Orthoses & Assistive Devices, 3rd edition

By the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Edited by Bertram Goldberg and John D. Hsu

This text helps the healthcare professional select the best orthosis according to weight bearing, activity level, material selection, expense, and unique considerations. This valuable resource covers the basic and advanced techniques of orthotics. A separate section on Pediatric Orthoses helps the practitioner develop a clear understanding of the needs of everyone involved in the child’s care and a clear knowledge of proper design and construction and the scientific evidence for the effectiveness of an orthosis in order to prevent and/or correct deformity, provide a base of support, facilitate training, and improve the dynamic efficiency of gait. 720 pages, 968 illustrations, hardcover. MEMBERS $155 NONMEMBERS $175

Atlas of Amputations & Limb Deficiencies: Surgical, Prosthetic, and Rehabilitation Principles, 3rd edition

By the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Edited by Douglas G. Smith, MD, John H. Bowker, MD and John W. Michael, MEd, CPO, FISPO, FAAOP

This totally new edition of the 1992 classic Atlas of Limb Prosthetics is the definitive reference on the surgical and prosthetic management of acquired or congenital limb loss. Covers indications for amputation vs. limb salvage for trauma, peripheral vascular disease and tumors; indications for prostheses for amputation levels; and rehabilitation approaches. Hundreds of illustrations have been compiled by the multidisplinary team of authors and editors. 930 pages, hardcover. MEMBERS $175 NONMEMBERS $195

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