Demand for Certified Practitioners

Extracts taken from a study published in May 2002 and conducted for the National Commission on Orthotics and Prosthetics Education (NCOPE) by Dr. Caroline Nielsen - University of Connecticut, emphasize the need and demand for individuals trained in the ever-changing high-tech needs of the industry.

Currently there are 8 accredited undergraduate bachelor's and associates education programs leading to ABC. These programs graduate approximately 173 students annually. At this rate of matriculation, the profession will be unable to meet anticipated future needs.

• Total number of persons in the United States alone using orthosis (braces) for disabling conditions such as stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, and Parkinson's Disease, as well as for orthopedic impairments caused by sports injuries, other physical Trauma, birth defects and advanced arthritis is expected to increase by at least 31% by 2020 to over 4.5 million.
• By the year 2005, a potential 1.3 million people could be without adequate orthotic care.
• In 1996 there were 1.5 million Americans with amputations.
• Every year an additional 125,000 people lose a limb as a result of complications due to vascular disease, trauma, or cancer.
• The total number of persons with an amputation is expected to increase by at least 47% by 2020.

Without an increase in graduates, the projected number of certified prosthetists available in the year 2005 will be able to serve only 68% or less of the population using prostheses.

Need for Graduate Education in Orthotics and Prosthetics

Reimbursement for technologically advanced products will be increasingly dependent on demonstrating improved quality of life and long-term cost effectiveness (outcomes assessment/validation of practice/ evidence-based medicine).

Already evident in the profession are computer modeling, design optimization/improvement and new product design using gait analysis and virtual reality, advances in material science, computer-controlled upper and lower limb prostheses, muscle tissue engineering, and brain-controlled prostheses.

At EMU the partnership with UMOPC will provide students with an opportunity to learn more about these developments and to participate in the development of new and exciting technologies. Failure to observe these developments and to provide formal coursework in one or all of these technologies will seriously affect our ability to enhance the profession.