Prosthetic & Orthotic Careers?

[sparrow]

I went for a 2 mile walk with my son yesterday while my daughter was at a day camp. It was really nice for the two of us to get a chance to talk. I asked if he had thought about what he might want to do in the future. We could start gearing some of his education toward possible career interests. He really didn't know. He has interest in the military, but doesn't know if he'd want to enlist. He liked talking to the Army medic that spoke to his Cub Scout troop a few years ago. I asked about other medical careers, like nursing, and he thought that would make him too sad. He is empathetic to a fault. The talk moved on to something else.

 

Twenty minutes later he started talking about how interesting the prosthetic parts of Dolphin Tale were :001_smile:. How he thought it was cool that you could get muscle to move the plastic, etc. You could tell he'd thought about this quite a bit. Suddenly it struck me that his very engineering oriented mind and his empathy may work really well in prosthetics and orthotics. I brought it up to him and he said that might be something he'd really like. He'd get to work with the military, too!

 

So, this very long winded post is to find out if you, or anyone you know, has gone down this career path? What are some things we could do to develop this interest?

[Momof3littles]

I'm a physical therapist, so I've worked with prosthetists and orthotists. DH's uncle is an prosthetist. It is an interesting career for sure, and one that a lot of people IME don't consider. I didn't fully understand what their profession was all about until I was in school for physical therapy.

 

If he's interested in that, he may also be interested in a career as a physical therapist. I didn't do a lot of work with amputees, but enjoyed the work I did do. There are also physical therapist assistants. Physical therapy requires a master's or doctorate in physical therapy in order to sit for licensure.

 

He may be interested in spending some time shadowing. I would encourage him to shadow both an orthotist/prosthetist, and also a PT. That way he could see the fabrication, etc. of the orthoses and prostheses, but he could also become familiar with what the therapists do with the orthoses and prostheses once they arrive. It really would give a more rounded view of how it all works. eta: I would also encourage him to shadow in a variety of environments, because he may dislike one and love another. For example, the patient population and entire experience is quite different in a hospital vs. outpatient vs. inpatient rehab vs. a school setting for children with special needs. A military hospital vs. a civilian hospital. A skilled nursing facility vs. working with kids in early intervention (0-3 yo) who need prosthetics and orthotics.

 

He may also be interested in volunteering at camps, etc. this summer for children with special needs, or at facilities like Easter Seals, Variety Club, etc. that host children with special needs. He may also be interested in getting involved with Special Olympics?

 

Getting a well rounded view of disabilities in general can be helpful-what are the physical challenges to someone with Down Syndrome? Muscular Dystrophy?

 

If he volunteers the therapists can also walk him through why they pick certain prosthetics or orthotics, what they are trying to accomplish, etc.

 

I would encourage him to job shadow. I did a lot of volunteer work in a physical therapy clinic in high school, and it was necessary in order to gain admission into the PT program I attended. It may help him get a better idea of how the disciplines work together, what they are trying to accomplish, etc.

 

Other things I'll toss out there: Biomedical Engineering? A degree that would allow him to work in adaptive/assistive technology? (speech devices, unusual wheelchair controls, etc. There is usually a good demand for that. That may entail things like adapting toys for young children who need a large push button switch to operate a toy-they take different switches and make the toy workable for kids who can't use it in the standard way. Think a switch that allows just the gentlest finger movement to work the toy (or wheelchair), or devices that can be operated using eye movements. There is a demand for doing that for adults. When I was working, there were a few volunteer groups who adapted traditional toys for kids with special needs around the holidays. Might be something that would interest him, even if not as a career path.

 

eta: when I was attending my program for PT, we had two young women who were ROTC and planned to enter the military to work as physical therapists. We were required to complete four internships, and some of the internship spots were in military hospitals or affiliated with the military. "Civilian" students could still intern there. That may be something else to just mull over, depending on his interests and needs.

Edited June 13, 2012 by Momof3littles

[sparrow]

Thanks so much for your detailed reply! It sounds like there will be a lot of different possibilities, if he continues with this interest. I had never heard of Biomedical Engineering. I will have to bring that and PT up to him, too.

 

My dh is sorry he didn't go into a PT program. He had an injury that required PT and was fascinated with the whole process. From what I've read, there is a high level of job satisfaction in PT, much more so than other medical professions. Do you find that to be the case?

[Momof3littles]

Thanks so much for your detailed reply! It sounds like there will be a lot of different possibilities, if he continues with this interest. I had never heard of Biomedical Engineering. I will have to bring that and PT up to him, too.

 

My dh is sorry he didn't go into a PT program. He had an injury that required PT and was fascinated with the whole process. From what I've read, there is a high level of job satisfaction in PT, much more so than other medical professions. Do you find that to be the case?

I am not currently working, as I SAH and HS my kids. However, I still hold my license :) Yes, I do think it is a very satisfying career. There are lots of settings, and I think it is great to experience a few of them while observing. For example, working in an acute care setting in an ICU with patients vs. working in a school setting. During internships, most programs encourage or require rotation through a few types of settings: acute care, outpatient orthopedics, rehab, pediatrics, skilled nursing, etc. Sometimes a setting you didn't think would appeal becomes very interesting once you are there. THat's why I think observing and shadowing are really wonderful before you even apply to schools.

 

I was going to mention "hand therapists" too. OTs and PTs can both be certified hand therapists...it is a very specific niche. http://www.htcc.org/about/index.cfm

You can work on hands post op and provide all sorts of physical therapy without that designation, but a very good hand therapist can do amazing things, and some people seek out that certification.

 

PT can be physically demanding at times. I had problems with my thumbs when I was working, for example. Some settings require the occasional weekend or evening hours a few times a week, which may or may not be an issue. Some settings have more paperwork than others :) It is good to see different settings and what therapy and the patient population looks like in each of those settings IMO.

[prairiewindmomma]

On a related note, there is a huge demand for physiatrists (physical medicine doctors). The wait list to get in to see most pediatric physiatrists is at least 6 months....there simply aren't doctors out there available to hire to shorten the backlog.

[higginszoo]

I agree with the Biomedical Engineering path. Dh's roommate from college did this -- in college, he was making me orthotics (I was born with birth defects), and now he makes robotic hands ... really cool stuff.

 

My dh works for Hanger, the Prosthetics company that made Winter's tail, but he's in IT in the corporate office, so doesn't get into the actual nitty gritty of what they do.