| Education Required |  | According the According to the Orthotics & Prosthetics webpage,
"There are seven O&P education programs in the U.S. that prepare practitioners to become certified by the American Board for Certification (ABC), providing the most comprehensive formal education and highest professional recognition available. Five are post-baccalaureate Masters or Certificate programs, three are Baccalaureate level. Each is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Allied Health Education (CAAHEP), the national healthcare accreditation agency."
Baccalaureate Programs -- Practitioner level programs require 2 full years to complete. They are designed to produce professional level graduates with a baccalaureate degree, and clinical preparation in both orthotics and prosthetics. A minimum 500 hour clinical affiliation is required for graduation. A graduate is then qualified to sit for American Board for Certification examinations ("Certification") in Prosthetics and/or Orthotics after one year of supervised clinical experience per discipline in an NCOPE accredited residency.
Certificate Programs -- Practitioner level programs require one academic year per discipline to complete. They are designed to train a practitioner in either orthotics or prosthetics. These programs offer comprehensive clinical and didactic post-baccalaureate education. A minimum 250 hour clinical affiliation is required in each discipline. Often a student attends one certificate, and returns one or more years later to attend the other, thereby "extending credential". After completion of a certificate program, one year of supervised clinical experience in a NCOPE accredited residency will follow. Residency sites are available throughout the United States.
NCOPE Prerequisites for baccalaureate, certificate, and master's programs: biology (minimum 3 semester hours), chemistry (minimum 3 semester hours), physics (minimum 3 semester hours), psychology (minimum 3 semester hours), algebra or higher math (minimum 3 semester hours), and human anatomy and physiology (with Lab) (minimum 6 semester hours.) |
| |
|
| Recommended High School Courses | | Biology, Mathematics, English, Chemistry, Physics |
| |
|
| Postsecondary Instructional Programs | | Education and Training, Building and Construction, Mathematics, Therapy and Counseling, Design, Engineering and Technology, Customer and Personal Service, Mechanical, Medicine and Dentistry |
| |
|
| Certification and Licensing | | After completion of an NCOPE accredited residency, practitioners are eligible to stand for ABC certification in their chosen discipline. |
|
