More Women Seeking Fulfilling Careers as Orthotics and Prosthetics Technicians
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
(Okmulgee) – Stephanie McHenry has a special reason to be seeking a career in Orthotics and Prosthetics – she wears a prosthetic leg. She was born without a fibular bone on her left leg and without two toes on her left foot, so she has been in and out of hospitals all her life, having surgeries and being re-fitted with new prostheses. Thanks to her prosthetic leg, Stephanie was able to have a reasonably normal, active life growing up. She played basketball and all the physical games other children played.
Stephanie has always wanted to help children with disabilities similar to hers, as she was inspired by many of the doctors and prosthetics technicians who helped her. Now, she’s attending Oklahoma State University - Okmulgee as a full-time student learning how to make prosthetics and orthotics for others.
“In my Orthotics and Prosthetics class, I just made an orthotic for my right shoe, which is a very rewarding feeling. After I earn my associate degree here, I hope to work at a hospital like the ones where I have been a patient for 18 years.” She said the instructors in OSU-Okmulgee’s program do whatever it takes to help students learn.
While technicians in the orthotics and prosthetics field have been predominantly male, more women than men are enrolling in OSU - Okmulgee’s Orthotics and Prosthetics Program. According to Jerry Wilson, chair of OSU-Okmulgee’s Health and Environmental Technologies Division, this shift from men to women students is not unexpected. “Since the field of orthotics and prosthetics requires the caring, nurturing traits that are similar to those of nurses, of which the majority are female, it’s only natural that more women are enrolling in the program.” Out of 14 students in the program this semester, 10 are women.
Wilson added that many of the students currently enrolled developed an interest in having a career in the field because they have had a relative or friend who has had a prosthetic limb or orthotic device. Others entered the program because they toured the program and decided it offered the job components that they enjoyed – hands-on skills, working with people and improving the quality of patients’ lives – while some of the current students have had careers in other fields and are making a career change.
Diana Thomas took a test on different types of occupations and the results indicated she was well-suited for a career in orthotics and prosthetics. She learned of OSU-Okmulgee’s program in orthotics and prosthetics, came to campus and took a tour. She immediately knew it was the program for her, and she started the following fall semester.
Diana says she likes the program because it’s high energy and hands-on. “I really enjoy the orthotics and prosthetics classes at OSU-Okmulgee – I can’t see myself doing anything else. I am so excited to be in this program!”
Diana will graduate next summer with a double associate degree – one in orthotics and one in
prosthetics. She intends to earn a bachelor’s degree in the future, then, after she passes the certification exams, plans to work as a Certified Prosthetist/Orthotist practitioner. “Someday, I’d like to open my own clinic in Oklahoma.”
In addition to a full schedule of classes, Diana serves as the President of the Orthotics and Prosthetics Club on campus. She says the group is working on raising money for several field trips to O&P facilities around the state, and to help low income people receive the care they need. “The club’s community service project is to help indigent people in the Okmulgee area by providing foot analysis at no cost. We will evaluate people with diabetes or other foot pathologies, then refer them to a doctor. After they see a doctor and get a prescription for an orthotic or prosthetic device, oftentimes those patients come through the clinic here on campus.”
Living with a quadraplegic and having a cousin who was a bilateral amputee inspired Connie Murray to get a degree in Orthotics and Prosthetics. After a 24-year career as a nurse, Connie wanted a career change but wanted to stay in the medical field. She researched careers on the internet and found that Orthotics and Prosthetics is in the top 25 fastest-growing and highest-paying careers, and that OSU-Okmulgee offered an associate degree program in Orthotics and Prosthetics not far from her home in Davis, Oklahoma.
“As a nurse, I was used to seeing patients who were acutely ill and may have lost a limb. Now I want to work with people after they leave the hospital to help them have a high quality of life with the use of a prosthetic or orthotic device.”
Connie adds that many of the men in her life – her husband, father, brother – have been in the armed services, so she would like to work with the Federal Veterans Administration making orthotics and prosthetics for veterans after she graduates.
Maegan Edmonds grew up in Morris, Oklahoma, just a few miles away from OSU-Okmulgee. She knew about the university because her fiancé had graduated with a degree from the University, but she didn’t know it offered a degree in Orthotics and Prosthetics until she visited during the Advancing Technology Showcase event.
“I had always wanted to do something in the medical field, and I grew up with a relative who has a prosthetic leg and I always thought it was so cool because he could do everything all the rest of us kids could do. When I came to OSU-Okmulgee and saw all the orthotic and prosthetic demonstrations, I knew it was the career for me.”
Maegan says now that she’s a student here, she thinks the program is “awesome” and the instructors are “super-nice.” After she earns her degree, she wants to stay in the area and work at a Veterans Administration facility.
A life-changing event made Sandy Northcross decide to go to college. She divorced, and with her children grown, decided it was time to start on a new path in life. A resident of Morris, she had friends who worked at OSU-Okmulgee, so she toured the nursing program and the Orthotics and Prosthetics program. Immediately she was hooked on pursuing a career she had never thought of before.
“I thought it was amazing to see how they can take something as complicated as the human body and re-create it using man-made materials. To be able to improve someone’s quality of life with an orthotic or prosthetic device is exactly what I want to do with my life. I feel I discovered a ‘jewel’ when I found this program.”
After she earns her associate degree, Sandy hopes to earn a bachelor’s in orthotics and prosthetics and become an ABC Certified Practitioner.
Roye Brown is attending OSU-Okmulgee because her dad found out about the orthotics and prosthetics program here and suggested she apply. Roye, who is from Las Vegas, Nevada, is very glad she’s here because she loves making prosthetics. “I love helping people, and I enjoy the hands-on aspects of the job.”
Roye says she has known since she was very young that she wanted to go into this field. Her cousin was born without an arm, so she watched his development as he was fitted with a prosthesis and learned to function as a normal child. Roye also says when she was young she liked to make prosthetics for her dolls. “I remember I would always rip off my Barbie dolls’ legs so I could make prosthetic legs -- so it’s natural that I want to do this for a career.” Roye hopes to work in the field for a few years and open a facility in the future.
Tammy Hart, who has lived in Morris and Henryetta, has been an OSU-Okmulgee student in the past, and has returned to pursue her passion – helping people live better lives because of orthotics and prosthetics.
“Years ago, I was a student here at OSU-Okmulgee majoring in Computer Science Technology, then I became ill and left school. I decided to return to school and go into the medical field. I took a tour of OSU-Okmulgee’s Orthotics and Prosthetics department, where two students told me all about the program. I was so excited about this career field that I came back the next day and enrolled!”
Tammy enjoys working with the plaster in addition to helping people have a better life with orthotics and prosthetics. “I enjoy the hands-on aspect of being in the medical field.” Tammy enjoys the work because it allows her to fulfill her deep desire to help people. Her son has scoliosis, her grandfather was a diabetic and Tammy herself has worn foot orthotics.
When Tammy graduates, she plans to work in the Okmulgee area to serve the area’s large population of diabetic patients. “It will make me very happy to help people benefit from orthotics and prosthetics services.” Tammy says she plans to earn a bachelor’s degree in science in the future.
New students who enrolled this current semester include two women -- Kim Williams from Augusta, South Carolina and Myra Rider from Okmulgee.
The Orthotics and Prosthetics program was restructured in 2006 to become a technician level degree program. Jerry Wilson, Chair of OSU-Okmulgee’s Health and Environmental Technologies Division, was instrumental in revamping the program. “This new program will prepare world-class, high performance technical professionals for the orthotics, prosthetics and pedorthics community. Students are developing multiple skill sets, including technician skills, fitting skills and pedorthic fabrication skills.” Wilson added that graduates will be qualified for jobs in three categories: as a technician, fitter or pedorthist.
OSU-Okmulgee first organized its Pedorthic Footwear Technology Program in the mid-1990’s after responding to the growing need for Pedorthic services. In 2002, the University initiated a “Registered Assistant” program and in 2003 became recognized as an accredited program by the National Commission on Orthotic and Prosthetic Education (NCOPE).
Wilson says that employers in the Orthotics and Prosthetics field nationwide are seeking graduates who have multiple skill sets, such as those OSU-Okmulgee’s new program will produce. “Employers nationwide have known about our Pedorthics program and encouraged us to consider integrating Pedorthics into a technician’s program. This made perfect sense, because we have all the necessary equipment, labs, instructional technology and faculty to make this happen.”
Keith Crownover, CPO, LPO, came aboard in August 2006 as O&P Programs Director. He has restructured the curriculum and syllabi to reflect a technical based educational program with the added fitter and Pedorthic educational components. “Today’s O&P professionals must be educated and versatile persons, proficient in multiple levels in order to support the Certified Clinician,” stated Crownover.
To enroll or to find out more information, contact the OSU-Okmulgee Orthotics and Prosthetics Program Director, Keith Crownover, CPO, at 918-293-5320 or keith.crownover@okstate.edu, or Division Chair Jerry Wilson at 918-293-5330 or jerry.wilson@okstate.edu.