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What They Do
About This Career
Designs, measures, fits, and adapts orthopedic braces, appliances or prostheses, such as limbs or facial parts for patients with disabling conditions.
This career is part of the Health Science cluster Therapeutic Services pathway.
A person in this career:
- Maintains patients' records.
- Fits, tests, and evaluates devices on patients, and makes adjustments for proper fit, function, and comfort.
- Examines, interviews, and measures patients to determine their appliance needs and to identify factors that could affect appliance fit.
- Designs orthopedic and prosthetic devices, based on physicians' prescriptions and examination and measurement of patients.
- Instructs patients in the use and care of orthoses and prostheses.
- Selects materials and components to be used, based on device design.
- Constructs and fabricates appliances, or supervises others constructing the appliances.
- Makes and modifies plaster casts of areas to be fitted with prostheses or orthoses to guide the device construction process.
- Repairs, rebuilds, and modifies prosthetic and orthopedic appliances.
- Trains and supervises support staff, such as orthopedic and prosthetic assistants and technicians.
Working Conditions and Physical Demands
People who do this job report that:
- You would often handle loads up to 20 lbs., sometimes up to 50 lbs. You might do a lot of lifting, carrying, pushing or pulling.
- Work in this occupation involves use of protective items such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, a hard hat, or personal flotation devices
- Exposure to pollutants, gases, dust, fumes, odors, poor ventilation, etc.
- Exposed to disease and infections more than once a month through work such as patient care, laboratory work, and sanitation control
- Work in this occupation involves using your hands to hold, control, and feel objects more than one-third of the time
- Exposed to hazardous equipment such as saws, machinery, or vehicular traffic more than once a month
- Work in this occupation requires being inside most of the time
- Sound and noise levels are loud and distracting
- Work in this occupation involves standing more than one-third of the time
Working in this career involves (physical activities):
- Seeing clearly up close
- Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
- Identifying and understanding the speech of another person
Work Hours and Travel
- Regular working hours and limited travel
Specialty and Similar Careers
Careers that are more detailed or close to this career:
- Certified Orthotist (CO)
- Certified Prosthetist (CP)
- Licensed Prosthetist and Orthotist (LPO)
- Orthotic Practitioner
- Prosthetic Practitioner
- Certified Prosthetist Orthotist (CPO)
- Certified Pedorthist
- Certified Prosthetist and Orthotist (CPO)
Every year the U.S. Department of Labor conducts national surveys of wage data by occupation in every state and in all industry divisions. These surveys are conducted through the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program.
The statistics collected for one year are published the next fall. For example, 2013 wage information was published in the fall of 2014.
There are over 800 occupations in the surveys, and these occupations cover the entire U.S. labor market. The surveys ask for reports in a scale of ranges for both hourly wages and annual wages.
In many cases, these occupations are broad enough to cover many more detailed specialties of an occupation. A specific occupation may be included in a broader occupational category for which labor market data is available. When you look at the statistics for a broad category, be aware that the salary data for a specific career may differ.
For more details about how wage information is collected and calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor, visit their website at http://www.bls.gov/bls/blswage.htm.
Every year the U.S. Department of Labor conducts a national survey of over 400,000
employers in every state and in all industry divisions. This survey is conducted
through the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program. Every other year the
department publishes outlook information based on these surveys.
Each outlook period covers 10 years. For example, in 2003 the outlook information
was published for 2004-2014. Employers are asked to report the number of employees
in about 770 different occupations that cover the entire U.S. labor market.
From this information, staffing patterns for different industries are established.
Industry growth is projected into the future based on past trends and current economic
conditions. Industry staffing patterns are then applied to the industry projections
to obtain occupational projections.
In many cases, these occupations are broad enough to cover many more detailed specialties
of an occupation. A specific occupation may be included in a broader occupational
category for which labor market data is available. When you look at the statistics
for a broad category, be aware that the employment data for a specific field may
differ.
For more details about how employment information is collected and calculated by
the U.S. Department of Labor, visit their website at http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.
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