The American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics released its 2017 Practice Analysis of Certified Pedorthists, according to a press release.
“The survey results will help define the certification, education and training of future pedorthists, in the development of valid and reliable examinations and convey to others outside our disciplines the scope of services provided by certified pedorthists,” Dennis Dillard, CPed, CTO, chairman of the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics (ABC) practice analysis task force, said in the release. “We were pleased with the participation and input we received from the professionals surveyed.”
According to the release, the return rate for the survey was 27%. The board plans to use the results to ensure that its credential exam for pedorthists remains relevant to individuals who enter the profession. The results will also help ABC identify content for in-service and continuing education, as well as provide guidance for education programs in regard to curriculum review, the release noted.
According to the survey respondents — 65% of whom were male and 77% of whom were white — the most request education level was a bachelor’s degree (32%), followed by some college (28%) and associate’s degree (16%). The respondents had an average of 14 years of pedorthic experience
The most predominant primary work setting for respondents were privately-owned, single-location retail spaces (21%); privately-owned, single-location pedorthic practices (13%); and privately-owned, multi-facility orthotic and prosthetic practices (11%).
Respondents spent the largest percentage of their work time (41%) performing clinical pedorthic patient care, followed by pedorthic fabrication and administration (17% each), with retail pedorthics representing 16% of their time. Respondents also spent 9% of their time in continuing education.
According to the analysis, diabetes accounted for the greatest percentage of patients (48%), about two-thirds of whom had diabetes only. Diabetes only patients thus totaled about one-third of all pedorthic patients. The next most commonly seen diagnostic categories were arthritis (14%) and posterior tibial tendon dysfunction (13%).
The ABC practice analysis task force and Cathy Carter, the board’s executive director, worked with Professional Examination Services to develop and implement the survey.
“As a result of the survey, we will be able to provide the National Commission on Orthotic and Prosthetic Education (NCOPE) pertinent information on what orthotic and prosthetic technician students need to learn and what information to disseminate,” Carter said in a press release.
A complete copy of the analysis is available at www.abcop.org.
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