There's an enormous need for orthotics and prosthetic professionals and there's 13
colleges in the country that teach what we do - and that's it. If we don't treat
this workforce development problem, patients aren't going to be getting the
services that they need.
The orthotic and prosthetic profession seems to be an outlier in medicine. We
are the highest trained clinicians worldwide. With the onset of new
technologies and the the increasing aging population, the increase of
diabetes, the demand will only increase. The limiting factor is the schools. We
can't get enough people into the profession to even come close to
managing that population. If we can get more people into the schools the
profession is limitless. I am a mother of four, and also a grandmother of one. I've
had a lot of jobs. It wasn't necessarily something that I had a passion for, it
was something that I did to pay the bills. If I'm gonna be taking my time
away from my family, I want it to mean something, and being in the medical field,
being in the healthcare field, what I do mean something to a lot of different
people. My name is Aimee Boutchee and I'm from north St. Paul, Minnesota and I'm in my
third year of the Orthotics and Prosthetics Assistant Program at Century
College. Within orthotics and prosthetics, we have the technician level, the
assistant level, and the practitioner level. There was a number of individuals
working as assistants, but they had no formal education. The industry as a whole
got together and said we need to have formal education for assistants. Students
can either focus on the technical piece, direct patient care, or they can get a
blend of the mix by being an assistant.
Their orthotics and prosthetics program is addressing a skills gap in
not only the retiring workforce, but also the increased technology needs to better
serve the patients and clients. We boast virtually 100% graduation
placement, and the demand continues to grow. Our practitioner assistant program
is designed in a laddering opportunity so students can come in and out of the
program and gain skills and credentials and certifications as it works for them.
The Assistant program at Century College is really unique. It's the only one in
the country, and it was gonna allow me to do both things that I wanted to do: work
with my hands and do the building of the devices and also have the interactions
with the patients. Right now there are two million people in the United States
that wear a prosthetic device. Most of the time it's undetectable, but we've
seen this shift where people are starting to approach wearing a
prosthesis as a chance to recreate themselves, and that was our primary
focus: taking the stigma away from what it means to be an amputee. I started
swimming when I was three years old. For me, it's a place that I don't wear
prosthetic legs and I just feel completely free. I think it is so
important for prosthetists to be updated with all of the new technology. They have
come so far. I've had rock climbing legs, I've had model legs, I've had these
computer legs that I had to plug them in every night. It's kind of crazy, you
know, I look down and I'll see these toes with flip-flops on them and I don't
really think I'm missing my legs and then I take them off and I'm like oh, I am an
amputee. In the history of the program, they worked so much with wood and
leather to create the prosthesis, and now, with the implementation of technology,
they've had the opportunity to incorporate CAD/CAM and 3D printing and
it has grown their passion for learning more about the field. I work
with a lot of highly active amputees. You get to see patients running, jumping,
climbing stairs, and doing outdoor activities. The number one reason that I
went into the field - there's just building relationships.
You're not just with an amputee just for that one day. You build a long-term
relationship. My name is Andrew Gienau. I'm from Cedar Falls Iowa and I'm currently
in the Century College program for orthotics and prosthetics.
I was injured in Iraq while on combat operations. A roadside bomb went off
essentially right underneath me, and from the force of that blast, I have been a
double amputee since. The very first time I was meeting my prosthetic engineer, I
said my friends wanted me to be in their wedding, I need to know if I can walk
down the aisle. I said, well, how soon is the wedding? I said it's about three weeks away.
They looked at me and said, well, you do the work, we'll make the legs. Let's see
if we can get there. I'm proud to say that I took my first steps and walked
down the aisle with my wife for their wedding. There are days that I have
definitely been in even tears talking with my prosthetist.
So having a prosthetist who cares, and having that relationship, is key. The fact
that people want to go into this field who might not even be missing a limb.
That is so exciting, and that is really what it's all about: people who care and
want to make a difference. The thing I love about this field is working with
patients and building those relationships. Being able to earn my
degree and help people each day I think is the coolest thing. In orthotics and
prosthetics, I can provide a prosthetic limb that really changes somebody's life
and really improves their quality of life and that's very special. It makes me
happy that she's gonna help people, because some are really struggling right
now. She knows what it's like to be in rough times. She can help because she's
been there and done that. Watching her being a mother, going to
school, taking care of these guys. The things that she's done for me, make me want
to be better for her, and for them. What motivates me is my family. I want to show them that
working hard can get you somewhere and it doesn't matter that I am 20 years
past high school. It's not too late, it's never too late. If you put in the time
and the effort, you can achieve anything.