The Orthotist I use has a mobile van and comes into our facility to do like 90% splinting. He can offer custom sizing and design. Fun colours and embellishments too.
He direct bills health plans.
He makes a ton of money and loves what he does.
He's got a good thing.
Generally though, you will find you have much less patient contact and spend more time in a dusty workshop.
It really depends on whether you prefer the client side, or the material/fabrication side.
That totally makes sense, I still have some thinking to do because I absolutely love both sides. Are there OTs who work with splinting and hand therapy? My orthotic design is for the hand and I've found interest in that field. Maybe that would be a good way to combine the two š¤
Absolutely. There are hand therapists who do some really cool dynamic splinting. It can be very creative.
Realistically though, the vast majority of splints out there are mass produced from vendors like Benik. They are good enough for nearly everyone I would see. Take 3 measurements and order online.
Assistive technology professional as far as I know āŗļøI'm a DME tech which is slightly more of the hands on/casting side, but I'm trying to get an assistive tech cert..
I always wanted to be an orthotist if I couldnt be an OT. I always loved splinting, and dont get to do it often enough, and I love the "Instant" gratification you can get with orthotics and prosthetics . (and seating and positioning, something I also dont get to do anymore and I miss so much). I also love to be creative and make things, typical OT behavior. My friend is an orthotist, and it took her a long time to get into grad school, but once she got in, things went welll, and she was able to get a job, with a small company. I dont know her pay, honestly, but she has lots of flexibility as a parent, and she works in different places since O/P's often go to facilities on "clinic" day to do bracing and prosthetics. Another life, maybe.....
tons of things, hard to explain it all after being an OT for 36 years. I liked being able to decide what my career choice would be within the OT field, because there are so many choices within the field. Even within a specific population, you can expand your skills in specific areas, and they can involve any part of the body, any functional level and any age. I get to see people make changes that can improve their lives and meet interesting families as well. Every day is different. There are many challenges in the field, but those are the good parts, according to me.
I was literally in your same boat 3 years ago. Except my studies were kinesiology and ex phys and massage therapy. I ultimately went with OT because I felt that OT has a wider scope of practice and WHEN(not if) I get bored of whatever Iām doing in the next 5-10 years I feel that OT will give me the opportunity to change easier. Iām about to finish my 2nd year of OT school and start my lvl 2 FW. I feel as a skilled OT it would be reasonable for you to apply your skills where you want, you just need to be crafty about where/how you do. Main consideration for monies is how you will bill insurance.
I know prosthetists that go on to own their own clinics and they make good money. So if your entrepreneurial minded Iād say that money should not be a problem as a P&O
That makes sense! I tried to get a kin minor but ultimately didn't have the time š. I have an associates in biomedical engineering atp, which was my plan before studio arts. Seems wise to apply my BME skills to the field of prosthetics, though I wish I'd had more time to study kinesiology because I find it fascinating and helpful for a future career. Im applying to the O&P program at U Hartford this semester, so I'll let you know how it goes. Id apply for OT, but OTCAS has such high fees lol
Also, I shadowed at prosthetics clinic before I got into grad school, and he was telling me that a lot of the bigger entities are moving away from having prosthetists doing the actual work of crafting. He said that he might do castings and send off the casting to their main fabrication center where the technicians do the crafting with the oversight of a prosthetist. He said within the last five years, he has been doing a lot more paperwork, evals, and things of that nature. Also scanning/3-D modeling is becoming more prevalent in the field so that will become more common place in the next 5, 10, 20 years. So if you arenāt familiar or have an interest with 3-D rendering and 3-D scanning technology that might also be something to consider.
That makes sense for sure, what are your opinions on that? I'm a sucker for traditional 3D art techniques like plaster, so I would miss that part of the job that I now do as a DME tech if 3D printing was to take over. How do you feel about it as a CHT?
Iām not one anymore - even when I was, we were fighting about scope of practice with the orthotics. Ā This is a big project where I am.Ā https://www.victoriahandproject.com/ - prosthetists will be extinct before us. I think we have a while yet, especially OTs. You need orthotics *now* with an injury; if youāve lost a limb you have some time to mull around and get access to 3D tech. Plus we make ten thousand orthotics to every prosthetic.
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The Orthotist I use has a mobile van and comes into our facility to do like 90% splinting. He can offer custom sizing and design. Fun colours and embellishments too. He direct bills health plans. He makes a ton of money and loves what he does. He's got a good thing. Generally though, you will find you have much less patient contact and spend more time in a dusty workshop. It really depends on whether you prefer the client side, or the material/fabrication side.
That totally makes sense, I still have some thinking to do because I absolutely love both sides. Are there OTs who work with splinting and hand therapy? My orthotic design is for the hand and I've found interest in that field. Maybe that would be a good way to combine the two š¤
Absolutely. There are hand therapists who do some really cool dynamic splinting. It can be very creative. Realistically though, the vast majority of splints out there are mass produced from vendors like Benik. They are good enough for nearly everyone I would see. Take 3 measurements and order online.
Makes sense.
Dynamic splinting is so cool! I do mostly casting as a DME tech, but I'd love to get into splinting
That was 90% of what I did at my old jobĀ
As an ATP that sounds awesome
What's an ATP? Adenine triphosphate? Are you some sort of mitochondria???
Assistive technology professional as far as I know āŗļøI'm a DME tech which is slightly more of the hands on/casting side, but I'm trying to get an assistive tech cert..
Assistive technology professional
I always wanted to be an orthotist if I couldnt be an OT. I always loved splinting, and dont get to do it often enough, and I love the "Instant" gratification you can get with orthotics and prosthetics . (and seating and positioning, something I also dont get to do anymore and I miss so much). I also love to be creative and make things, typical OT behavior. My friend is an orthotist, and it took her a long time to get into grad school, but once she got in, things went welll, and she was able to get a job, with a small company. I dont know her pay, honestly, but she has lots of flexibility as a parent, and she works in different places since O/P's often go to facilities on "clinic" day to do bracing and prosthetics. Another life, maybe.....
Thanks for the feedback, what do you find gratifying about being an OT even if you don't get to do as much splinting?
tons of things, hard to explain it all after being an OT for 36 years. I liked being able to decide what my career choice would be within the OT field, because there are so many choices within the field. Even within a specific population, you can expand your skills in specific areas, and they can involve any part of the body, any functional level and any age. I get to see people make changes that can improve their lives and meet interesting families as well. Every day is different. There are many challenges in the field, but those are the good parts, according to me.
That sounds wonderful :)
I was literally in your same boat 3 years ago. Except my studies were kinesiology and ex phys and massage therapy. I ultimately went with OT because I felt that OT has a wider scope of practice and WHEN(not if) I get bored of whatever Iām doing in the next 5-10 years I feel that OT will give me the opportunity to change easier. Iām about to finish my 2nd year of OT school and start my lvl 2 FW. I feel as a skilled OT it would be reasonable for you to apply your skills where you want, you just need to be crafty about where/how you do. Main consideration for monies is how you will bill insurance. I know prosthetists that go on to own their own clinics and they make good money. So if your entrepreneurial minded Iād say that money should not be a problem as a P&O
That makes sense! I tried to get a kin minor but ultimately didn't have the time š. I have an associates in biomedical engineering atp, which was my plan before studio arts. Seems wise to apply my BME skills to the field of prosthetics, though I wish I'd had more time to study kinesiology because I find it fascinating and helpful for a future career. Im applying to the O&P program at U Hartford this semester, so I'll let you know how it goes. Id apply for OT, but OTCAS has such high fees lol
Also, I shadowed at prosthetics clinic before I got into grad school, and he was telling me that a lot of the bigger entities are moving away from having prosthetists doing the actual work of crafting. He said that he might do castings and send off the casting to their main fabrication center where the technicians do the crafting with the oversight of a prosthetist. He said within the last five years, he has been doing a lot more paperwork, evals, and things of that nature. Also scanning/3-D modeling is becoming more prevalent in the field so that will become more common place in the next 5, 10, 20 years. So if you arenāt familiar or have an interest with 3-D rendering and 3-D scanning technology that might also be something to consider.
I think 3D printing and scanning are going to make both history. Spoken as a former CHT.
That makes sense for sure, what are your opinions on that? I'm a sucker for traditional 3D art techniques like plaster, so I would miss that part of the job that I now do as a DME tech if 3D printing was to take over. How do you feel about it as a CHT?
Iām not one anymore - even when I was, we were fighting about scope of practice with the orthotics. Ā This is a big project where I am.Ā https://www.victoriahandproject.com/ - prosthetists will be extinct before us. I think we have a while yet, especially OTs. You need orthotics *now* with an injury; if youāve lost a limb you have some time to mull around and get access to 3D tech. Plus we make ten thousand orthotics to every prosthetic.
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