Fitter Candidate Guide

Orthotic Fitter Eligibility Criteria

Education Requirements

You must have a high school diploma, GED certificate or college degree and complete an ABC approved orthotic fitter pre-certification education course.

Clinical Experience

There are two experience pathways for eligibility.

• Pathway 1—You must have 1,000 hours of orthotic fitting experience.
• Pathway 2—You must have 500 hours of orthotic fitting experience. You may apply under this pathway if you currently hold a nationally recognized certification in a related allied health profession (e.g., Medical Assistant, Athletic Trainer, Physical Therapist/PTA, Occupational Therapist/ OTA).

Your experience must be in the fitting of certain orthotic devices as outlined in the Scope of Practice of an ABC Certified Fitter-orthotics.

Experience Guidelines

The patient care experience requirement serves as the clinical training portion of the orthotic fitter education. It is optimal if your experience is fulfilled after completion of an ABC-approved orthotic fitter education course; however, you can use patient care experience gained prior to the completion of your education course.

The intent of the patient care experience is to provide you with practical application of the knowledge, skills and competencies gained during your educational program. This is most optimally achieved if the experience takes place within an organization that primarily provides orthotic patient care services. If your experience takes place in a setting that is not primarily engaged in orthotic patient care services, your experience will be evaluated on an individual basis to determine whether it meets the intent of the requirement.

We encourage you to use the Orthotic Fitter Exam Candidate Self-Assessment Checklist as a tool to guide you through your work experience and to make sure that you are getting the type and amount of experience in each area that the profession expects.

Mastectomy Fitter Eligibility Criteria

Education Requirements

You must have a high school diploma, GED certificate or college degree and complete an ABC approved mastectomy fitter pre-certification education course.

Clinical Experience

There are two experience pathways for eligibility.

• Pathway 1—Completion of 120 hours of supervised mastectomy fitting patient care experience obtained either before or after completion of the education course. Any experience with initial patient evaluations and final fitting/deliveries involving a mastectomy form must be done under Direct Supervision.

• Pathway 2—Completion of 60 hours of supervised mastectomy fitting patient care experience obtained either before or after completion of the education course.  You must also currently hold a nationally recognized certification in a related allied health profession. (e.g., RN, LPN, Medical Assistant, Certified Breast Care Nurse (BCN), Oncology Certified Nurse (OCN), Certified Breast Patient Navigator, Certified Clinical Anaplastologist (CCA), etc.) to apply under this pathway. 

Your experience must be in providing direct patient care specific to fitting breast prostheses and providing other post-mastectomy items and services with these duties as a central responsibility.

Experience Guidelines

The patient care experience requirement serves as the clinical training portion of the mastectomy fitter education. It is optimal if your experience is fulfilled after completion of an ABC-approved mastectomy fitter education course; however, you can use patient care experience gained prior to the completion of your education course.

The intent of the patient care experience is to provide you with practical application of the knowledge, skills and competencies gained during your education course. This is most optimally achieved if your experience takes place within an organization that primarily provides post-mastectomy patient care services.

If your experience takes place in a setting that is not primarily engaged in post-mastectomy patient care services, your experience will be evaluated on an individual basis to determine whether it meets the intent of the requirement.

We encourage you to use the Mastectomy Fitter Exam Candidate Self-Assessment Checklist as a tool to guide you through your work experience and to make sure that you are getting the type and amount of experience in each area that the profession expects.

Therapeutic Shoe Fitter Eligibility Criteria

Education Requirements

You must have a high school diploma, GED certificate or college degree and complete an ABC approved therapeutic shoe fitter pre-certification education course.

Clinical Experience

There are two experience pathways for eligibility.

• Pathway 1—You must have 125 hours of therapeutic shoe fitting experience. This experience must be in providing direct patient care specific to non-custom therapeutic shoes and non-custom diabetic multi-density inserts.
• Pathway 2—No hours of supervised therapeutic shoe fitting patient care experience are required for those currently holding an ABC Certified Fitter-orthotics (CFo), ABC Certified Prosthetist (CP), or Podiatrist (DPM) credential.

Experience Guidelines

The patient care experience requirement serves as the clinical training portion of the therapeutic shoe fitter education. It is optimal if your experience is fulfilled after completion of an ABC-approved therapeutic shoe fitter education course; however, you can use patient care experience gained prior to the completion of your education course.

The intent of the patient care experience is to provide you with practical application of the knowledge, skills and competencies gained during your education course. This is most optimally achieved if your experience takes place within an organization that primarily provides therapeutic shoe patient care services. If your experience takes place in a setting that is not primarily engaged in therapeutic shoe patient care services, your experience will be evaluated on an individual basis to determine whether it meets the intent of the requirement

We encourage you to use the Therapeutic Shoe Fitter Exam Candidate Self-Assessment Checklist as a tool to guide you through your work experience and to make sure that you are getting the type and amount of experience in each area that the profession expects

Foreign Education

If you have received your education outside the U.S., you must have your education evaluated by the World Education Services (WES). WES is a professional education evaluation service that confirms foreign education programs’ equivalence to a high school diploma.