Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Practice Analysis Task Force
- Introduction
- Executive Summary
- Survey of Practice
- Results Related to Professional Background, Work Setting, and Demographic Information
- Domains, Tasks, Knowledge and Skill Statements
- Domains
- Tasks
- Knowledge and Skills Statements
- Results and Discussion Related to Practice Areas, Devices, and Activities
- Highlights of Results Related to Qualitative Responses
©2024 by the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics & Pedorthics, Inc. All rights reserved.
No part of this document may be produced in any form without written permission of the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics & Pedorthics, Inc.
Practice Analysis of ABC Certified Orthotic Fitters
January 2019
Results Related to Professional Background, Work Setting, and Demographic Information
This section provides background information for the sample of respondents. The survey included a questionnaire regarding professional history and then addressed the respondent’s work environment, educational background, and demographic information.
Survey respondents averaged more than 10 years of orthotic fitter experience. Slightly more than 11% have one to two years of experience; approximately one-fourth fell into the three to five years and six to 10 years of experience ranges; almost 17% have 11 to 15 years of experience; and the remaining 20% have 16 or more years of experience.
Table 1
| Years of experience | 10.4 |
Table 2
| 1 to 2 | 11.2% |
| 3 to 5 | 24.9% |
| 6 to 10 | 26.8% |
| 11 to 15 | 16.6% |
| 16 or more | 20.5% |
As shown in Table 3, half the respondents work at an orthotic and prosthetic facility (50%) and more than one-fourth (28%) work in a DME/medical supply facility. The remainder of the respondents work at a variety of facilities, with 5% or less working at any other facility type.
Table 3
| Orthotic and prosthetic facility | 50.0% |
| DME/medical supply | 28.2% |
| Pharmacy | 3.8% |
| Manufacturer | 1.3% |
| Hospital (in-patient) | 3.4% |
| Hospital (out-patient) | 2.1% |
| Doctor’s office | 5.0% |
| Clinic | 2.9% |
| Long-term care facility | 2.1% |
| Other | 1.3% |
More than half the respondents (55%) are the only orthotic fitter at their work location; nearly 40% work at facilities where there were two to four fitters.
Table 4
| I am the only orthotic fitter | 54.6% |
| 2-4 | 39.5% |
| 5-7 | 3.4% |
| 8-10 | .8% |
| 11 or more | 1.7% |
Fitters are supervised by a variety of professionals. Respondents were able to identify each type of supervisor they have and were permitted to select more than one answer. As shown in Table 5, the majority of fitters are supervised by an Orthotist (53%) and 30% are supervised by a Prosthetist. A significant number (35%) work independently, and 15% are supervised by a pharmacist.
Table 5
| Orthotist | 52.7% |
| Prosthetist | 30.0% |
| Pharmacist | 15.2% |
| Physician’s Assistant | 7.6% |
| Nurse Practitioner | 3.0% |
| Physician | 5.1% |
| Physical Therapist | 4.2% |
| Occupational Therapist | 3.0% |
| Athletic Trainer | 1.3% |
| I work independently | 34.6% |
Total does not sum to 100%. Respondents could select all that applied.
As shown in Table 6, slightly over one-third of respondents (34%) have completed a high-school or GED level of education. Twenty-two percent hold an associate’s-level degree and 36% have a bachelor’s
degree. Less than 10% have a degree beyond the bachelor’s level.
Table 6
| High School/GED | 33.9% |
| AA/AS (O&P) | 5.9% |
| AA/AS (non-O&P) | 16.1% |
| BA/BS (non-O&P) | 25.0% |
| BS in O&P | .8% |
| BA/BS and O&P post-baccalaureate certificate | 10.6% |
| Master’s degree in O&P | .0% |
| Master’s degree (non-O&P) | 6.8% |
| Doctorate | .8% |
Table 7 presents data on which ABC credentials the survey respondents hold. The most frequently held credential, after the CFo, is the Certified Fitter-orthotics/mastectomy (CFom) with nearly 19% of respondents, followed by the Certified Pedorthist (C.Ped) with 16%. Almost 7% hold the Certified Fitter-mastectomy (CFm) credential.
Table 7
| Certified Fitter-orthotics (CFo) | 99.2% |
| Certified Fitter-mastectomy (CFm) | 6.7% |
| Certified Fitter-orthotics/mastectomy (CFom) | 18.8% |
| Certified Fitter-Therapeutic Shoes (CFts) | 7.1% |
| Certified Pedorthist (C.Ped.) | 15.5% |
| Certified Technician-orthotics (CTO) | 1.7% |
| Certified Technician-prosthetics (CTP) | .0% |
| Certified Technician-prosthetics/orthotics (CTPO) | .8% |
| Certified Orthotic Assistant (COA) | .8% |
| Certified Prosthetic Assistant (CPA) | .4% |
| Certified Prosthetic Orthotic Assistant (CPOA) | .4% |
| Certified Prosthetist (CP) | 5.0% |
| Certified Orthotist (CO) | 1.3% |
| Certified Prosthetist Orthotist (CPO) | 1.3% |
Total does not sum to 100%. Respondents could select all that applied.
Reflecting the fact that the CFo credential is relatively new, almost 90% of CFo’s earned their credential within the past 10 years, and 56% earned their CFo credential since 2005.
Table 8
| Up to 2000 | 11.4% |
| 2001 to 2004 | 33.2% |
| 2005 to 2007 | 22.7% |
| 2008 to 2010 | 32.8% |
A small number of respondents hold Board of Certification/Accreditation, International (BOC) credentials in addition to their ABC credentials, as shown in Table 9.
Table 9
| BOC Certified Orthotic Fitter (COF) | 12.2% |
| BOC Certified Mastectomy Fitter (CMF) | .8% |
| Both BOC COF and BOC CMF | 3.7% |
Slightly more than half the respondents are male (54%). Their mean age is 45 years old, and the vast majority (82%) are Caucasian/White.
Table 10
| Male | 53.8% |
| Female | 46.2% |
Table 11
| 20 to 29 | 10.2% |
| 30 to 39 | 22.0% |
| 40 to 49 | 30.5% |
| 50 to 59 | 26.7% |
| 60 and older | 10.6% |
Table 12
| American Indian/Eskimo/Aleut | 1.3% |
| Asian or Pacific Islander | 2.2% |
| African American/Black | 3.0% |
| Caucasian/White (non-Hispanic) | 81.8% |
| Hispanic/Latino/Latina | 9.1% |
| Multiracial | 1.3% |
| Other | 1.3% |
