Orthotists and Prosthetists

Assist patients with disabling conditions of limbs and spine or with partial or total absence of limb by fitting and preparing orthopedic braces or prostheses.

tasks jobzones knowledge skills abilities work_activities work_context interests work_styles work_values

Tasks

• Publish research findings, and present them at conferences and seminars.

• Research new ways to construct and use orthopedic and prosthetic devices.

• Show and explain orthopedic and prosthetic appliances to healthcare workers.

• Update skills and knowledge by attending conferences and seminars.

• Train and supervise orthopedic and prosthetic assistants and technicians, and other support staff.

• Construct and fabricate appliances or supervise others who are constructing the appliances.

• Repair, rebuild, and modify prosthetic and orthopedic appliances.

• Confer with physicians in order to formulate specifications and prescriptions for orthopedic and/or prosthetic devices.

• Select materials and components to be used, based on device design.

• Make and modify plaster casts of areas that will be fitted with prostheses or orthoses, for use in the device construction process.

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Job Zone

• Name: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed

• Experience: Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

• Education: A bachelor's degree is the minimum formal education required for these occupations. However, many also require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

• Job training: Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

• Examples: These occupations often involve coordinating, training, supervising, or managing the activities of others to accomplish goals. Very advanced communication and organizational skills are required. Examples include librarians, lawyers, aerospace engineers, physicists, school psychologists, and surgeons.

• Svp range: (8.0 and above)

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Knowledge

Browse Knowledge

• Customer and Personal Service
  Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

• Engineering and Technology
  Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

• Psychology
  Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

• Mechanical
  Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

• Production and Processing
  Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

• Design
  Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

• Education and Training
  Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

• Administration and Management
  Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

• Medicine and Dentistry
  Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

• Sales and Marketing
  Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

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Skills

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• Reading Comprehension
  Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

• Critical Thinking
  Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

• Active Learning
  Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

• Social Perceptiveness
  Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

• Service Orientation
  Actively looking for ways to help people.

• Technology Design
  Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.

• Instructing
  Teaching others how to do something.

• Coordination
  Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

• Equipment Selection
  Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.

• Complex Problem Solving
  Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

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Abilities

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• Oral Expression
  The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

• Oral Comprehension
  The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

• Written Expression
  The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

• Written Comprehension
  The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

• Inductive Reasoning
  The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

• Problem Sensitivity
  The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

• Deductive Reasoning
  The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

• Visualization
  The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.

• Near Vision
  The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

• Information Ordering
  The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

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Work Activities

Browse Work Activities

• Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
  Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

• Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
  Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.

• Assisting and Caring for Others
  Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.

• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
  Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
  Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

• Thinking Creatively
  Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.

• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
  Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

• Documenting/Recording Information
  Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
  Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

• Communicating with Persons Outside Organization
  Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.

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Work Context

• Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
  How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?

• Telephone
  How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?

• Freedom to Make Decisions
  How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?

• Face-to-Face Discussions
  How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?

• Frequency of Decision Making
  How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization?

• Structured versus Unstructured Work
  To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals?

• Contact With Others
  How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?

• Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results
  How do the decisions an employee makes impact the results of co-workers, clients or the company?

• Physical Proximity
  To what extent does this job require the worker to perform job tasks in close physical proximity to other people?

• Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets
  How much does this job require wearing common protective or safety equipment such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hard hats or life jackets?

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Interests

Browse Interests

• Social
  Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

• Investigative
  Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

• Realistic
  Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

• Enterprising
  Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

• Conventional
  Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

• Artistic
  Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

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Work Styles

• Attention to Detail
  Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

• Integrity
  Job requires being honest and ethical.

• Concern for Others
  Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

• Dependability
  Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

• Self Control
  Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

• Innovation
  Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.

• Cooperation
  Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

• Initiative
  Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.

• Analytical Thinking
  Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.

• Persistence
  Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.

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Work Values

Browse Work Values

• Achievement
  Workers on this job get a feeling of accomplishment.

• Social Service
  Workers on this job have work where they do things for other people.

• Achievement-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

• Ability Utilization
  Workers on this job make use of their individual abilities.

• Relationships-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.

• Moral Values
  Workers on this job are never pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.

• Compensation
  Workers on this job are paid well in comparison with other workers.

• Security
  Workers on this job have steady employment.

• Working Conditions
  Workers on this job have good working conditions.

• Company Policies and Practices
  Workers on this job are treated fairly by the company.

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