John T. Brinkmann, MA, CPO/L, FAAOP(D), Author at The O&P EDGE Magazine

Clinical tasks performed by prosthetists and orthotists on a daily basis require an in-depth and nuanced understanding of the interaction...

Who Has the Power?

by John T. Brinkmann, MA, CPO/L, FAAOP(D)

September 1, 2019

For a number of years, I provided O&P services to inmates in the largest medium security correctional institution in our...

Humor in Clinical Encounters—It’s Not About Being Funny

by John T. Brinkmann, MA, CPO/L, FAAOP(D)

July 1, 2019

Humor and laughter have been the subject of casual curiosity and philosophical inquiry for thousands of years. It's easy...

Academy Society Spotlight: Behavioral Sciences in Clinical Practice

by John T. Brinkmann, MA, CPO/L, FAAOP(D)

December 1, 2018

In 2017, Richard Thaler, PhD, an economist from the University of Chicago, won the Nobel Prize for Economic Science for...

Collaboration and Conflict in Interdisciplinary Teams

by John T. Brinkmann, MA, CPO/L, FAAOP(D)

December 1, 2018

One chilly December day about 12 years into my career as a prosthetist, I received a call from a physical...

When Clinical Experience and Research Collide: A Recent Controversy in Lower-limb Orthotics

by John T. Brinkmann, MA, CPO/L, FAAOP(D)

November 1, 2018

Clinicians and researchers with a strong desire to know the truth often hold strong opinions, even though few areas...

Improving Interprofessional Communication

by John T. Brinkmann, MA, CPO/L, FAAOP(D)

October 1, 2018

The incidence of medical errors is probably surprising to most people. It is estimated that if accurately accounted for, medical...

Climbing to Westworld: Realism in Prosthetic Design

by John T. Brinkmann, MA, CPO/L, FAAOP(D)

September 1, 2018

HBO's science fiction series Westworld is based in an amusement park populated with robotic creatures whose advanced construction and programming...

Meeting the Parents: Decisional Conflicts in Pediatric Encounters

by John T. Brinkmann, MA, CPO/L, FAAOP(D)

July 1, 2018

The movie Meet the Parents tells the story of Greg Focker, who wants to win the approval of his...

Biometrics Identification and Gait

by John T. Brinkmann, MA, CPO/L, FAAOP(D)

June 1, 2018

Any parent with a child in organized sports has spent many hours watching from the sidelines, bleachers, and sometimes...