<img style="float: right;" src="https://opedge.com/Content/OldArticles/images/2003-04_01/miki_fairley.jpg" hspace="4" vspace="4" /> The pace of change in the O&P profession and allied rehab often seems dizzying-new sophisticated technology, new research, more government regulation, changes in the reimbursement environment-the list goes on. It's exciting, challenging, and sometimes overwhelming. How is a busy professional, whether practitioner, assistant, or technician, to keep up? It has been said that "education is empowerment." Education is a mind-broadening, life-enhancing tool to conquer the challenge of change. To accommodate the busy lives and family needs of O&P and other rehab professionals, educational options are proliferating: distance learning courses via the Internet, educational CDs, and continuing education courses offered at professional meetings and other venues. A surprising number of people are pursuing new careers in their 30s, 40s, and even older, becoming "non-traditional" students in college and university settings, such as Rick and Yolanda Sevier at OSU-Okmulgee, who gave up careers in other fields and are also raising a family (See "<a href="https://opedge.com/2708">A Non-Traditional Student View: Putting It All Together</a>," March 2003). As the saying goes, "Life is an adventure. Live it." And continuing education and professional advancement is one way to go.
<img style="float: right;" src="https://opedge.com/Content/OldArticles/images/2003-04_01/miki_fairley.jpg" hspace="4" vspace="4" /> The pace of change in the O&P profession and allied rehab often seems dizzying-new sophisticated technology, new research, more government regulation, changes in the reimbursement environment-the list goes on. It's exciting, challenging, and sometimes overwhelming. How is a busy professional, whether practitioner, assistant, or technician, to keep up? It has been said that "education is empowerment." Education is a mind-broadening, life-enhancing tool to conquer the challenge of change. To accommodate the busy lives and family needs of O&P and other rehab professionals, educational options are proliferating: distance learning courses via the Internet, educational CDs, and continuing education courses offered at professional meetings and other venues. A surprising number of people are pursuing new careers in their 30s, 40s, and even older, becoming "non-traditional" students in college and university settings, such as Rick and Yolanda Sevier at OSU-Okmulgee, who gave up careers in other fields and are also raising a family (See "<a href="https://opedge.com/2708">A Non-Traditional Student View: Putting It All Together</a>," March 2003). As the saying goes, "Life is an adventure. Live it." And continuing education and professional advancement is one way to go.