A giant step forward in O&P education has been taken by a unique partnership: St. Petersburg College, the Academy, the Florida Chapter of the Academy, and the Florida Association of Orthotists & Prosthetists by establishing a new O&P school in St. Petersburg. The significance of this new school, however, reaches much farther than Florida or even the Southeast part of the country. "We as practitioners are in a fight nationally for our profession," says Ron Gingras, CPO, FAOP education committee chairman. "Practitioners need to get involved and work with the Academy to embrace and support the profession's greatest resource--our college programs." Building the O&P knowledge base is a vital need for even better patient/consumer care in the future. How is this to be accomplished? There have been many complaints heard over the years about the lack of solid research and clinical studies in O&P. Many practitioners and educators believe the answer lies in higher education. For instance, in this issue's feature article, "Research: Getting to the Next Level," Mark Geil, PhD, education program academic coordinator for Georgia Tech's Master of Science in Prosthetics and Orthotics program, feels that research comes best from a multidisciplinary team, but notes that the more training they have, the better equipped O&P practitioners will be to add to that knowledge base. Then there's that practical matter of funding: "If more O&P clinicians can obtain PhDs, we will have much greater access to government research funds," points out Scott Hornbeak, CPO, FAAOP, director, California State University-Dominguez Hills. For practitioners not going into research, a solid O&P education can enable them to recognize valid research findings and understand and apply them in their own practices, educators have noted. With so many different forces at play, it's hard to predict the future of O&P--but the seeds are being planted now.
