Renowned Educator Sidney Fishman Dies

The world of prosthetics and orthotics lost an esteemed leader February 7, 2005, when Dr. Sidney Fishman, PhD, passed away after a brief bout with cancer. He was 85 years old.

Teaching and Research During the course of a career that spanned more than 50 years and took him across the globe, Dr. Fishman was perhaps most noted for successfully inaugurating and directing the first accredited four-year college-level program in prosthetics and orthotics. This program at New York University©¤where Dr. Fishman was chair of the Department of Prosthetics and Orthotics in the School of Education, Health, Nursing, and Arts Professions, with joint appointments as senior research scientist in the School of Medicine and as clinical professor of orthopedic surgery in the Post-Graduate Medical School©¤began in 1963 and ran until 1991. The NYU model has been emulated by dozens of institutions of higher education and health organizations throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas.

In addition to establishing the first bachelor and postgraduate certification courses in prosthetics, Dr. Fishman also developed and directed short-term courses in prosthetic-orthotic restoration for physicians and surgeons, physical therapists, prosthetics, orthotists, and rehabilitation counselors. In addition, the NYU Prosthetics and Orthotics department delivered these courses in other countries, including countries as Colombia, Israel, Portugal, Spain, India, Finland, Mexico, and Peru.

In his capacity as senior research scientist, first in the College of Engineering and later in the School of Medicine, Dr. Fishman supervised ongoing rehabilitation research drawing on multiple disciplines including psychology, engineering, medicine, surgery, and physiology. The results of this research appeared in print and were the substance of numerous lectures at countless meetings and conferences. Research findings also drove the design and fabrication of a number of prostheses and orthoses, including an above-knee flexible casting brim, an electric elbow, a prehension actuator, subminiature contact switches, a cable-actuated child-size hand, ankle-foot orthoses, a hip rotation control strap, and a detachable hip joint.

Publications Perhaps the most seminal of Dr. Fishman's publications are the series of textbooks developed for New York University students, some of which are still in use today: Lower-Limb Prosthetics, Upper-Limb Prosthetics, Lower-Limb Orthotics, and Spinal Orthotics, with one set of texts for physicians, surgeons, and therapists and another for prosthetists and orthotists; and Prosthetics and Orthotics for rehabilitation counselors.

Dr. Fishman's publications number approximately 100, appearing in books and professional journals such as the Journal of Physical and Mental Rehabilitation, Artificial Limbs, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, the Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, the Bulletin of Prosthetics Research, and Orthotics and Prosthetics. A number of these publications have been translated into other languages such as Spanish, Japanese, Hebrew, and Portuguese.

Consulting NYU¡¯s groundbreaking work led Dr. Fishman to numerous consultancies here and abroad. He consulted to the United Nations, Pan American Health Organization, the World Health Organization, Project HOPE, the World Rehabilitation Fund, and the International Divisions of the Rehabilitation Services Administration.

He worked in hospitals; rehabilitation agencies; institutions of higher education; or for governments of such countries as Nigeria, Fiji, Scotland, the former Yugoslavia, New Zealand, Iran, Norway, Poland, Austria, Denmark, Egypt, Holland, and England.

Service Service to the profession played an important role in Dr. Fishman's career. He served the International Society for Prosthetics & Orthotics as its vice president, a member of its executive board, and as chair of the Committee on Education. He also chaired the Association of Children¡¯s Prosthetic-Orthotic Clinics Research and Education Committee; the University Council on Prosthetic-Orthotic Education; the Educational Institution Accreditation Commission¡ªAmerican Board for Certification in Orthotics & Prosthetics, Inc.; and the Advisory Committee for Amputee, Neuromuscular, and Pediatric Orthopedic Programs, New York City Department of Health.

He was a Fellow of the International Society for Prosthetics & Orthotics and the American Psychological Association.

In addition, he served the Bureau of Hearings and Appeals of the Social Security Administration and on the Local School Board, District 6 in New York City.

Recognition As a result of these consultancies and his long-term commitment to the field, Dr. Fishman received citations from the Ministry of Health, India; the Japanese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine; the World Rehabilitation Fund; the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics; the National Rehabilitation Association; and the Peruvian Society for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

In 1996 he received honorary membership to the American Academy of Orthotists & Prosthetists. He was similarly recognized with honorary membership to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

He was listed in Who¡¯s Who in the East , American Men of Science , Leaders in American Education , Dictionary of International Biography , and Community Leaders of America .

Educational Background Dr. Fishman earned a bachelor of science from the City College of New York in 1939, a master of arts in 1940, and a PhD in psychology in 1949, both from Columbia University. He served in the United States Army during World War II receiving his commission as captain.

Recent Activities After his retirement in 1991, Dr, Fishman participated in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Negotiated Rulemaking Committee on Special Payment Provisions for Custom-Fabricated Orthotics and Prosthetics, as an alternate representative for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and authored articles in The O&P Edge and O&P Business News . He was a member of The O&P EDGE Editorial Advisory Board.

At the time of his death, Dr. Fishman was still engaged in his profession, advocating for the highest educational standards for prosthetics and orthotists to ensure the long-term future of the field. Since his death, the Fishman family has received numerous letters from colleagues and students of all ages and from all over the world speaking to the role Dr. Fishman played.

Personal Information Born in New Jersey, raised in New York City, Dr. Fishman traveled widely but was a consummate New Yorker. He leaves his wife of 55 years, Adassa; his daughter Anne, of Newton, Massachusetts; son, Adam, of Bedford, New Hampshire; one granddaughter, Mia; and many cousins, nieces, and nephews. Those who wish may send contributions in his memory to the Disabled American Veterans, the Jacob Perlow Hospice at Beth Israel Hospital in New York, or the United Jewish Appeal, the family said.

Renowned Educator Sidney Fishman Dies

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