Are any of you aware of a region in the country where there is a shortage of prosthetists? I am in New England and here we have many more than we require. I have been told by friends that there are also too many in California, Oregon, Washington State, and Florida. Any other regions?
I have confronted NCOPE on 3 occasions in the past 10 years about their push to increase graduates and every time get the same response; they say the need is growing. Our hospitals and doctors tell us they are greatly reducing the number of amputations through improved disease control and recent improvements in PVD surgery and treatment.
I ask because I have had to turn away laid off prosthetists and recent P&O graduates who are in need of work. I have also watched collegues leave the field as no work was available. When was the last time you saw an add for a job for a prosthetist in your region?
Please respond to all if you can. We need to have this discussion in our field in an open manner, I believe. I may be wrong, but I think we need to shutter some schools and reduce the number of prosthetics grads. At a minimum we need to educate grads from the regions where there might be shortages, if there are any such regions.
David Loney, CP
WillowBrook P&O
