O&P PhDs Share Their Stories

O&P professionals considering pursuit of a PhD are likely to discover that the paths to their destination are as varied as the motivations that have driven their predecessors to success on the journey. Here’s what we learned from those who shared their stories: “When I made the decision to seek a doctoral degree,” recalls Shane Wurdeman, PhD, chief clinical officer, Hanger, “there were maybe a dozen other CPOs who had completed a PhD. Since I had a limited number of CPO PhDs that I could look to for advice and mentorship, I now try to make myself available to others looking for such guidance. “I had worked for a few years after becoming a clinician. By nature, I’m a very inquisitive type of individual. I’m not satisfied with doing things a certain way because that’s just the way it’s always been done, if there’s no reason for it. I want to study and find a better way to do it or add reasoning to why we’re doing it the way we’re doing it. “It became clear to me early on, that for me to be able to undertake that, I needed to go back and have more structured learning in terms of the research process—the scientific process of discovery. So it was early, probably within a couple of years of getting certified, that I was quite certain that I would be going back for my doctorate.” Those early years of hands-on patient care were helpful, Wurdeman says, because when he began his doctoral work, he was prepared with clinically relevant questions in mind, as opposed to questions that were important but less relevant because they lacked the clinical perspective. “I think that going through the PhD process improved my critical thinking overall, my writing skills, and my approach to questions or problems. So there were skills that came from PhD study that definitely do enhance my clinical competency.” The decision wasn’t without financial sacrifice though. “As a full-time student, working in a principal investigator’s lab, I was getting a graduate stipend, paid through their grant; it was a little bit less than I made as a resident.” Gerald Stark, PhD, MSEM, CPO/L, FAAOP(D), director of clinical and technical operations, BionIT Labs, and adjunct instructor, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, earned his PhD in organizational learning and leadership through the university’s Education Department. Initially, he says, his pursuit of a doctorate was unintentional and driven by a basic love of learning. “When I got my master’s degree, I thought it would help me to remain relevant for a longer time in my career since the entry level had risen to master’s. But when someone remarked that ‘school must be over for you,’ it hit me that I didn’t feel I was done since I liked learning,” he recalls. “So I just took another class for the enjoyment of it—then I took another class—and finally someone pointed out that the classes I’d taken were applicable to the organizational learning and leadership program, and I’d already taken the GRE entrance exam, so why not continue? “I moved forward with a simple plan to take just one class each semester until I decided it became too challenging, but next thing I knew, I’d completed all the core classes. It wasn’t a long-term plan, I just took the classes because I enjoyed the topic of systemic innovation and adoption/rejection, and some of the thoughts I was learning about organizations, which were outside the usual boundaries of O&P thought.” The doctoral program he pursued is often chosen by people with business, engineering, or education degrees. Not only was it compatible with his existing master’s degree in engineering management, but its flexibility also allowed him to tailor it to his O&P focus, where he found that it worked seamlessly with managing projects and contributing to leadership of organizational groups. He also discovered one unexpected result for students of higher education: While it helps them to think more critically—even of their own thinking—they also become more aware of flaws and weaknesses they weren’t looking for. “I’d gotten through my core courses, and I began to hear things in scientific O&P lectures in a different way—that just didn’t seem like they were as conclusive as I had thought. I became aware that any discussion—even the ones that I provided—had inherent critical limitations and weaknesses. You’re just more critically aware of those flaws and have more questions. You read and hear things that cause you to question their methodology and conclusions. “I realized that as an engineer, I wasn’t much of a critical thinker at all: Engineers accept the published stress/strain diagrams for metals; we believe it, because why would it be wrong? But after a doctoral program, you begin to consider who wrote established references as well as when and why they wrote them, considering if there might be any motivation for them to introduce personal biases as presented.” Counselled by his advisor to develop skills in clinical care, education, and developmental research, Stark created a PhD program that allowed him to exist in all three areas. “Normally there are core courses, especially in education, that you take for a PhD program, then adding electives. I took electives in curriculum design, innovation adoption, and instructional design. Adoption of Innovation allowed me to examine adoption or rejection of a prosthesis, guiding me to think a little more critically of how systems work together or don’t work, and changing my trajectory as I approached my dissertation.” Samantha Stauffer, CPO, MSOP, FAAOP, director of research at Independence Prosthetics-Orthotics, Delaware, and a doctoral candidate at the University of Delaware in the Delaware Limb Loss Studies Lab, was initially motivated to pursue a PhD by a statistic she learned as an undergraduate. “Fifty percent of people die within five years of amputation, and I wanted to know why,” she says. “That’s a worse mortality rate than most forms of cancer. “As I’ve done more reading, I’ve realized that a lot of those deaths beyond the perioperative period are due to cardiovascular disease, which is driven by how we treat amputation in terms of rehabilitation. We treat amputation as purely a mobility issue: after you lose a leg, you just need to get a new one, get moving again, and you’ll be fine. And in reality, that’s not what’s happening. Such a loss affects every system of the body, not just the musculoskeletal system. “I want to shift the treatment paradigm in order to address that effect and drive mortality down. I can’t do that unless I can do research to reinforce or show why this is important and what impact we can have when we change how we think about post-amputation rehabilitation. I can’t apply for funding for such research unless I can convince somebody who has a PhD to fall in line with that line of research, or unless I get a PhD myself. “Getting my PhD allows me to effect change in our current rehabilitation model using evidence. Doing so will enable me to have more of a positive impact on more individuals than I can at the clinical level.” Stauffer’s path in pursuit of a PhD is somewhat unique, as she is pioneering a dual-training track program at the University of Delaware similar to their pathway for students who get a doctorate in physical therapy. “Instead of doing a graduate assistantship or a research assistantship, I provide 20 hours of work per week as a CPO for a clinic to fund my stipend. I’m considered a fully funded student for up to five years, which covers tuition costs.” Doctoral programs at the University of Delaware are set up as a track within the university, so you can pursue a degree in rehabilitation medicine, or in health sciences, for example. “Those are typically within a kinesiology department or a health promotion department. My program, Biomechanics and Movement Science, is an interdisciplinary program, so it includes a combination of professors from the Physical Therapy Department, the Mechanical Engineering Department, Kinesiology, and Applied Physiology. There’s a good degree of overlap between the different research groups, which lends itself to a lot of collaborative opportunities.” Because maintaining a presence in the clinical setting during her studies was important to her, she feels fortunate to be able to take advantage of the dual-training track that allows her to continue clinical work at the clinic where Stauffer completed her prosthetics residency. “I strongly feel that I’m a better clinician because of my knowledge and training in the translation of research,” she says. “I also know that I’m a better researcher because of my continual clinical experience.” Lee Childers, PhD, CP, senior scientist, Extremity Trauma and Amputation Center of Excellence, Military Performance Lab, Center for the Intrepid, Brooke Army Medical Center, was a student in the fourth graduating class of the Georgia Tech O&P master’s program when it was still the only such program in existence, and he chose to pursue a doctorate at that time. “I’ve always had an interest in research and prosthetic sport technology, so I was ready to drink the Kool-Aid for research—and drink it in gulps,” he says. “The Georgia Tech program was heavy on ways to expand the rigor of research in prosthetics and orthotics. I did my master’s work there on asymmetries in cycling with an amputation and learned that I really don’t know anything. The more I know, the less I truly know I know. The doctorate was a way to learn more, and I was having a lot of fun in research and wanted to stick with it. My intent at the time was to get a PhD, go into clinical practice, and then work my way up in an organization and effect change across the profession.” His residency was lined up and moving vans were scheduled when he decided on his way out the door to ask his advisor, the department chair, what it would take to get a PhD. “I walked in the office, and they had my program paperwork ready to sign—they knew I was coming in before I did. So I guess I was always destined for the PhD route. The clinical practice I experienced after the PhD just solidified my determination to stay in research. It’s amazing to be a part of a team that helps one walk again. It’s a great day; when they take their first steps, everybody’s crying. “But what frustrated me and drove me to leave clinical practice was the knowledge that although there is technology that can help a prosthesis user improve function, insurance companies wouldn’t cover it, claiming ‘not enough evidence.’ The two ways to really effect change in that area were either on the policy side—which AOPA does, lobbying Congress and Medicare for codes—or by generating the research they need to lobby effectively. Which is what I chose to do.” Childers left clinical practice with Hanger to help start Alabama State University’s P&O program with Chad Duncan, PhD, CPO, and “loved developing the program, loved corrupting young minds for research, got my first Army grant, and started my DOD [Department of Defense] work there. “This position is pretty awesome,” he says. “Intrepid is the epicenter for DOD research in prosthetics and orthotics that I get to work in while representing the DOD Extremity Trauma and Amputation Center of Excellence mandated by Congress to conduct research to advance the lives of servicemembers with extremity trauma and amputation in particular.” His location at Brooke Army Medical Center is one of five research cells that serve military treatment facilities. In the past, the lab was heavily involved in the development of the Ottobock Genium X3 and the take-home clinical trial for the DEKA arm developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Currently his lab at Brooke is at work on development of advanced medical exoskeletons and maximizing residual limb health. Ciera A. Price, MSPO, CPO/L, FAAOP, a first-year doctoral student at the University of Texas at Austin, was employed as a full-time research clinician when she decided to pursue a doctorate independently. Now a full-time graduate student, she also continues her full-time job. “The doctorate was something I’d been thinking about for about five years. And I just felt that I needed further training to be able to contribute to research and to O&P at the level that I wanted to. Learning how to form research questions and to propose studies, getting a better understanding of statistical and research methods, learning grant writing and personnel management are the kind of skills that you may need if you want to lead a research team one day. Other people in the field had encouraged me to think about how I really wanted to contribute to O&P and to consider the skills I would need to do that. “It came down to recognizing that if I want to be able to lead research rather than executing other people’s proposals, it would be beneficial for me to continue my education at the doctoral level. Right now, I’m involved in numerous studies, but they’re studies that other people have secured the funding for, and they’re questions that other people have asked—rather than me initiating studies of my own.” Does she have plans for such studies already? “I don’t know how much I can share while I’m actively pursuing funding. But I’m in a translational science program, where the goal is to transform a biomedical or scientific discovery into things that actually improve human health, whether that’s creating new clinical practice guidelines or informing health policy. I want my work to be very clinically relevant for O&P.” Sally A. Kenworthy, PhD, CPO, assistant professor, Baylor College of Medicine Orthotics & Prosthetics, began her doctoral journey as a clinician who turned into an educator. Beyond having been a student, she was not familiar with the academic setting. She found that transitioning into that setting as an educator opened the door to increased involvement and awareness. “I was reading the latest research because I wanted to be an evidence-based educator, teaching from current knowledge. And as I was reading those articles, I started to realize that these studies reflected very little insight from an orthotist-prosthetist’s perspective, and they were overlooking the relevance of their findings to things we see every day as clinicians. “I love learning, I love always developing; and I had seen a couple of other CPOs that were starting PhD programs or finishing them, and I saw that as a potential pathway, looked into it, and just followed through. But my main motivating factor was just seeing that the research that we relied on to push the field forward was not always very well informed by what our field does every day and the aspects we have to consider. “The research was primarily done by physicians, biomechanists, physical therapists, or engineers. This is not to say that those perspectives aren’t important, but it was very rare to see a CPO as an author or a contributor to these studies, outside of the fitting of an orthotic or prosthetic device.” Unwilling to quit her job, she sought out PhD programs near Houston, and connected with Kyle R. Leister, PhD, CPO, who advised her to consider the University of Houston, introduced his advisor, and offered other helpful details. “So, fortunately, I was able to pursue the doctorate while I continued working full time,” Kenworthy says. “Luckily, at Baylor College of Medicine, where I’m an assistant professor, they are supportive of furthering your academic career. My coworkers and my direct supervisor were flexible with the schedule when they could be. “The time-intensive part came with the length of time that it took me to finish the program. It basically took up all of my personal time during those six years of study, since I never did schoolwork during the day. It was just a lot, and I’m glad that it’s done.” Leister, program director and assistant professor, Master of Science in Orthotics and Prosthetics Program, College of Health Sciences, East Tennessee State University, recalls the extreme level of commitment and sacrifice his PhD required. “I was actually working in the clinic while I was doing my PhD, so a typical day for me involved waking up at around 4 or 4:30 a.m. and writing for about two hours—then going into clinic and seeing a full patient load, and after that, going back at around five and working from five o’clock till ten o’clock at night, then going to bed. I repeated that process for almost three years before I entered the dissertation phase of my PhD. A lot of people have had similar experiences. “Since I was getting funded through my advisor and the university, the good news is that my PhD didn’t cost anything except for my time. But in exchange for having your PhD covered financially by either the institution or by your advisor, you’re expected to work as a graduate assistant or a teacher’s assistant or a research assistant. The key is really finding that match with your advisor. “My PhD is in exercise science, according to my diploma. One may wonder how exercise science relates to O&P, but if you look at the work my advisor was doing in his lab, his research falls under the exercise science umbrella, although he focuses on physical activity and wearable technologies—which are housed in the Exercise Science Department.” The title of the PhD is secondary to identifying the area of study that your advisor is expert in and then walking backwards from there to determine how to apply that to the O&P profession, Leister says. “I was interested in the topic of leveraging wearable technologies to better understand free-living mobility for people that use a prosthesis, and I was doing my own independent research in that area while I was working on my master’s. I saw the name Dr. Tiago Barreira pop up a lot in my references, so I presumed that he must be really knowledgeable in this arena. I reached out to him, explained my level of interest, and asked if he would be interested in taking me on as a PhD student. I did that before even looking at what the PhD would really be in. “The endgame is to be an expert in that particular domain, and that’s the method that I used to determine where I was going to do my PhD and what lab I was going to get into. Dr. Barreira could easily have been in biomedical engineering, and then I would have had a PhD in biomedical engineering. But the core content would have been very similar. “While I was making this decision, I had my wife and a six-week-old baby to consider. But in the middle of COVID-19, we packed up our stuff and moved from the University of Houston, in Texas, all the way up to Syracuse, New York, because that’s where Dr. Barreira’s lab was; and that’s where I spent the remaining three years of my PhD, finishing my dissertation and comprehensive exam.” Leister points out that his story is not atypical. “Everyone I’ve talked to has a story that is equivalent in the complexity, the challenges, and the sacrifices they had to make.” Was It Worth It? Is achieving their doctoral titles (or being poised to achieve them) adequate reward for those we asked? Was it worth the struggle, the sacrifices, the cost in time and money? “For me the years of sacrifice were absolutely worth it to be where I am right now,” says Leister, now director of the Master of Science in Orthotics and Prosthetics program at East Tennessee State University. “It has opened so many doors for me. I just got back from a week-long trip to Paris where I was lecturing at a conference. I would never have been able to do that without being where I am now. “The inclusion criteria for my job is ‘clinical experience and a terminal degree,’ so I wouldn’t have qualified for this job. Grant funding to support my research often requires a PhD-trained clinician or scientist to submit such requests, or to be more competitive in receiving those kinds of awards.” Receiving the ultimate recognition from his peers as an expert in his area of study after successfully defending his doctoral dissertation made that one of the best days of his life, he believes—second only to his marriage and the birth of his children. “It’s been both the most difficult and most rewarding thing I’ve ever done,” he concludes. “It also provides me with the opportunity to take those skills and apply them to the O&P profession to improve patient outcomes for the population that we work with.” Wurdeman sees the influence of his PhD affecting a broad spectrum of his professional life. “I’ve learned that the path I have taken, starting as a technician, then a certified clinician, and then ultimately going through a PhD, has positioned me to be where I am. Others may find a different path to enrich their skills as a clinician, for example through more experience in clinical practice. “There are many other ways to contribute and advance the O&P field without a PhD. But if you go through your PhD, you will definitely learn skills and knowledge that will accelerate and give you the ability to contribute that you wouldn’t have without that PhD.” “Getting the PhD definitely changed how I think and solve problems,” Kenworthy reflects. “That’s been beneficial to me as an educator, as a researcher, and as someone in a leadership position in the profession. I think it’s allowed me to serve the profession in a much broader sense, to offer structure to whatever committees I’m on, and offer data-driven solutions to the problems that these committees are trying to solve. And the doctoral degree is a prerequisite for promotion at my current employer. “There’s a huge need for a clinician’s perspective in this area, and vice versa. My professors learned a lot about clinical issues because I was a student in the program; they had to get used to my clinical brain and I had to get used to their scientist brains.” Stauffer looks forward to achieving her doctoral degree and remaining in a clinical research setting—one where she is empowered to drive and fund her own clinical research initiative in discovering the reasons so many people die within five years of amputation and shifting their treatment paradigm in ways that will drive mortality down. Will the PhD be worthwhile to her? Certainly, and unquestionably to those whose lives may not only be saved, but enriched by the results of her research, preliminary stages of which have been presented nationally, and in lectures at Baylor College of Medicine, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Delaware. Judith Philipps Otto is a freelance writer who has assisted with marketing and public relations for various clients in the O&P profession. She has been a newspaper writer and editor and has won national and international awards as a broadcast writer-producer.

O&P PhDs Share Their Stories

How Much Time Does AI Documentation Software Save?

Insights, Advice, and Cautions for O&P PhD Seekers

Insights, Advice, and Cautions for O&P PhD Seekers

RECENT NEWS

Get unlimited access!

O&P JOBS

Certified Prosthetist Orthotist

O&P Technician II – Portland, Oregon

Certified or Board-Eligible Orthotist/Prosthetist – Yakima, WA

Are you sure want to unlock this post?

Are you sure want to cancel subscription?

The most important industry news and events delivered directly to your inbox every week.

Welcome Back!

Retrieve your password

Are you sure want to unlock this post?

Are you sure want to cancel subscription?

O&P PhDs Share Their Stories

Support authors and subscribe to content

Subscribe

Related posts:

How Much Time Does AI Documentation Software Save?

Insights, Advice, and Cautions for O&P PhD Seekers

Insights, Advice, and Cautions for O&P PhD Seekers

RECENT NEWS

Get unlimited access!

O&P JOBS

Certified Prosthetist Orthotist

O&P Technician II – Portland, Oregon

Certified or Board-Eligible Orthotist/Prosthetist – Yakima, WA

Login to your account

Reset Password

Signup to your Account

Are you sure want to unlock this post?

Are you sure want to cancel subscription?

Account Activation

The most important industry news and events delivered directly to your inbox every week.

Welcome Back!

Retrieve your password

Login to your account

Reset Password

Signup to your Account

Are you sure want to unlock this post?

Are you sure want to cancel subscription?

Account Activation