In a new research study, Robert Kistenberg, MPH, CP, LP, FAAOP, analyzed early to mid-career attrition and employment outcomes in the US O&P profession. The study presented a cross-sectional perspective of employment outcomes for a cohort of graduates from a single O&P graduate-level training program.
The graduates’ careers were traced five to 20 years after graduation, and their employment status was identified on May 1, 2024. Data was collected about certification type, additional education, time from graduation to certification, and departure from clinical practice. Attrition was measured over a 16-year period.
The results indicated that 90 percent of graduates attained national certification. At five to 20 years following graduation, 69 percent remained in clinical practice, 11 percent remained in the O&P profession in nonclinical roles, and 20 percent had left O&P. The time from initiation in clinical practice until employment change was 5.5 years on average. The early to mid-career annual attrition rate for the cohort graduates was 2.66 percent.
The study, “Early to mid-career attrition and employment outcomes among prosthetists and orthotists in the United States: An observational cross-sectional cohort study,” was published in Prosthetics and Orthotics International.
