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ADRIENNE P. SAMUELSThe courses on devices supporting the spine or extremities and on artificial limbs often lead to highly paid jobs as baby boomers age.
St. Petersburg College in January plans to open the first bachelor's degree program in orthotics and prosthetics in the Southeast.
It will be one of four such programs in the United States.
As baby boomers age, the need for artificial limbs is expected to increase, creating more of a demand for the degree.
But there's a slight snag in the plans.
The fledgling program had anticipated welcoming its first dean July 1, but Robert J. Brown, chief of O&P at the University of Rochester (N.Y.) Medical Center, has reneged, and SPC is back at the drawing board.
"It's a positive parting," said Thomas Furlong, SPC's senior vice president of baccalaureate programs and university partnerships. "He's got a nice job in Rochester and has family in the area. He knew this would be exciting. On the other hand, he'd be making this big move for a lateral salary."
SPC will return to its original pool of six or seven dean candidates. If none is selected and agrees to come, the school will readvertise the position and conduct a second, nationwide search.
It could take weeks.
Meanwhile, SPC administrators and the faculty have to pick up the slack. Faculty positions will be written up and advertised in national magazines, a curriculum has to be planned and construction needs to begin for the proposed orthotics building, which will rise at the Caruth Health Education Center, 7200 66th St., in Pinellas Park.
The growing popularity of orthotics, devices that support the spine or weakened extremities, and prosthetics, which are artificial limbs, have created more jobs. Demand for artificial limbs is expected to grow as people age and have amputations due to diabetes, stroke and severe trauma. And the need for professionals who help people use them will increase exponentially by the year 2020, according to the National Commission on Orthotic and Prosthetic Education.
The closest O&P baccalaureate program is at the Texas Southwestern Medical Center. SPC is talking with the University of South Florida and the Shriners Hospital of Tampa to work on creating a master's and Ph.D. program, so that Tampa Bay can become a center for O&P.
That possibility is one of the reasons why Brown applied for the dean position.
"When the opportunity came, I had to at least investigate it," said Brown, from his office in New York. "There aren't many opportunities like that."
Brown will continue as an O&P consultant for SPC, said Furlong. Plus, SPC might now be able to work out an internship agreement with Rochester's medical center.
SPC will offer the four-year degree program, an associate's degree program and a separate one-year certificate program in O&P for those who have completed their course work, but only need certification.
During the first-year residency, O&P practitioners earn from $20,000 to $28,000. With five years' experience, the salary rests between $40,000 and $60,000. After that, salaries rise to $60,000 or more. Six-figure salaries are not uncommon.
Starting this summer, students will still be able to apply for the program, said Furlong. Those beginning students won't be able to take core O&P classes until they finish basic education courses, he said.
Twenty-four students will be accepted for the 2005 school year and 24 more will be allowed in the second year. A limited number of students will be admitted into the certificate program.
The school hopes to save money by interviewing new dean candidates via video conferencing and encouraging candidates to provide their own money for the SPC site visit. They hope to have someone in place quickly.
"If we lose a month, we'll try to help out the new person by pulling together," Furlong said. "I'm not worried about it."
- Adrienne Samuels can be reached at 445-4157 or samuels@sptimes.com