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Curriculum & Clinical Experience

UT Southwestern’s Prosthetics-Orthotics Program was established in 1982. The profession’s move to Master’s-level preparation has given us the opportunity to revise and re-sequence the curriculum to deliver the clinical, technical, and practice-management skills you need for a successful, fulfilling career.

Right Training, Right Time

To prepare you for patient care, we teach from a strong clinical, evidence-based perspective. Each member of our faculty practices in our integrated clinic. We teach by example, share clinical scenarios, and include students in selected clinical activities.

At every stage in the program, you’ll apply the skills you learn through the casting, fabrication, and fitting of orthoses and prostheses with patient models. These volunteers – with a wide range of conditions and needs – provide a rich opportunity to understand and meet the needs of actual patients.

As part of the program, you’ll engage in research projects and community service activities. You’ll also receive hands-on clinical training on campus and in local clinics and complete a one-month intensive clinical experience at an off-campus location.

We provide a portion of the curriculum online through the D2L course-management platform on a student-designated server. This gives you easy access to lectures and handouts when and where you need them.

Order of Courses

We’ve sequenced the curriculum to create an effective and efficient path for learning. All of the courses in a given semester are prerequisites for the courses that follow in the next semester.

Prosthetics-Orthotics Elective Course

MPO 5103 Lab Skills and Materials in Prosthetics and Orthotics II (one credit hour). Students may enroll once in either their third, fourth, or fifth semesters, space permitting (spring, summer, fall)

Degree Plan

60

Total Program Hours

  • First Year
    • Summer | 13 Credit Hours

      HCS 5308 Human Anatomy Lecture | 3 Credit Hours

      HCS 5309 Human Anatomy Dissection Lab | 3 Credit Hours

      HCS 5207 Introduction to Neuroscience | 2 Credit Hours

      HCS 5407 Human Physiology | 4 Credit Hours

      MPO 5101 Introduction to Laboratory Skills and Materials in Prosthetics and Orthotics | 1 Credit Hour

    • Fall | 17 Credit Hours

      MPO 5102 Clinical Evaluation Tools | 1 Credit Hour

      MPO 5203 Biomechanics of Human Movement 1 | 2 Credit Hours

      MPO 5504 Orthotic Management of the Lower Limb 1 | 5 Credit Hours

      MPO 5505 Prosthetic Management of the Lower Limb 1 | 5 Credit Hours

      HCS 5106 Professional Development | 1 Credit Hour

      MPO 5301H Introduction to Clinical Pathology | 3 Credit Hours

    • Spring | 15 Credit Hours

      MPO 5106 Biomechanics of Human Movement 2 | 1 Credit Hours

      MPO 5407 Orthotic Management of Lower Limb 2 | 4 Credit Hours

      MPO 5308 Orthotic Management of the Spine | 3 Credit Hours

      MPO 5409 Prosthetic Management of the Lower Limb 2 | 4 Credit Hours

      MPO 5230H Introduction to Clinical Research | 2 Credit Hours

      MPO 5103 Labratory Skills and Materials in Prosthetics-Orthotics | 1 Credit Hour*

      *Elective, students may enroll once in either their 3rd, 4th or 5th semester, space permitting

       

  • Second Year
    • Summer | 8 Credit Hours

      MPO 5411 Clinical Experience | 4 Credit Hours

      MPO 5310 Prosthetic Management of the Upper Limb | 3 Credit Hours

      MPO 5112 Clinical Research 1 | 1 Credit Hours

    • Fall | 8 Credit Hours

      MPO 5115 Clinical Research 2 | 1 Credit Hour

      MPO 5416 Contemporary Practice and Synthesis | 4 Credit Hours

      MPO 5313 Orthotic Management of the Upper Limb | 3 Credit Hours

       

Some sequencing may change from year to year without notice. For detailed course descriptions, please view our catalog.

Graduation Requirements

To graduate from the Master of Prosthetics-Orthotics Program, a candidate must:

  1. Demonstrate a high order of scholarly achievement in prosthetics-orthotics, including appropriate professional competencies. (The program’s Student Progress Committee determines whether adequate mastery has been acquired.)
  2. Complete satisfactorily a minimum of 60 semester hours in the UT Southwestern School of Health Professions.
  3. Discharge all financial obligations to the medical center. (In the event of nonpayment, the Dean may take one or more actions:
    • Deny readmission;
    • Withhold the student’s grades and official transcript; and/or
    • Withhold the degree to which the student would otherwise be entitled.)
  4. Complete the academic requirements listed in the degree plan, including completion of any academic deficiencies in prerequisite courses, by the times stated in the student’s official letter of acceptance, and submit official documentation of successful completion to the Office of the Registrar.
  5. Maintain at least a 2.7 cumulative grade-point average with no academic deficiencies and no incompletes.
  6. Pay a graduation fee designated to partially offset the costs associated with the diploma and diploma cover production, regalia, and the commencement ceremony. All students completing a degree or certificate must pay the fee whether they attend the commencement ceremony or not.

Clinical Experience

Because we’re part of a major medical center, you’ll have an outstanding opportunity to enhance your understanding and abilities through hands-on clinical experience in a variety of settings.

On-Campus Clinical Facilities

Here are just a few of the places where you’ll broaden and refine your skills:

Off-Campus Experience

You’ll also complete a one-month, off-campus clinical experience during the second summer of the program. This experience provides a powerful opportunity to apply your skills as you learn from a clinician in the field and experience daily practice. There are dozens of options for this experience, from general practice to upper-limb prosthetics, pediatrics, acute management, and other focused specialties, in a wide variety of clinic, hospital, and community settings. Your faculty mentor will help you identify a focus and location that match your goals and interests.

Frequently Asked Questions

What type of business curriculum do you offer?

We offer a four-credit course entitled, “Contemporary Practice and Synthesis” during the student’s last semester. A good portion of this course is dedicated to practice management focusing on reimbursement policy and fraud and abuse. It is designed to enhance the student’s clinical experiences and billing assignments he/she has already completed. The course covers federal, state, private, self-pay, and charity reimbursement.

Insurance representatives, case workers, state vocational rehabilitation counselors, P&O insurance authorization and charge entry staff, special agents with the Office of the Inspector General, and attorneys with the U.S. Attorney’s Office are an example of invited guests who participate in the course. In addition to the more than 20 hours of reimbursement education covered in the final semester, we provide many more hours each semester through discussion, example, and exercise. Learning proper charting and coding is an integral part of each course.

Do you assist students in finding residencies?

Yes, we provide you with guidance to find a residency. There is no formal matching program in our profession, yet students do not have a difficult time securing a residency. Positions locally can be scarce and we encourage students to seek residencies nationally.

When and where are classes held?

Prosthetic and orthotic courses meet throughout the week with lecture and laboratory often combined. The schedule is flexible and will shift depending on clinic and rounds opportunities each week. We currently do not hold classes in the evenings or weekends. However there occasionally are early morning rounds (6:30 a.m.). Health Care Sciences courses that include students from other programs meet in classrooms on the North and South Campus. Prosthetic and orthotic courses meet in the School of Health Professions building (West Campus V building on map). You can walk to all locations on campus or use the campus connector shuttle system.

Meet Our Faculty