Students work with prosthetics at IPE event

June 22, 2023 – HOUSTON –Texas Woman’s physical therapy students worked alongside orthotics and prosthetics students from the Baylor College of Medicine during an interprofessional event in April in Houston. Students from the two disciplines collaborated as they evaluated patients with amputations and made recommendations for prosthetic componentry, fit and alignment.  

Texas Woman’s Associate Clinical Professor Lauren Szot, PT, DPT has included this IPE event on her class syllabi for Prostheses, Orthoses, and Advanced Gait the last two years. 

“I am regularly communicating with orthotists and prosthetics in my own clinical practice  in order to recommend the best orthotic or prosthetic devices for people with neurologic conditions and/or amputations,” Szot said. 

An orthotist is a healthcare professional who makes and fits braces for people who need additional support. A prosthetist makes and fits artificial limbs for people. 

A grant allowed for this event to take place on the Baylor College of Medicine campus in Houston. During the session, PT and O&P students evaluated the patients together, assessed their amputation, performed tests and measures, identified gait deviations and ways to address them through a gait analysis and discussed reasoning for specific prosthetic componentry.

Following the lab, multiple students commented on the value of working with other professionals. 

“I learned how to interact with the orthotic and prosthetic students and how we could combine our knowledge to come to better solutions for the patient. I loved getting to work hands on with patients and apply the concepts that we talked about in class.

“Something I learned from the IPE is how to effectively communicate and collaborate with other professionals to best treat the patient.”

“One thing I learned from the O&P IPE experience was how to communicate and ask questions to the O &P’s in order to reach an optimal orthosis/prostheses for the patient.”

“During the IPE, I learned the value of working with other professionals. We all have the same goal which is the quality of life of the patient. I really liked getting to see how they think about things vs. how we as PTs think.”

“I learned that to optimize the patient’s care, having a good relationship and communication with other health care providers is essential.”

“I really enjoyed our labs with the Baylor students. It was interesting to see their perspective and the way they approach the same challenges.  The most important thing I learned is the importance to work as a team.