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Medical Appliance Technicians
Construct, maintain, or repair medical supportive devices such as braces, orthotics and prosthetic devices, joints, arch supports, and other surgical and medical appliances.
Also Known As:
Certified Pedorthotist
Hearing Aid Repair Technician
Lab Technician
Orthopedic Technician
Orthotic Technician
Orthotic and Prosthetic Technician (O and P Technician)
Prosthetic Technician
Prosthetics Technician
Registered Prosthetic Orthotic Technician
Wages
Annual wages for Medical Appliance Technicians in United States
Job Outlook
Average
New job opportunities are likely in the future
United States
2033 Projected Employment
13,500
4% Change From 2023
Explore Medical Appliance Technicians video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Polish artificial limbs, braces, or supports, using grinding and buffing wheels.
- Repair, modify, or maintain medical supportive devices, such as artificial limbs, braces, or surgical supports, according to specifications.
- Take patients' body or limb measurements for use in device construction.
- Read prescriptions or specifications to determine the type of product or device to be fabricated and the materials and tools required.
- Bend, form, and shape fabric or material to conform to prescribed contours of structural components.
- Cover or pad metal or plastic structures or devices, using coverings such as rubber, leather, felt, plastic, or fiberglass.
- Mix pigments to match patients' skin coloring, according to formulas, and apply mixtures to orthotic or prosthetic devices.
- Service or repair machinery used in the fabrication of appliances.
- Construct or receive casts or impressions of patients' torsos or limbs for use as cutting and fabrication patterns.
- Fit appliances onto patients, and make any necessary adjustments.
- Make orthotic or prosthetic devices, using materials such as thermoplastic and thermosetting materials, metal alloys and leather, and hand or power tools.
- Drill and tap holes for rivets, and glue, weld, bolt, or rivet parts together to form prosthetic or orthotic devices.
- Lay out and mark dimensions of parts, using templates and precision measuring instruments.
- Polish artificial limbs, braces, or supports, using grinding and buffing wheels.
- Mix pigments to match patients' skin coloring, according to formulas, and apply mixtures to orthotic or prosthetic devices.
- Drill and tap holes for rivets, and glue, weld, bolt, or rivet parts together to form prosthetic or orthotic devices.
- Test medical supportive devices for proper alignment, movement, or biomechanical stability, using meters and alignment fixtures.
- Instruct patients in use of prosthetic or orthotic devices.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")