Starting this summer, the ABC orthotist and prosthetist written certification exams will be combined, in addition, the eligibility criteria for when a candidate can sit for the exam will change. Since all practitioner certification candidates are now graduates of a combined O&P master’s degree program, the change is in keeping with the changing face of O&P education.

ABC’s written practitioner exams were created to test the knowledge of a post-residency candidate, but with the introduction of the O&P master’s program, it became apparent that a combined exam testing the knowledge gained from the master’s program was more appropriate. 

The change to the eligibility criteria will allow O&P master’s program graduates to take the written exam immediately after graduation. These changes will give candidates the opportunity to take the exam while their university knowledge is still fresh and give educators an outcome measure of students’ success with their curriculum. The first combined written practitioner exam will be given this August.