Education for Everyone

Joanna Kenton, MHA, CPO, LPO, FAAOP, imparts her knowledge to O&P students—and helps plan curricula at AOPA’s National Assemblies

This month, O&P Almanac debuts a new column focusing on experienced educators within the O&P profession. Here, you will get to know inspiring individuals who educate the next generation of O&P professionals.

Joanna Kenton, MHA, CPO, LPO, FAAOP, works with a student, Charles, who is squaring joints on a transtibial prosthesis.

AS AN INSTRUCTOR OF prosthetic technology, Joanna Kenton, MHA, CPO, LPO, FAAOP, is part of a very small “club” in O&P. Kenton is a professor at Century College in White Bear Lake, Minnesota—one of only six programs in the country offering education for future O&P technicians. She took on the role in August 2017 after nine years in clinical practice, and she is proud to call O&P education her “true calling.”

At Century College, Kenton is responsible for teaching several courses, including transtibial, transfemoral, and upper-extremity fabrication. She loves her job—particularly experiencing the “fervor and passion of our students to learn.” She enjoys watching their skills progress and seeing them land their first job in O&P.

Teaching prosthetic fabrication has evolved in recent years, says Kenton, given the rise of COVID-19 and the ensuing need to integrate remote learning into parts of the curriculum. “The pandemic has changed the face of education. We had to course-correct to provide instruction at home” during the early days of the pandemic. Most prosthetic technical skill instruction still requires in-person, hands-on learning for best results, but Kenton would like to see the use of virtual reality and online textbooks to cement learning objectives in the future.

Just like her own students, Kenton recognizes the value of ongoing education. She prides herself on continuously seeking knowledge—and was rewarded for her efforts in May 2021 when she earned a master’s in healthcare administration from Minnesota State University Moorhead.

As part of her master’s coursework, Kenton completed a capstone research project in which she polled O&P employers to discover their expectations for technicians. “There are so many different products now,” so she set out to learn “what’s really going on in today’s clinical environments” so she could properly prepare her students for entry-level careers as technicians. “The number of respondents was low, but I gained some insights from those who participated,” Kenton says—for example, that the majority of facilities prefer a simple one-lamination removable pin-lock suspension for transtibial designs. She has since implemented some new learning objectives in the classes she teaches.

Kenton (center) works with students, Josie and Kathy, as they perform their first laminations.

Background in Education

Kenton took a circuitous route to becoming a certified clinician-turnededucator. “O&P was not my initial career path; it is actually my third, but favorite, career,” she says.

After high school, Kenton attended Crown College and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in human development, with a licensure in adult and early childhood education. “My initial plan was to teach early childhood family education courses,” she says. “Unfortunately, the pay did not cover my college debt and living expenses at the time, so I began a career in financial services.” She found herself placing equity trades with American Express in downtown Minneapolis, “tied down to a phone queue.” When the market crashed in the early 2000s and her job revolved around unhappy clients, she realized it was time for a career change.

“One day I ventured into Barnes & Noble and pulled out a book on allied health professions,” Kenton recalls. “And there it was: I saw the Orthotist/Prosthetist Career Page and knew it was the profession for me.”

Kenton pursued a postbaccalaureate certificate in O&P and worked as an O&P technician for three years, before completing a residency in prosthetics and becoming certified. She also returned to school to gain her orthotics certification. She held positions as an orthotist/prosthetist in clinical settings for nine more years. When a faculty position opened at Century College almost five years ago, she decided to make the jump to O&P educator—a decision she has never regretted.

“My career went full circle,” she explains. Working with O&P patients in clinical settings is “amazing,” she says, but since her bachelor’s degree was in education, she feels she is “meant to be” in her current role, training the next generation of O&P professionals. “This position is an honor,” she says. “I’m teaching fabrication science, and I love it.”

Educating the Profession

Kenton has taken her desire to educate O&P professionals well beyond the Minnesota borders in her volunteer work with AOPA. “As a lover of the fabrication sciences, I have served on the AOPA Assembly Planning Committee—Technical Track for the past three years,” she explains. Last year, she served with Brad Mattear, LO, CPA, CFo, as co-chair for the Technical Track. “My favorite part about volunteering as an Assembly Planning Committee member is seeing our collective work effort unfold at the Assembly,” she says. “It’s exciting … and it is done as a team.”

Technical education is a critical component of the Assembly schedule, due to the accelerating pace of technological change and the need to provide optimal patient care, says Kenton. “Our world is changing at a quantum pace,” she says. “As surgeries and surgical outcomes are improving, technology is evolving, our products are improving, and this is all for the goal of providing the best outcome for our patients. If we don’t evolve, then we fail to provide the best care to our patients.”

This year, Kenton and Rick Riley, founder of O&P Boost, are co-chairs of the AOPA 2022 National Assembly Planning Committee, with the conference set to take place Sept. 28 to Oct. 1 in San Antonio. “I am honored to be a part of this process, and to serve alongside some very amazing people who share a similar passion and purpose.”

Kenton, Riley, and their team are going all-in on the planning stages for the in-person event, with several new features set to debut—including a Postmastectomy Track and an O&P Digital Education Track. The mastectomy track was added due to overwhelming feedback from the

Kenton assists as a student, Laurianna, tests her lanyard suspension on a transfemoral prosthesis.

Kenton (far right) discusses an ischial containment transfemoral cast with students, Dan and Sara.

community on the need for information, as well as the need to maintain that credential. “It was a gap that needed to be filled,” says Kenton. The addition of the digital fabrication track resulted from the growth of sessions dedicated to this topic: “Digital fabrication has traditionally been a part of the Technology Track,” she explains, but “we felt that the digital world has evolved into its own category. It’s grown its own legs.”

Looking toward San Antonio, Kenton is particularly excited for the “Fabrication Tricks & Tips” session planned for the Technical Education Track. This session will be based on submitted short videos on a fabrication tip or trick. Kenton encourages O&P professionals to contact AOPA by April 1 if they intend to submit a tip video for possible inclusion in the session. “These will be reviewed and collated into a session where attendees can vote for their favorite, and winners will receive cash prizes,” Kenton says. “But even more important is the sharing of information that will improve our work as a community and lighten our load—all for the ultimate benefit of our patients.”

Kenton also looks forward to the networking component of the Assembly, where she will meet face to face with other O&P stakeholders—including her educational counterparts from other universities. “One reason why I do this, is to make connections in the O&P world,” she says. “As an educator, it allows me to connect with other content experts to provide our students with relevant O&P content.

“O&P is an amazing profession,” adds Kenton. “I get to share my passion and knowledge with the next generation.”

Submit YOUR Fabrication Tip Video

AOPA invites you to make a three- to five-minute video explaining a fabrication “trick or tip” for possible inclusion in a new session at the AOPA National Assembly in San Antonio. Accepted videos will be reviewed and collated into a session where attendees can vote for their favorite, and winners will receive cash prizes. Let AOPA know of your intent to submit a video April 1.

For more information, visit https://aopa.wufoo.com/forms/2022call-for-technical-presenters/ or contact Tina Carlson, CMP, AOPA senior director of education and meetings, at 571/431-0808 or tcarlson@aopanet.org.

Spread the Word About the Prosthetic Technician Career

O&P clinicians and business owners should promote O&P technician programs to ensure a sufficient pipeline of skilled technicians, says Joanna Kenton, MHA, CPO, LPO, FAAOP, faculty in the prosthetic technician program at Century College in Minnesota. Consider taking the following steps: • Encourage employers to offer attractive and competitive wages for technicians. • Spread the word at the community level by attending middle and high school career days and club meetings. • Use media as a conversation starter—when you see images on social media of individuals using prostheses or orthoses, jump in and explain what you know. • Engage in professional organizations, including AOPA. • Embed outreach in O&P curricula. • Incorporate digital manufacturing in O&P training. • Collaborate with local maker spaces to share information about O&P technician careers.