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Medical Appliance Technicians

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Construct, maintain, or repair medical supportive devices such as braces, orthotics and prosthetic devices, joints, arch supports, and other surgical and medical appliances.

Related: Dental Laboratory Technicians Medical Equipment Repairers Molders, Shapers, & Casters Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians Structural Metal Fabricators & Fitters

Industries: Manufacturing Health & Counseling

Summary
Details

Service or repair machinery used in the fabrication of appliances.
Read prescriptions or specifications to determine the type of product or device to be fabricated and the materials and tools required.
Polish artificial limbs, braces, or supports, using grinding and buffing wheels.
Take patients' body or limb measurements for use in device construction.
Bend, form, and shape fabric or material to conform to prescribed contours of structural components.
Drill and tap holes for rivets, and glue, weld, bolt, or rivet parts together to form prosthetic or orthotic devices.
Drill and tap holes for rivets, and glue, weld, bolt, or rivet parts together to form prosthetic or orthotic devices.
Cover or pad metal or plastic structures or devices, using coverings such as rubber, leather, felt, plastic, or fiberglass.
Fit appliances onto patients, and make any necessary adjustments.
Construct or receive casts or impressions of patients' torsos or limbs for use as cutting and fabrication patterns.
Test medical supportive devices for proper alignment, movement, or biomechanical stability, using meters and alignment fixtures.
Lay out and mark dimensions of parts, using templates and precision measuring instruments.
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.
Mix pigments to match patients' skin coloring, according to formulas, and apply mixtures to orthotic or prosthetic devices.
Instruct patients in use of prosthetic or orthotic devices.
Make orthotic or prosthetic devices, using materials such as thermoplastic and thermosetting materials, metal alloys and leather, and hand or power tools.
Mix pigments to match patients' skin coloring, according to formulas, and apply mixtures to orthotic or prosthetic devices.

Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
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.
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.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.

Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

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.
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.
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.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
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.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
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.
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.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
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.
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.
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.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
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.
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.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
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.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
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.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
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.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
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.
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.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
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.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
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.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

46550/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

22.38/hr

Currently Employed

500

Yearly Projected Openings

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Attention to Detail
Dependability
Concern for Others
Cooperation
Integrity
Innovation

Acoustic ear muffs or defenders
Alignment jig
Anvils
Belt sander
Bench vises
Blow torch
Calipers
Cast cutters or saws
Cheesegrater file
Claw hammer
Cutting machines
Deburring tool
Digital camcorders or video cameras
Drilling machines
Dust collectors
End cut pliers
Glue guns
Half round file
Heat guns
Hex keys
Horizontal turning center
Hydraulic press brake
Laboratory box furnaces
Laboratory mechanical convection ovens
Manual press brake
Notebook computers
Personal computers
Pipe bending mandrel
Pipe vises
Pneumatic hammer
Pneumatic sanding machines
Pneumatic vacuum equipment
Power buffers
Power drills
Power grinders
Power planes
Power riveter
Power routers
Power sanders
Power saws
Pressure indicators
Punches or nail sets or drifts
Rasps
Respiratory therapy compressors
Rubber mallet
Safety glasses
Scanners
Sewing machines
Spot welding machine
Swaging tools
Tape measures
Torque wrenches
Tracer or duplicating or contouring lathe
Traveling column milling machine
Utility knives
Vacuum molding machines

Computer aided design CAD software
Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
Electronic mail software
Medical software
Office suite software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

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Medical Appliance Technicians

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