Description
Construct, maintain, or repair medical supportive devices such as braces, orthotics and prosthetic devices, joints, arch supports, and other surgical and medical appliances.
- • 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.
- • Read prescriptions or specifications to determine the type of product or device to be fabricated and the materials and tools required.
- • Repair, modify, or maintain medical supportive devices, such as artificial limbs, braces, or surgical supports, according to specifications.
- • Instruct patients in use of prosthetic or orthotic devices.
- • Take patients' body or limb measurements for use in device construction.
- • Construct or receive casts or impressions of patients' torsos or limbs for use as cutting and fabrication patterns.
- • 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.
- • Lay out and mark dimensions of parts, using templates and precision measuring instruments.
- • Test medical supportive devices for proper alignment, movement, or biomechanical stability, using meters and alignment fixtures.
- • Cover or pad metal or plastic structures or devices, using coverings such as rubber, leather, felt, plastic, or fiberglass.
- • Polish artificial limbs, braces, or supports, using grinding and buffing wheels.
- • Service or repair machinery used in the fabrication of appliances.
- • Mix pigments to match patients' skin coloring, according to formulas, and apply mixtures to orthotic or prosthetic devices.
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Healthcare & Human Services
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Source
Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
