We use a ‘train the trainer’ approach, delivered through our specially developed blended learning education program. We use a combination of online teaching utilising multimedia tools, with face-to-face, hands-on practical workshops and assessments.
We designed our program to make it easier to deliver Prosthetics & Orthotics training in countries affected by war, disasters, poverty and lack of infrastructure. Human Study’s founder, Christian Schlierf, developed this approach as a result of his experiences working as a Prosthetist/Orthotist in Iran after the 2004 earthquake, and in Southeast Europe after the Balkans war.
Human Study also delivers Specialised Courses in Prosthetics and Orthotics – SCOPe – designed to be accessible and flexible.
We built our SCOPe courses utilising an innovative curriculum design to support Prosthetist / Orthotists to further develop their existing skills in order to effectively meet the needs of people with disabilities in their communities.
With SCOPe, Prosthetist/Orthotists follow a series of short, highly specialised courses whilst maintaining employment.
“Human Study were coming into Turkey and delivering the workshops but often students couldn’t get there. The border was closed, fighting was bad, students were needed at home. When that happened, I would go to Turkey for the workshops and then come back into Syria and train my peers. Human Study gave us everything, the platform, materials, everything we needed to transfer the knowledge beyond our class. They also let other people join the online sessions who weren’t on the course, so even though there were only eight of us, sometimes there were 25 of us online. I would take the practical assessments in Turkey, and then deliver the course, every course, again in Syria.”
Prosthetist/Orthotist Luai Alhallaak (left) and his colleague Abdalraheem Alhaj Khalouf, working with a patient during the practical part of their studies in Syria.
Human Study collaborates with Mahidol University (Thailand) – Sirindhorn School of Prosthetics and Orthotics. Graduates of our top level Prosthetist/Orthotist training receive Bachelor’s degrees (BSc) in addition to ISPO certification. This fast-tracks our graduates so they can go on to train the next cohort of Associate level Prosthetist/Orthotists; while Associate Prosthetist/Orthotists train P&O Technicians. Every Prosthetist/Orthotist trained using Human Study’s system goes on to train more Prosthetist/Orthotists, multiplying the impact of our work. Some Professional-level graduates even go on to work at Human Study as teachers, sharing their skills with hundreds of P&O students in many different countries over the course of their careers.
We connect globally dispersed students and teachers. The standard model of Prosthetics and Orthotics education requires students and teachers to be present at one location, usually a university, for several years. In Human Study programs, teachers and students can be anywhere. Students meet their peers and their teachers online. This enables us to bring in some of the best trainers and teachers in the world to train our students. The input our students gain is priceless.
Although it takes years to qualify as a Prosthetist/Orthotist, our work has a direct and immediate impact on the availability and quality of rehabilitation services for people with disabilities. Thanks to our blended learning approach, our students can complete a lesson and immediately apply their new knowledge and skills in the rehabilitation clinics where they work, for the benefit of their clients – people with disabilities. In this way, our education programs can quickly help to develop and improve locally-run P&O services.
By minimizing travel, we are playing our part in reducing the carbon footprint of P&O training. Most countries in the world do not have ISPO accredited P&O training schools, meaning that trainee Prosthetist/Orthotists have to go abroad to study. Our blended learning model significantly reduces the need for travel.
Blended learning brings benefits even in countries where travel is not an issue: reduced costs. With minimal travel and absence from work, our students stay productive in their rehabilitation workshops, providing services for people with disabilities, while maintaining their regular income during their education. Students, their employers, their families and their clients all benefit.
Our training is accredited by the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) – the international body that sets the worldwide standards for P&O education. 75% of countries have no ISPO accredited education programs. Human Study is helping to change that.
“During this first course we saw how incredible it was when word travelled after our training. We would learn a new technique, and local partners, doctors, hospitals started hearing that we had had the training, and the number of patients that came to us increased massively. After each training we would start receiving people with the injuries we had been properly taught to make and fit devices for, word would get out quickly and the numbers of patients kept rising. It changed how other NGOs and the medical profession viewed us. They trusted us and would confidently refer patients to us. We could work with all injuries now.”
Fatima Almubarak, Prosthetist/Orthotist (now Trainer), Syria
Mahidol University is our longstanding partner in delivering our higher education programs at Bachelor of Science level.
Human Study’s education programs are accredited by the International Society for Prosthetics & Orthotics.
We collaborate and exchange knowledge with ISPO and the World Health Organization. We use the WHO Standards for Prosthetics and Orthotics as guidance to structure our approach.
Human Study was a partner in the Erasmus+ project PROMOTE: Prosthetic and Orthotic specialist MOdules for higher education Training in Europe.
Our work contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
