This capstone project is a four-hour evidence-based continuing education workshop consisting of a lecture, demonstration, and fabrication of four different orthoses. Orthotic fabrication is an essential skill for occupational and physical therapists who work in the area of hand therapy and is a valuable skill for generalists. This course will teach occupational and /or physical therapists how to fabricate four orthoses for common diagnoses of the proximal interphalangeal joints (PIP) and distal interphalangeal (DIP) joints of the hands. The participants will understand the need for evidence-based pracitce (EBP) decisions in hand therapy interventions and will be knowledgeable about current evidence related to the orthotic menagement of swan neck and boutonniere deformities, mallet finger injuries, and DIP joint arthritis. Participants will understand the importance of using outcome measures that ddress activity limitation and participation. This course is taught from an occupational therapy perspective that incorporates evidence-based practice and interventions and follows the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process, 3rd Edition.
