The National Association for the Advancement of Orthotics and Prosthetics (NAAOP) is accepting applications for its annual health policy/advocacy fellowship. NAAOP is a national nonprofit association advocating for consumers/patients requiring orthotic and prosthetic care, as well as the providers who serve them. The NAAOP Fellowship is a paid, 10-week summer program based in Washington, D.C. The Fellow will learn about orthotic and prosthetic (O&P) policy, advocacy, and how NAAOP and other O&P organizations function on behalf of the O&P community and within the broader rehabilitation and disability policy and advocacy environment at the federal and state level. The Fellowship also includes exposure to O&P clinical and business settings, and state-based public policy and advocacy, at no cost to the Fellow. The NAAOP Fellow will shadow NAAOP’s General Counsel, Peter Thomas, who will assign and oversee the Fellow’s work.
One Fellow will be selected for the summer of 2024 through a competitive process using the application on the NAAOP website. The deadline to electronically submit this application is Monday, February 19, 2024, by 12:00 Midnight, Eastern Time. Finalists will be interviewed via videoconference and one candidate will be selected. If the finalist selected cannot accept the Fellowship for any reason, the next highest ranked Fellow will be offered the position.
Selection Criteria: All applicants must:
- Personally use a custom fabricated orthosis or prosthesis;
- Have an interest in public/health policy and advocacy;
- Demonstrate an interest in advancing O&P care;
- Have excellent writing, speaking, and analytical skills (see application for additional factors).
The NAAOP Fellow will receive a stipend of $500 per week for a ten-week period, although the Fellow will have paid time-off during Independence Day week. NAAOP will provide the Fellow with an office, phone, and computer in its DC offices. NAAOP will assist the Fellow in exploring reasonably-priced summer housing options with area colleges for those with no other housing alternative. The NAAOP Fellow will be responsible for their own housing costs but NAAOP housing subsidies will be available if necessary.
Application Submission Deadline: 12:00 Midnight, Eastern Time, Monday, February 19, 2024
- Applications must be submitted electronically to Fellowship@naaop.org.
Fellowship Selection Announcement: January 19, 2024
Fellowship Term: 10-weeks (Late May to Early August, 2024)
Learn more about past Fellows or donate to the Fellowship here.