DETAILED OCCUPATION DATA
51-9082 Medical Appliance Technicians
Occupational Description:
Construct, fit, maintain, or repair medical supportive devices, such as braces, orthotics and prosthetic devices, joints, arch supports, and other surgical and medical appliances.| Percentiles | |||||||||
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| Geography | Employment | Emp SE* | Mean | Mean SE* | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
| Minnesota | 460 | 89 | $17.82/hr | $0.45/hr | $12.46/hr | $14.75/hr | $17.48/hr | $20.89/hr | $23.46/hr |
| U S | 12,230 | 538 | $18.61/hr | $0.24/hr | $11.16/hr | $13.86/hr | $17.58/hr | $21.93/hr | $27.44/hr |
| *SE = Standard error, a measure of the statistical reliability of the estimate. | |||||||||
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| Occupation (click title for details) | OES | Projections | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | Median Wage | % Change 2010 - 2020 | |
| Medical Equipment Preparers | 1,680 | $17.56/hr | 23.1% |
| Opticians, Dispensing | 1,610 | $16.35/hr | 22.7% |
| Maintenance Workers, Machinery | 890 | $19.58/hr | 5.2% |
| Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | 350 | $20.69/hr | 3.8% |
| Bicycle Repairers | N/A | $11.56/hr | N/A |
Tasks for Medical Appliance Technicians
- Carves, cuts, grinds, and welds wood, plastic, or metal material to fabricate medical supportive devices, using hand and power tools.
- Repairs and maintains medical supportive devices, such as artificial limbs, braces, and surgical supports, according to specifications.
- Lays out and marks dimensions of parts, using templates and precision measuring instruments.
- Bends, forms, and shapes fabric or material to conform to measurements for prescribed contours to fabricate structural components.
- Drills and taps holes for rivets, and glues, welds, bolts, and rivets parts together to form prosthetic or orthotic device.
- Polishes artificial limbs, braces, and supports, using grinding and buffing wheels.
- Mixes pigments according to formula to match skin coloring of patient and applies mixture to prosthetic or orthotic device.
- Reads specifications to determine type of product or device to be fabricated and selects required materials and tools.
- Constructs or receives plaster cast of patient's torso or limbs to use as pattern for cutting and fabricating supportive devices.
- Tests medical supportive device for body fit, alignment, movement, and biomechanical stability, using meters and alignment fixtures.
- Covers or pads metal or plastic structures and devices, using coverings such as rubber, leather, felt, plastic, or fiberglass.
- Fabricates wax or plastic impression of amputated area and prepares mold from impression to form artificial cosmetic ear, nose, or hand.
- Fits appliance onto patient and adjusts appliance as necessary.
- Instructs patient in use of prosthetic or orthotic device.