Orthopaedic Technologist Exam

Orthopaedic Technologist Certification is a certification examination that is written and executed by the National Board for Certification of Orthopaedic Technologists (NBCOT). The certification exam has been designed to determine whether an individual possesses the necessary knowledge and skills in Orthopaedic applications in terms of surgery procedures, patient assessment techniques, etc. The exam is mandatory for receiving the technologist certification.

The Orthopaedic Technologist Surgery Certification (OT- SC) Exam is a certification examination written and executed by NBCOT- National Board for Certification of Orthopaedic Technologist. It has been designed to determine whether or not a candidate possesses the knowledge and skills that are necessary to assist surgeons in surgical procedures.

Eligibility for Orthopaedic Technologist Exam and Orthopaedic Technologist-Surgery Exam

Eligibility rules to undertake the Orthopaedic Technologist Exam-

• An individual must possess experience for 2 years to undertake the certification examination.
• Individuals who have completed a structured Orthopaedic program are eligible.
• NBCOT recognizes that Certified or Licensed Athletic Trainers who meet many of the requirements or the guidelines that coincide with Orthopaedic Technologist Certified are eligible.

For a candidate to be eligible for Orthopaedic Technologist-Surgery examination, it is mandatory that the candidate must be OTC. He must have a minimum of 1 year of experience in Surgical Orthopaedics. The candidate is required to possess & maintain OTC certification in order to maintain the OT-SC Certification.

The exam has been designed to assess the candidate’s knowledge of pre-operation procedures, surgical procedures, sterilization and infection prevention procedures, post-operative care, and legal & ethical concerns.

The OT-SC is not a standalone or an independent certification and it has not been designed to replace the OTC certification. The exam is meant to enhance a candidate's original OTC certification.

• Once the candidate successfully performs in the OT-SC examination, they will have their initial OT-SSC certification prorated to correspond to the candidate's OTC expiration date.
• If the candidate's OTC certification lapses in the year 2021 and is able to successfully perform in the OT-SC exam in 2019. In such cases, the OT-SC credential becomes valid from the date of successful results as received in the OT-SC examination.
• In such cases, a candidate will be required to submit his OTC CEU submissions, a prorated number of Category 1A credits. This can be done as mentioned in the below table. It is based on the length of the candidate's initial OT-SC certification.

- 1 year- 3 category 1A credits.

- 2 years - 6 Category 1A credits

- 3 years - 9 Category 1A credits

- 4 years - 12 Category 1A credits

- 5 years - 15 Category 1A credits

- 6 years - 20 Category 1A credits

• When a candidate plans to retest for the recertification of their OTC credential, the candidate will be requested to wait in order to take the OT-SC examination until the year they are due to retest for the OTC certification. It will result in OTC and OT-SC expiration dates to coincide.
• Following the initial OT-SC certification period, both certifications OTC and OT-SC will continue to remain valid for a period of 6 years.

Syllabus of Orthopaedic Technologist Exam and Orthopaedic Technologist-Surgery Exam

Orthopaedic Technologist Exam

The examination breakdown is based on existing job task analysis. Majorly it covers-

• Assessment- 41%
• Casting, Splinting and Orthopaedic Appliances -42%
• Traction- 6%
• Surgery- 11%

Orthopaedic Technologist-Surgery Exam