PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Giving Voice to the Underrepresented UW researcher focuses studies on improving care for marginalized populations
O&P Almanac introduces individuals who have undertaken O&P-focused research projects. Here, you will get to know colleagues and healthcare professionals who have carried out studies and gathered quantitative and/ or qualitative data related to orthotics and prosthetics, and find out what it takes to become an O&P researcher.
F
OR CODY L. MCDONALD, PhD,
MPH, CPO, patient interactions during the early days of her career spurred her decision to pursue O&P research goals. “First as a clinician and then as an orthotist mentor working in Laos, I attempted to collect data to assess my patients’ outcomes and inform treatment plans,” recalls McDonald. “Unfortunately, I did not have the
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MAY 2021 | O&P ALMANAC
PHOTO: Cody L. McDonald, PhD, MPH, CPO
Cody L. McDonald, PhD, MPH, CPO, works with a patient.
training in outcome measurement that our master of prosthetics and orthotics (MPO) students now receive, so I struggled to meaningfully implement evidence-based practice on my own.” McDonald, who earned a bachelor’s degree in prosthetics and orthotics from the University of Washington (UW) in 2006, spent her early career as a clinician in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. In 2012, she pivoted to spend a year in Vientiane, Laos, as part of the Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise (COPE), which works in collaboration with the Laos Ministry of Health Rehabilitation Centers to provide prostheses, orthoses, and therapy. “My position was funded under a USAID grant,” she explains. McDonald worked with a team of mentors, including a physical therapist (PT), occupational therapist, and pediatric PT, who provided training for local orthotists, prosthetists, and therapists. She helped develop care pathways for patients and engaged in outreach to increase awareness about COPE and available rehabilitation services. The year spent overseas served as a “huge learning experience” for McDonald. “My time working in Laos solidified my interest in O&P education and global
