Educating the rehabilitation engineer as a service provider

This paper reviews a 12-month masters-level rehabilitation engineering training program to prepare engineers to be rehabilitation service providers. The extent of the rehabilitation engineering shortage is discussed. The curriculum is then provided with descriptions of 16 courses, the program's internship, and a comparison with other training programs. A listing of the intended customers of the program graduates is given along with a description of the advisory committee to help interface with these customers. Four educational goals consisting of disability and technology, major rehabilitation systems, applied skills, and life-long learning are discussed. The results of six years' experience with this program, including a survey of graduates, are presented.