Medical Appliance Technicians
On the Job
Medical Appliance Technicians construct, fit, or repair medical devices. They may work on braces, orthotics and prosthetics, arch supports, and other surgical or medical devices.
Physical Demands 
This career requires time standing, walking, or running.
Typical Work Tasks
People who work in this career often:
- Read work orders or other instructions to determine product specifications or materials requirements.
- Inspect medical or dental assistive devices.
- Measure clients to ensure proper product fit.
- Operate grinding equipment.
- Adjust fabrics or other materials during garment production.
- Apply protective or decorative finishes to workpieces or products.
- Cast molds of patient anatomies to create medical or dental devices.
- Construct customized assistive medical or dental devices.
- Draw guide lines or markings on materials or workpieces using patterns or other references.
- Drill holes in parts, equipment, or materials.
Typical Working Conditions
- Working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions.
- Exposure to contaminants (like gases or odors).
- Wearing common protective or safety equipment such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, hard hats, or life jackets.
- Using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools, or controls.
- Having face-to-face discussions.
- Meeting strict deadlines.
- The importance of being accurate or exact.
- Frequent decision-making.
- Exposure to hazardous equipment.
- Working with a group or team.
- Responsibility for outcomes and results.
This page includes information from the O*NET 24.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Source: You can learn about our data sources in the About Us section.
