BHS Alum Nick Sellas Delves into Career in Orthotics and Prosthetics
By Julie Perine on July 19, 2015 via Connect-Bridgeport.com
A graduate of Bridgeport High School, West Virginia University and the University of Pittsburgh, Nicholas “Nick” Sellas has landed a unique career – one for which he has developed a quick passion.
After completion of two residency programs and the passing of his board exams, the 2007 BHS graduate will become a certified prosthetist orthotist - professional who helps patients regain their mobility by fitting them with artificial limbs and orthopedic braces.
Sellas said it was by chance that he discovered the relatively new higher education path. Upon completion of a bachelor's degree in exercise physiology at WVU, he experienced an “aha moment” while working at the Hanger Clinic: Orthotic & Prosthetic Solutions here in Bridgeport.
“After graduating with my undergraduate degree in 2012, I had no idea what I wanted to do,” he said. “My second day on the job at the Hanger Clinic, one of the practitioners pulled me in to help with a patient who had just lost a leg. I had never met him before. We stood him up and he took his first step and started crying. Then I started crying. There’s just something about a patient looking you in the eye and realizing his life isn’t over. Affording someone that opportunity is a pretty cool thing.”
Sellas said that experience and clinic manager Chris Slaton are responsible for helping him discover a career path that after just a month and a half, he has found incredibly rewarding.
“Chris gave me my start in this field. He opened a lot of doors for me and helped me get my first certification,” Sellas said.
After working briefly at Bridgeport’s Hanger Clinic, Sellas went on to attend the University of Pittsburgh, where he completed a two-year masters program in orthotics and prosthetics.
He is now employed at the Hanger Clinic in Youngstown, Ohio, where he is completing a one-year residency requirement in orthotics. When completed, he’ll embark upon another one-year residency; this time in prosthetics. He’ll also have to pass board exams in both fields to be official.
In the meantime, he’s enjoying every moment of what he considers his life’s purpose. A big part of that is working with children.
“We work a lot with the Akron Children’s Hospital and do a lot of pediatrics and to me, that’s a lot of fun,” he said. “We deal with a lot of children who have medical conditions such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida and scoliosis or some other kind of skeletal deformity or muscle deterioration that causes them to need bracing. They come to us and we help make their lives easier by helping them walk or move, solving their problem with some mechanical advantage.”
Orthoses are externally applied devices used to modify the structural and functional characteristics of the neuromuscular and skeletal system, which are prescribed by physicians. But the Hanger Clinic plays a much bigger role than just filling that prescription.
“Here we work with the doctors, deciding on the patient’s care,” Sellas said. “It’s a team approach to get them exactly what they need. We work along with the doctors to evaluate them.”
Working on an appointment, as well as an on-call basis, the Hanger Clinic services area hospitals and serves patients who suffer a variety of non-emergency and emergency conditions.
“We have motor vehicle accident victims and a lot of stroke patients, along with patients who have other health problems, such as diabetes and conditions that cause a need for orthotic services,” Sellas said. “We basically brace from head to toe, so that means anything from a foot insert to a helmet.”
Sellas said there are many things he wants to do throughout his career to help make a difference. At the clinic, he and his coworkers are able to help one patient at a time, but for the past two years, he has taken part in an event that helps to make a difference in every patient's life.
"I was selected to be one of the student representatives in Washington D.C. for both the 2014 and 2015 American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association Policy Forums," he said "This is where all of the major players in our field get together to discuss the current state of our field and storm the hill to educate our legislators about who we are and what we do."
Ultimately, those who work in his field are there for the betterment of their patients and their rights, Sellas said.
"This is something that I would like to continue to do throughout the years. I plan on becoming a mentor for future students who are selected to represent their schools and future patients on this major platform," he said.
He said research and design aren't really his strong points.
"I am more of a consumer of research and implement what others find," he said. "The patient care, legislative and business sides are really where my strengths lie."
The masters program for the specialty field has only been in existence for a few years.
“It’s a relatively unknown higher education program,” Sellas said.
He encourages others to consider the field.
“Anyone graduating with an exercise physiology degree should consider this option. It’s kind of my goal to spread the word,” he said.
Sellas looks forward to delving more into prosthetics when he embarks upon his second residency program.
“After taking both boards, I eventually hope to work with orthotics and prosthetics interchangeably,” said Sellas. “I don’t do needles very well, so this was a good choice for me.”
Sellas attended Simpson Elementary School and Bridgeport Middle School. He is the son of Irene and Steve Sellas and the brother of Lea, Stephanie and Maria Sellas.
