- Name: Dr. Zekra Ali Aziz
- Role: Head of Department & Senior Lecturer
- Institution: Department of Prosthetics and Orthotics, Technical Health and Medical College, Erbil Polytechnic University (EPU), Iraq
- Country: Iraq (Kurdistan Region)
- Years in O&P: 15+ years in medical & academic rehabilitation
- Clinical/Teaching Focus: Clinical Assessment, Human Movement Analysis, Medical Rehabilitation, Ethics & Wheelchair Service Provision
- Main Area of Interest: Elevating P&O academic standards in Iraq through ISPO-accredited education, clinical decision-making, and multidisciplinary rehabilitation services.
Section A: Background and Leadership
What first drew you into prosthetics, orthotics, or rehabilitation?
The power of mobility to restore human dignity and independence in a region heavily impacted by trauma and physical disability.
What does your current role involve day to day?
Leading Iraq’s pioneering ISPO-accredited B.Sc. P&O department, overseeing clinical labs, directing research, and mentoring the next generation of clinicians.
How would you describe the mission of your department or programme?
To advance regional O&P education by providing international-standard, ISPO-accredited academic training that transforms students into clinically confident professionals.
Section B: Learning from Experience
What has been the most important lesson you have learned as a department head or educator?
Academic leadership is about empowerment—building critical thinking and empathy in educators and students alike.
What mistakes or false assumptions taught you the most early in your leadership journey?
Assuming top academic grades equal clinical readiness. Practical clinical judgment and patient communication must be trained just as rigorously.
What advice would you give to younger clinicians who want to move into teaching or departmental leadership?
Stay rooted in clinical practice, pursue continuous professional development, and lead with clarity, empathy, and vision.
Section C: Building People and Systems
What are the biggest gaps you see in current O&P education or clinical training?
The bridge between classroom biomechanics and real-world multidisciplinary clinical decision-making.
How do you help students or junior staff move from theory to confident clinical decision-making?
Through hands-on movement analysis labs, simulated case studies, and requiring clinical justifications for every device design.
What skills do you believe are still under-taught in today’s training environment?
Structured clinical reasoning, ethical patient communication, and wheelchair service provision.
Section D: Future Challenges
What do you see as the biggest challenge facing O&P departments over the next five years?
Integrating digital workflows (CAD/CAM, 3D printing) into traditional hands-on curricula while overcoming local resource constraints.
How should educators prepare students for a future shaped by digital workflows, AI, and advanced manufacturing?
By teaching digital technology as an enhancement to—never a replacement for—solid anatomical and biomechanical foundations.
What changes are needed to build stronger rehabilitation services in your country or region?
Expanding ISPO-aligned educational standards across the nation and securing full policy recognition for certified CPOs in healthcare systems.
Section E: Personal Perspective
What part of your work gives you the greatest satisfaction?
Establishing Iraq’s first B.Sc. P&O programme, achieving international ISPO accreditation, and seeing our graduates transform patients’ lives.
What keeps you optimistic about the future of the profession?
The energy of our students and the measurable impact that accredited, high-level academic education is making in Iraq.
What is one change you would most like to see in the IMEA O&P sector?
Equitable access to internationally accredited O&P education across all countries in the region.
Fast Five
- Best advice ever received: “Build the capacity of your people first; academic and clinical excellence will follow.”
- One book or resource for young clinicians: Atlas of Amputations and Limb Deficiencies (AAOS) & ISPO Educational Standards.
- One skill every future CPO should master: Comprehensive clinical gait and movement assessment.
- Biggest current frustration in the sector: Supply chain limits and slow recognition of O&P credentials in public health policy.
- One reason to stay hopeful: Achieving ISPO accreditation proves that commitment can elevate regional academic standards to world-class levels.
📷 Team Photograph
Photo Caption:
“Dr. Zekra Ali Aziz with faculty members and students at the Department of Prosthetics and Orthotics — Technical Health and Medical College (EPU), home to Iraq’s first ISPO-accredited B.Sc. P&O programme.”