ABC is leading a multi-year effort to raise awareness of the orthotics, prosthetics and pedorthics profession among high school students and both current and recently graduated college students in an effort to build a strong pool of talent for the OP&P jobs of tomorrow and those in years to come. The more the profession can do to build a diverse, robust talent pipeline, the better we can serve patients and build meaningful, rewarding careers.

The ABC board of directors is committed to this project and has hired a professional health care marketing and communications firm to help us identify the tactics and methods for meeting the goal of raising awareness of the OP&P profession.

We have recently conducted both quantitative research with a large-scale national survey of over 1,000 respondents aged 14-28 years as well as qualitative research through a series of virtual focus groups with participants aged 14-24. Both research paths have yielded valuable data to help shape the foundation of this initiative.

Through this research, we have discovered the following:

• 68% of respondents decided their career path in high school
• At least 82% of respondents are unaware of OP&P professions
• Of those who are aware of OP&P, familiarity is highest (52%) with prosthetics
• Online research (44%) and family/friends (38%) are far more influential than career counselors (12%) or career fairs (6%)
• Respondents want jobs where they know they can make a difference (84%) and work with different types of people (79%) more than a job with competitive pay.

Based on the research done to date, we are creating a multi-faceted plan for reaching the target audience through personal interactions, a robust career website, focused digital advertising and social media engagement.

While we still have a tremendous amount of work to do, we are very excited about the direction and scope of the project. We are also encouraging OP&P professionals from across the country who would enjoy helping young people understand the dynamic, flexible and personally rewarding nature of the OP&P profession to join us.

We are asking OP&P providers to consider joining us in this effort as an ambassador, sharing their personal experiences with the young people we are eager to reach through speaking opportunities, mentorship programs, high school career days and more.

Ambassadors will share stories of what drew them to the profession and how their career has progressed. How do they help people and make a difference? Their personal insights on questions like these have the power to captivate students and recent graduates and drive them to consider a rewarding OP&P career.

If you or anyone on your staff is interested in becoming an ambassador for this initiative, please send an email to ambassadors@abcop.org and a member of our communications agency will follow up to schedule time to discuss our future plans and answer any questions.