Promoting careers in orthoptics
Promoting the orthoptic career is vital for building a sustainable, skilled workforce capable of meeting the increasing demands for eye care services. Our goal is to enhance awareness and visibility of the profession, showcasing the diverse and rewarding opportunities available, and attracting talented individuals to orthoptics.
What we’re doing
We are actively promoting the orthoptic career through a variety of strategic campaigns and initiatives. We collaborate with educational institutions, healthcare providers, and key organisations to showcase the vital contributions orthoptists make to the healthcare system. Our outreach efforts include school and university visits, career fairs, and virtual events aimed at informing prospective students and career changers about the profession.
We provide resources to help those interested in pursuing a career in orthoptics, including guidance on educational pathways, professional development, and career progression. Through public resources, campaigns, and media outreach, we aim to raise awareness of core orthoptics, specialist career opportunities, and success stories, while facilitating awards to highlight the achievements of orthoptists and showcase the profession’s diversity. Additionally, we work to increase the visibility of orthoptics in underserved regions, ensuring the profession continues to grow and gain recognition with a raised profile for its vital role in eye care.
How to Get Involved
There are a range of ways you can help promote careers in orthoptics, and we’ve collected information and resources to support you below.
If you have any questions or would like to get more involved in our promotional work, contact visibilityleads@bios-orthoptics.org.uk.
Become a BIOS Visibility Champion
We’re looking to create a network of enthusiastic orthoptists across the UK and Ireland, happy to attend careers events in their local areas and shout about what a great career it is. If you’re new to this, don’t worry, we can help out with tips and resources to get you started,
Actively promoting orthoptics at events, or by creating visibility content, is vital for inspiring future professionals and addressing workforce challenges. We encourage all departments to support involvement in this important work.
Inspiring the Future
The Inspiring the Future service is a national volunteer network where teachers are put in contact with volunteers to deliver careers talks, both in person and virtually, to schools across the UK.
Find out what local career events and opportunities are happening near you by signing up for Inspiring the Future.
Share your story
One of the best ways you can promote the profession is by sharing your story.
We’re always looking to hear from new graduates, orthoptists in education, research, specialist, advanced and extended roles, those returning to practice and career changers.
Submit a case study here, along with a photo.
If you’re currently studying orthoptics, you can submit a student case study here.
Careers Resources
Careers presentations
Presentation for other professionals
Leaflets & activities for careers events
- ‘What’s my role? – short interactive lesson
- Eye Anatomy Crossword / Answers
- Feedback sheet
- Orthoptic career profile
- Online Career Profile from Prospects
- Orthoptic Careers event booklet
- Checklist for careers stands
No printer? No problem! Simply pull up this QR code on your phone, a sustainable way to help prospective students access our online resources.
Unifrog careers platform
Unifrog is a careers platform used by over 3,000 secondary schools in the UK.
It has a dedicated page on orthoptics, accessible to students, teachers and careers advisors in these schools.
Useful links
- Careers pages: orthoptics.org.uk/careers/
- Public info hub: orthoptics.org.uk/patients-and-public/
- Checklist for careers stands
If you’re at a large event, you may wish to take some of our more general leaflets introducing orthoptics.
Access our Universities Careers Booklet.
HEE e-LfH e-learning programme
Health Education England e-Learning for Healthcare (HEE e-LfH) has worked in partnership with BIOS and other professional bodies to develop three e-learning sessions to support AHPs undertaking voluntary outreach work with young people and career changers, in schools or other settings.
The sessions, which should be completed in numerical order, teach learners about the context for outreach work and its importance, developing content that is relevant to different audiences, and delivering compelling content that will help to inspire the next generation of AHPs.
Learning outcomes from the sessions may be submitted to the Health and Care Professions Council as part of a CPD audit.
For more information about the e-learning programme, including details on how to access it, please visit the Promoting Careers in the Allied Health Professions programme page.
Work Placement Tutors
If you are currently a Lead Clinical Tutor or a member of staff arranging work shadowing placements, you can join our discussion forum to gain support and share useful resources.
Careers stories
