Supporting national O&P associations to regulate

Background

Few countries have well-established, national-level regulation of the orthotist/prosthetist workforce. Therefore, most orthotic/prosthetic (O&P) care provided across the world is unregulated. 

A well-regulated workforce has the following benefits:

▸ Better recognised by government and others in the healthcare system, and are more likely to be acknowledged as a profession 

▸ Provide better quality services for people needing orthoses/prostheses

▸ More likely to have established career pathways that provide opportunities for professional growth and retain experienced practitioners

▸ Receive access to expertise, advice and guidance to help tailor workforce regulation to unique contexts and setting

Research shows that better regulation helps drive growth in the orthotist/prosthetist workforce so that all people have access to the O&P care they need.

There is an opportunity to support national associations to work toward better regulation of the orthotist/prosthetist workforce.

The O&P Global Project Team will lead the research, development and consultation needed to establish a global organisation dedicated to enhancing national-level regulation of the orthotist/prosthetist workforce.

SCOPE OF ACTIVITIES OF THE PROPOSED GLOBAL ORGANISATION

  • Support & promote regulation

    Support and promote national-level regulation of orthotist/prosthetists, including self-regulation by national associations (e.g., develop resources to support implementation of the nine core standards),

  • Workforce development strategy

    Establish a workforce development strategy to enhance growth of the allied and support workforce (i.e., O&P technicians),

  • Workforce data synthesis

    Implement a global approach to workforce data collection (e.g., support consistency in national-level data collection and conduct annual international synthesis),

  • Professional advocacy

    Advocate for advancement of professional recognition of orthotist/prosthetists and support national associations in their advocacy activities (e.g., advocate for amendment to the International Labour Organisation classification of orthotist/prosthetists and develop position statements, such as the professional role and scope of orthotist/prosthetists),

  • Policy development

    Support the development of robust policies to enhance regulation and growth of the orthotist/prosthetist workforce (e.g., immigration policy to reduce mobility barriers for appropriately qualified orthotist/prosthetists),

  • Promote the profession

    Promote the profession and its role in the health, disability, primary care, and other relevant sectors (e.g., development of resource templates to support national associations in their promotion activities),

  • Engage stakeholders

    Engage and collaborate with stakeholders and ensure global representation of orthotist/prosthetists (e.g., representation in multi-disciplinary forums, such as the World Health Professions Alliance),

  • Collaborate Internationally

    Support collaboration between national associations to facilitate sharing of expertise and resources (e.g., develop mentoring programs and conduct education forums focused on regulation, advocacy, and policy).