Grant Program Helps Health Science Students Explore Careers in Orthopedics



Twenty-five first year CRTC Health Science students are spending time on the jobsite viewing x-rays of broken bones, watching fiberglass casts being applied, and talking shop with orthopedic doctors, nurses and technicians as part of a workforce development grant program that provides students with a structured exploration of local, in-demand career opportunities.


“I had the chance to see a wide range of procedures and practices being performed, which really helped me to get a feel for what an ortho tech does in a day,” Katerina Burke, a Bow High School junior, said about her job shadow experience at Concord Orthopaedics. “The staff was very friendly and very open to questions about this field.”


The Orthopedic Technician Career Pathway Program is funded by a $10,000 grant from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation as part of their Career Pathways Partnership Grants Program. The program is a collaboration between school districts, local community leaders and employers, and the Community College System of New Hampshire, and money awarded supports career connection efforts that include work-based learning experiences, career exploration opportunities and dual enrollment college credits at no cost to students.


The NHCF works with the Business and Industry Association of NH to issue a number of similar grants across the state each year. This local effort is headed up by the Concord Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with Concord Orthopaedics and the New Hampshire Technical Institute. Participating students will earn high school and Running Start college credits in Medical Terminology, participate in a two-hour job shadow at Concord Orthopaedics, learn about the variety of career pathways in orthopedics, and have Q&A opportunities with industry professionals to find out more about this career field.


“This is a great opportunity for these students,” said CRTC Work-based Learning Coordinator Amy Smith. “It gives them a chance to both explore a healthcare industry career field and connect with a local employer.”


Facilitating these kinds of authentic career connections is a core element of the CRTC’s mission to help students energize their career interests and ambitions, so that they can graduate high school better prepared for college, career and life success.


“I had already taken an interest in orthopedics,” said Jillian Gagnon, a junior at John Stark Regional High School, “but this WBL connection definitely made it come to life as a possible career, or as a stepping stone into my career.”


Click here to learn more about the CRTC Health Science program. 


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