Student fitness to practise
Students must demonstrate that they are fit to practise and of good character before joining our Register.
Student fitness to practise guidance
We publish guidance for students and osteopathic educational institutions to ensure the appropriate and consistent management of behaviour that indicates students may not be fit to practise.
Registration with the GOsC requires osteopaths to practise in accordance with the Osteopathic Practice Standards and hold a Recognised Qualification.
Osteopathic education providers are responsible for ensuring that only students who are capable of practising to these standards, without supervision, are awarded a Recognised Qualification. This guidance outlines the role of the osteopathic educational institution in relation to student fitness to practise and suggests a suitable framework for the management of fitness to practise issues.
The current guidance documents, available to download below, are revised editions. Details of the revision process, including a consultation, can be found in a paper presented to the Policy Advisory Committee in 2016.
- Guidance about Professional Behaviours and Fitness to Practise for Osteopathic Students.
- Student Fitness to Practise: Guidance for Osteopathic Educational Institutions.
Good character
We use our Good Character Assessment Framework to decide whether a student is of good character and can therefore join the Register once they have graduated. As part of this assessment, we follow the test set out by the Professional Standards Authority, which asks for evidence that a person has acted, or may be liable in the future to act:
- in such a way that puts at risk the health, safety or wellbeing of a patient or other member of the public
- in such a way that their registration would undermine public confidence in the profession
- in such a way that indicates an unwillingness to act in accordance with the standards of the profession
- in a dishonest manner
