You will want to support your employees to meet their professional requirements, which include meeting our standards
What are the standards?
The standards explain what we expect from our registrants and education and training programs.
As an employer or manager of our registrants, it is important that you understand the standards we expect of them and know how you can support them to meet these standards.
The standards we set for registrants are:
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The standards of conduct, performance and ethics set out, in general terms, how we expect our registrants to behave.
Registrants must meet these at all times and we will use them if someone raises a concern about a registrant’s practice.
We also use them to help us make decisions about the character of professionals who apply to our Register.
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Each profession has its own standards of proficiency and these set the threshold (entry level) requirements for the safe and effective practice of that profession. Registrants must continue to meet these standards as far as they relate to their scope of practice.
A registrants’ scope of practice will often develop as they progress their career and become more focused or specialised than that of an ‘entry level’ colleague.
Where this is the case, registrants need only meet those standards of proficiency that relate to their current scope of practice.
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All registrants must meet five CPD standards.
CPD ensures that registrants continue to develop new skills throughout their career, meaning they can practice safely.
If a registrant cannot prove they have kept up their CPD, they may be removed from the Register.
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We adopt the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Competency Framework for all prescribers.
The competencies detailed in the Framework set out the knowledge, understanding and skills that a registrant must have when they complete their prescribing training and which they must continue to meet once in practice.
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Our Standards for orthoptists using exemptions in legislation for the sale and supply of medicines include standards that registrants should meet.
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Our expectations of education providers delivering training in podiatric surgery and of chiropodists / podiatrists who complete this training.
How can you support your employees to meet their standards?
You can support your employees to meet their standards by:
- Using the standards and supporting guidance and tools in staff development and training events and performance meetings
- Ensuring that your internal policies or procedures are consistent with the requirements placed on your employees by their standards
- Ensuring your employees understand their own scope of practice and are able to work within it.
Why do you need to know about the standards?
We expect our registrants to meet the standards that apply to them, regardless of their working environment, location or setting.
As an employer or manager, you will want to support your employees to meet their professional requirements, which includes meeting the standards set by their regulator. Having an understanding of the standards will help you to develop and support your employees.
You will also manage any concerns about your employee’s performance, conduct or behaviour. When that employee is a registered health and care professional, you will also need to decide whether to refer them to their regulator. The standards will help you decide whether the concerns you have should be referred to us.
Using the standards when you have a concern
If you have a concern about your employee’s, the standards can help you to manage that concern, or identify that it should be referred to us.
Please note, that it is not necessary for you to be able to identify a breach of the standards in order to raise a concern with us. Not every behaviour, act or omission will be covered by the standards.
Please see our guidance on Managing concerns about an employee for more information.
Guidance and supporting information and tools
In addition to the standards we publish guidance on topics including:
- Confidentiality
- Social media
- Health and character
- Record keeping
- Scope of practice
- Providing online services
- Supervision
- Dual registration
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