The HCPC is a regulator of 16 health and social care professions. Its role includes ensuring that education and training programmes meet standards of education and training (SETs) and that newly qualified professionals are fit to practise. These SETs apply to all 16 professions and cover the following areas: level of qualifications for entry to the register, admissions, programme management and resources, curriculum, practice placements and assessment. To ensure that the SETs are contemporary and relevant they are reviewed regularly. It is as part of such a review that this research was commissioned.

Purpose and objectives of the project
The overall aim of this project is to explore ‘preparation for practice’ of newly qualified professionals who have completed pre-registration education and training programmes approved by the HCPC. Evidence gained from this project will inform and assist the HCPC in decision-making regarding the SETs (and supporting guidance) required when preparing newly qualified professionals to be fit to practise.

The project objectives were to:

• Identify the factors (including SETs and guidance), and how they combine and contribute towards ensuring ‘fitness to practise’
• Determine how Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) implement, and measure as outcomes, the HCPC SETs within curricula
• Explore the views of healthcare managers, educators, experienced professionals and newly qualified regarding preparedness to practise (including the extent to which they meet the HCPC standards of proficiency)
• Explore the views of newly qualified professionals, educators, students, service users, patients, carers, practice placement educators, experienced professionals and employers on the appropriateness and completeness of current SETs and supporting guidance
• Determine the extent to which the pre-registration education programmes (incorporating HCPC SETs) prepare newly qualified professionals for the challenges of interprofessional working and public and patient involvement (PPI)
• Produce recommendations for how the SETs (and their supporting guidance and any other factors/key issues that contribute to fitness for practice) for newly qualified professional groups regulated by the HCPC, may be amended and/or strengthened.

To read the full report please click here.

18th February 2016