The face of osteopathy has changed enormously over the last 25 years. The profession is regulated by the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) who maintain registration and all osteopaths are required to renew their licence to practice annually. As part of this, they ensure that all members have professional indemnity insurance, remain in good health and character and have completed the mandatory continuing professional development (CPD) requirements.
The standards of practice and conduct are regularly reviewed. The Osteopathic Practice Standards (OPS) require members to fulfil areas including professionalism, communication, safety and knowledge.
Training
Osteopathic training is undertaken by a 4 or 5 year degree course which combines academic study with clinical experience. By graduation, the osteopathy student must have completed over 1,000 hours of clinical training and experience with patients.
Evidence in practice
Along with regulation, there has been the formation of the National Council for Osteopathic Research (NCOR) whose role is to research and investigate ways to increase the safety, quality and efficacy of patient care. Whilst basic techniques remain the same, the approach and reasoning is governed by evidence-based practice.
Working with other health professionals
Osteopathy has recently been recognised as an Allied Health Profession (AHP) and as such, osteopaths work as primary healthcare providers with other healthcare professionals to optimise the diagnosis and treatment of their patient.
Often the osteopath may contact the GP (with patient consent) to keep them informed and suggest other investigations.
