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What we mean by ‘practising your profession’

We have defined ‘practising your profession’ as drawing on your professional skills and knowledge in the course of your work.

This does not have to be in clinical or ‘frontline’ practice and can include roles in education, management and research, or other areas.

For most registrants, the question of whether they are practising, and therefore need to renew their registration, is a straightforward one. They will be practising using a designated title for their profession or, if they are employed, their employer will require them to be registered with us (or both).

For other registrants it may be less clear whether their work qualifies as ‘practising their profession’. This may include:

  • people who work on a voluntary basis;
  • people who do occasional work, or
  • those who have moved into a role that is related to their profession, but not directly part of it.

This is not a full list. We do not want to exclude people from the Register who are using their professional skills in some capacity and who want to be registered.

We believe that in many cases you will be the person best placed to decide whether you are practising your profession. In cases where it is less clear, you may need to make a judgement about this.

You can contact us for advice if you are not sure.

Page updated on: 14/11/2023
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