Induction
Fitness to Practise
Fitness to practise means that all applicants to health care programmes must demonstrate they have sufficient good health and good character for safe and effective practise:
- On entry to the programme
- Throughout the programme
- To register as a health professional with the regulatory body at the end of the programme, for example the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), the General Medical Council or the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) if you are an Operating Department Practitioner or Paramedic.
The role of the regulatory organisation is to protect the health and wellbeing of people who use the services and the health and well being of the health professionals registered with them.
A good health reference from your GP is required as part of the application process and may be followed up with a medical assessment by the Occupational Health Service.
A good character reference from the Disclosure and Barring Service is required as part of the application process and is an enhanced disclosure. This means that all cautions and convictions spent or otherwise will be identified.
More Information About Fitness To Practise
Good Health
What do we mean by good Health?
Health is a very difficult thing to describe and the aim of this part of the website is to give you enough information for you to decide if you have sufficient “Good Health”
Definition of Good Health
Completion of the medical questionnaire
All students who are offered a place on a professional course are required to fill out a medical questionnaire. This questionnaire will then be sent to our Occupational Health Department and you will be required to consent to your GP being contacted should the Occupational Health Department have any queries.
If you have any concerns relating to your health you may wish to discuss it with your doctor before applying for the course.
You cannot be fully registered as a student on the programme until this process has been successfully completed. Until you are registered as a full time student you will not receive funding, either a bursary or a grant, and will not be able to start your placements on the programme.
Frequently Asked Questions
Occupational Health
Open Days
Good Character
What do we mean by good character?
Good character is concerned with the attitude, conduct and behaviour, honesty and integrity of professionals working with vulnerable groups of people.
All Universities have to ensure that students working in placement areas as part of their professional programme have the “good character” to do so safely and effectively, both at the start of the programme and throughout the course.
At the end of the programme, the university must make a declaration of good character to the professional regulatory body in order that you can register.
How will we know?
Completion of the Disclosure and Barring Service form
What will happen if I have had a caution or conviction?
What will happen to the information about me?
Useful Links
Inclusive Learning
The Inclusion Team aims to provide a holistic service to students with a wide range of learning and additional needs arising from physical or sensory impairments, mental health or complex needs.
Student Depression
A useful link for those applying to University who have or have had depression is the following website and you may wish to listen / read some of the student’s stories
Disclosing your disability
Many people ask Skill’s Information Service whether they should tell a prospective employer or educational institution that they have a disability. Other people ask at what stage of applying either for a course or for a job it is best to disclose that they are disabled.
Nursing & Midwifery Council
The Nursing & Midwifery Council exists to safeguard the health and wellbeing of the public.
Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC)
The HCPC is a regulator, and was set up to protect the public: “To do this, we keep a register of health professionals who meet our standards for their training, professional skills, behaviour and health”.
Students Stories
Student Stories
Click on the headings to view the story text, or listen to the audio by pressing the play button to the left of the grey bars.