Glossary of terms

Audit
A CPD audit is the process where we randomly select a percentage of registrants who are renewing their registration, and ask them to send in a profile showing how their CPD meets our standards.

Appeal
If you come off the Register because your profile does not meet our CPD standards, you can appeal against this decision. When you appeal, we will look at the decision again, with any extra information you send us, and decide whether to change the decision made.

Clinical governance
"A framework through which NHS organisations are accountable for continually improving the quality of their services and safeguarding high standards of care by creating an environment in which excellence in clinical care will flourish." (Scally, G, Donaldson, L (1998) Looking forward: clinical governance and the drive for quality improvement in the new NHS. British Medical Journal, 317, p61-65)

Competence
Your competence is your ongoing ability to meet our standards for your professional knowledge, understanding and skills, so that you can practise safely and effectively.

Continuing professional development (CPD)
A range of learning activities through which health professionals maintain and develop throughout their career to ensure that they retain their capacity to practice safely, effectively and legally within their evolving scope of practice.

CPD assessor
An HPC partner, whose role is to assess CPD profiles against the CPD standards.

Deferral
The process by which a registrant who is unable to complete their profile puts off their CPD audit for two years.

Fitness to Practise
If someone is fit to practise, this means that they have the health and character, as well as the necessary skills and knowledge to practise their profession safely and effectively.

Health Professions Council
The statutory UK regulator for thirteen health professions, set up to set standards, and protect the public.

Health Professions Order, 2001
The legislation which created the Health Professions Council, and which gives it legal powers.

Hearing
Proceedings at which someone’s fitness to practise is considered, or an HPC decision is appealed.

Lapsed (registration)
The term used to describe what happens to registration when a health professional does not renew their registration, and they are then no longer on the register.

Partner
Partners work as agents of the HPC. They provide the expertise the HPC needs for its decision making, and ensure that we have good professional, and lay (public) input into what we do. Partners include registration assessors, who assess applications from health professionals who trained outside the UK, panel members, who sit at hearings to decide on registrants’ fitness to practise, and CPD assessors, who assess CPD profiles.

Portfolio
This name is sometimes used for a registrant’s personal and complete record of their CPD activity. This can be kept in whatever format is most useful for the registrant, and will not be looked at or inspected by HPC.

Professional body
Each of the professions regulated by the HPC has a professional body, membership of which is voluntary. Professional bodies may deal with supporting their members, promoting the profession, developing best practice, and continuing education.

Profile
The information that a registrant who has been selected for audit sends to the HPC to show that they meet the standards for CPD.

Protected title
A title like ‘physiotherapist’, ‘chiropodist’ or ‘dietitian’ which can only be used by someone on the HPC Register. Anyone who is not registered with HPC who uses a protected title may be prosecuted and fined £5,000. For a full list of protected titles, please this page

Register
A published list of health professionals who meet the HPC’s standards.

Renewal
The name of the process where professionals on the HPC Register pay their registration fees, and sign their professional declaration, so that their registration continues for another two year period. Each profession regulated by HPC renews its registration once every two years. Our CPD audit process is linked to registration renewal.

Revalidation
The process whereby a registered professional is assessed, regularly to ensure that they are fit to practise. (This is not the same as CPD, which is concerned with ongoing development and learning.)

Returners to practice
Health professionals who have been out of practice for a period of time, who wish to re-join their profession.

Scope of practice
The term used for the area of someone’s profession in which they have the knowledge, skills and experience to practise safely and effectively, in a way that meets our standards and does not present any risk to the public or to the health professional.

Struck off
When a health professional is removed from the Register as the result of a fitness to practise hearing.

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