Advanced and extended practice

Advanced Practice Review

Please note that we are currently undertaking a review of the extended and advanced practice program. Until this process has been completed, no new applications will be accepted. Re-credentialing applications will continue as usual. 

If you are interested in applying, please email [email protected] with the subject line 'Tiling EOI' and the focus area you wish to apply for and we will keep you updated. 

Advanced practice recognition

The Advanced practice recognition program exists to recognise osteopaths who have gained a high level of clinical skill and experience within a specific focus area and who have met the professional standards required to make an enhanced contribution to managing patient groups or clinical issues related to their advanced scope of practice.

Advanced practice recognition provides public acknowledgement, professional titling and enhanced searchability to members seeking competitive and additional career opportunities within and outside osteopathy. A community of Advanced Practitioners also enables Osteopathy Australia to speak to and lobby for the skills of osteopaths to be recognised and progress osteopathic privileges and public awareness of osteopaths.

Members can achieve advanced practice recognition through either the tertiary or vocational pathways. The tertiary pathway requires the candidate to have completed an additional university qualification within a focus area, while the vocational pathway exists for members without an additional university qualification but who can demonstrate substantial relevant work experience, professional development, professional references, and reasoned case studies. Both application processes will undergo a external peer review conducted by a multidisciplinary review panel of health professionals.

Extended practice recognition 

The extended practice recognition program exists to give osteopaths the opportunity to be acknowledged for commencing and moving along a pathway towards developing clinical focus area knowledge, reasoning and skills that enhance the general osteopathic scope of practice. Extended practice  recognition is for osteopaths completing valid and evidence informed short or medium courses, or clinical supervisory arrangements in exercise rehabilitation or related field within a specific time frame, able to show evidence of covering certain domains of clinical reasoning.

Benefits

Achieving advanced practice titling presents many benefits including:

• Peer and public recognition of advanced skills and scope of practice
• Formal recognition and titling for professional use
• Enhanced employment opportunities
• Opportunity to be more visible within the profession and claim more benefits
• Being apart of a network of titled advanced practitioner osteopaths
• Opportunity to become a clinical leader within the profession

Current Advanced Practice osteopaths

Find out who are our current Advanced Practice osteopaths

Find out more

Exercise-based rehabilitation

Find out how you can become an titled exercise rehabilitation osteopath.

Learn more

Occupational health

Find out how you can become a titled occupational health osteopath.

Learn more

Paediatrics

Find out how you could become a titled paediatrics osteopath.

Learn more

Sports management

Find out how you can become a titled sports management osteopath.

Learn more

Pain management

Find out how you can become a titled pain management osteopath.

Learn more

Tertiary pathway

Each Advanced Practice focus area will have a Quality Practice Framework which outlines the benchmarks that an Advanced Practitioner Osteopath must be able to demonstrate in their further education, the way they practice, career achievements and in feedback from two health practitioner references checks. The application will specifically involve:

• Completion of a further university qualification related to chosen focus area (AQF Level 7 and above)
• Demonstration of an advanced scope of practice in health care as described in a CV
• Demonstrated quality practice confirmed by two written referee reports conducted by two external medical or allied health professionals (non-osteopath) that the candidate has had a professional relationship with.
• Consistent knowledge and skills expansion through continued professional development

Each application will be reviewed by two external medical or allied health professionals who work within the focus area and hold no conflict of interest. The reviewers are provided with clear procedures and benchmarks to ensure a consistent and fair process.

To find out more information, please see the relevant focus area

Vocational pathway

Each Advanced Practice focus area will have a Quality Practice Framework which outlines the benchmarks that an Advanced Practitioner Osteopath must be able to demonstrate in their further education, the way they practice, career achievements and in feedback from two health practitioner references checks. The application will specifically involve:

• Completion of formal short, medium, or longer training courses in relation to chosen focus area
• Demonstration of an advanced scope of practice in health care
• Demonstrated quality practice confirmed by two written referee reports conducted by two external medical or allied health professionals (non-osteopath) that the candidate has had a professional relationship with.
• Proven ability to produce high-quality and detailed patient case studies based on real life patient scenarios related to the candidate’s chosen focus area.
• Consistent knowledge and skills expansion through continued professional development

Each application will be reviewed by two external medical or allied health professionals who work within the focus area and hold no conflict of interest. The reviewers are provided with clear procedures and benchmarks to ensure a consistent and fair process.

To find out more information, please see the relevant focus area