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Advanced Practice

We recognise members with an advanced scope of practice validated through multidisciplinary panel review. Recognised members are awarded promotional privileges and public titling.

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 relevant work experience, professional development, professional references, and reasoned case studies. Both application processes will undergo a transparent peer review conducted by a multidisciplinary review panel of health professionals.

Advanced Practice Information

  • Advanced Practice Recognition can be gained in the following areas:

    Please click through to find out more information and how to apply to each focus area

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

 

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