Response to the Health and Care Professions Council consultation: revised ‘Guidance on conduct and ethics for students’

The HCPC consultation

We welcome the opportunity to respond to this Health and Care Professions Council consultation on their revised ‘Guidance on conduct and ethics for students’. We continue to support the HCPC’s position that students should not be statutorily regulated, on the basis that any risks they present should be addressed by existing mechanisms within higher education. Publishing guidance for students however is a simple way of helping to prepare them for a career as a regulated professional.

General comments

• We encourage the production of clear guidance by the regulators based on key principles and focusing on the outcomes that need to be achieved.
• Having separate guidance for students, based on the standards that full members of their profession follow should help students to manage the many varied circumstances and situations they face but also to recognise their limitations and to seek advice and support from their educational or placement provider where necessary.