Scope of practice
Occupational therapists increasingly work in a wide variety of settings and emerging areas of practice. This offers occupational therapists the chance to practise in diverse settings, often with generic job titles and job descriptions.
The HCPC has a very broad understanding of ‘practising your profession’ as ‘drawing on your professional skills and/or knowledge in the course of your work.’ The HCPC states that the practitioner must make a personal decision about whether they are doing this.
Education, management and research are seen as part of practice, as are voluntary, periodic, part-time roles and those less distinct, but related to the profession, where the practitioner is using their professional skills in some capacity.
If an occupational therapist is drawing on their professional skills and/or knowledge in the course of their work’, irrespective of the job title or setting, then they can declare that they are practising their profession.
The RCOT resources below are designed to support member’s practice irrespective of setting or job role.