Voluntary Registration update

The Academy for Healthcare Science (AHCS) is currently establishing a voluntary register for individuals who successfully complete an accredited Modernising Scientific Careers (MSC) Practitioner Training Programme (PTP), or who obtain a relevant Certificate of Equivalence from the Academy. A list of accredited programmes is available on the NHS networks website at http://tinyurl.com/bl52pmy. Life scientists who register with the Health and Care Professions Council will continue to do so.

The voluntary register is being developed to meet the requirements of the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). It will be opened in June 2013 and operate in ‘shadow’ form until it has received PSA accreditation. More information about AVRs can be downloaded from the PSA website at http://tinyurl.com/cc3kh5z

Individuals will be eligible to apply for registration with the AHCS after successful completion of an accredited Modernising Scientific Careers Practitioner Training Programme or a Certificate of Equivalence from the AHCS. The AHCS will assess equivalence against Good Scientific Practice using specialist PTP programme outcomes.

The AHCS is also working towards ‘sponsorship’ of other registers i.e. to be accredited by the PSA on behalf of a number of partner organisations that already hold voluntary registers. Such a sponsorship arrangement will give the bodies holding existing voluntary registers the opportunity to share the AHCS structures, policies and procedures.

The AHCS has commissioned Cassiopeia to develop its own AVR: Cassiopeia is a company with significant experience of establishing and maintaining voluntary registers.