With the opening of registration approaching, IRCM’s Chair Carole Chantler addresses a few misconceptions about IRCM and registration.
You need be from a statutory regulated profession to become a registered case manager
There is no requirement to be from a statutory regulated profession such as nursing or occupational therapy to be a registered case manager. Scope of practice is key,
“‘Scope of practice’ is a term used to describe those aspects of your job that you are competent to do because you have the knowledge, skills, and experience to do them safely and effectively in the best interests of service users.”
Scope of Practice Information for Registrants, IRCM, 2023
Case management is a broad profession and includes a wide range of specialisms.
For case managers in some roles the knowledge, skills and experience to do their role will be built on those gained through a statutory regulated profession. For others they may be gained though other experiences and environments.
“The case manager will be accountable for maintaining and working within their scope of practice”
Standards of Proficiency, IRCM, 2022
You need particular qualifications to become a registered case manager
No qualifications are needed to become a registered case manager. However, we will be collecting information from applicants about their qualifications. This information will help us better understand our registrants collectively and inform future plans. At an individual registrant level qualifications may also become relevant should we need to consider a registrant’s scope of practise as part of a fitness to practise process.
In the UK we have no generally accepted qualification in case management at present; IRCM is developing a Certificate of Proficiency in Case Management. Once that is live applicants will need to pass the certificate before they are eligible to become a registered case manager. Existing registrants will also need to pass the certificate within a set period to remain a registrant. The Certificate of Proficiency group which contains members from a range of backgrounds and specialisms is developing this at present and we’ll be sharing more about it later in the year.
The Registration and Renewal Policy will also be published shortly. We’ve made a few small refinements based on feedback over the last few months but as we set out some years ago in the initial period case management experience is the core requirement.
The register isn’t relevant for me because I don’t have enough experience to register
It is. Right now, our focus is on opening the register and making the transition to operating it on a day-to-day basis. However, we’ve already published lots of resources that are relevant to people who do not yet have enough experience to register such as the Standards of Proficiency and Competency Framework.
The Professional Development Committee is considering what other resources are most appropriate for people that aspire to be a case manager or are pre-registration. We are developing other plans to support those who are actively working towards registration in particular, so if that’s you then please do make sure you are signed up to our mailing list to hear about these first.
IRCM will be a statutory regulator
IRCM won’t be a statutory regulator like HCPC or NMC, the government don’t have any plans to create any new statutory regulators at present. However, we will be seeking accreditation from the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). PSA is the body that oversees the statutory health and social care regulators and also runs an accredited register scheme.
We will be applying to the PSA under the accredited register scheme, which will demonstrate our commitment to high standards and public protection.
“Accredited Registers help people get better care by ensuring that the health practitioners they register are competent and trustworthy. They set standards for people working in unregulated health and care occupations, encourage them to meet them and take action to protect the public when necessary. They ensure that the information they and their registrants provide is clear and helps you to make informed choices about the practitioner you want to see and about the treatments, therapies, care and products they offer.”
Professional Standards Authority
Have you come across any misconceptions about IRCM? Let me know so I can respond to these in a future blog.
Relevant documents