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Return to Practice Support
Career breaks can happen for many reasons, such as travel, caring responsibilities, or illness. If you’re ready to return, we may be able to support you in rebuilding your skills and confidence.
To practice again, you’ll need to re-join your professional register if it has lapsed.
Allied Health Professionals
Please access HCPC information regarding return to practice: https://www.hcpc-uk.org/registration/returning-to-practice/
Which Universities run AHP return to practice programmes?
Coventry University - https://www.coventry.ac.uk/course-structure/health-and-life-sciences/cpd/health-care-professions-council-returners/
Birmingham City University - https://www.bcu.ac.uk/courses/return-to-practice-health-and-care-professions
Which allied health professionals can we support in supervised clinical placements?
We may be able to offer placements for the following staff groups, looking to return to clinical practice: podiatrists, dietitians, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and speech and language therapists.
How long do allied health professionals (AHPs) have to study for to regain registration?
For AHPs, the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) specifies the minimum number of days required for updating, depending on the length of time an individual has been out of practice. No more than 50% of these can comprise private study.
For further details please see the HCPC returning to practice requirements page .
NHS England Return to Practice Programme
NHS England runs a programme to support AHPs to return to practice by offering financial support and advice about the Return to Practice process.
To find out more about the funding offered to returnees along with peer support, please visit the NHS England Return to practice page: https://www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/return-practice/return-practice-allied-health-professionals-healthcare-scientists-practising-psychologists
More information
Clinical teams may periodically advertise opportunities to undertake a return to practice placement with them and advertise these via NHS Jobs – we encourage potential applicants to check our NHS Jobs recruitment site regularly. To enquire about a placement with our organisation, please email Tom Challacombe, Clinical Practice Development Lead via thomas.challacombe@nhs.net .
Nurses
How long do Nurses have to study for to regain registration?
If you don’t have an active Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) registration, you can take a return to practice course which usually takes between 3 and 12 months to complete, depending on how long you have been out of practice.
You can access eLearning if you if you still have an active nursing registration but are not working in clinical practice, to help you gain confidence before returning to work.
If you are no longer registered, there are a number of steps you can take dependent on how long you have been away from clinical practice. You may be able to re-register with the NMC without doing a course, or if you have been away for longer, you may be able to join a return to practice course or take a test of competence.
Visit the NHS Health Careers website to get started.
More information
If you are a nurse considering return to practice (RTP) you should seek guidance from the NMC Returning to the register - The Nursing and Midwifery Council and your local higher education institution that provides RTP courses.