We are aware that some people may assume that disabled people cannot become health and care professionals. However, many disabled people complete approved education and training successfully, register with us and go on to practise safely and effectively with or without adjustments to support them.
While we are only responsible for the registration part of the process for becoming a health and care professional, we want to encourage people with the desire and potential to become health and care professionals to consider education and training and a career in a profession which we regulate. We believe that disabled people have an important contribution to make to the professions we regulate, and have unique experiences which would be of benefit to service users and carers. We hope that the information in this section will help disabled people who are considering becoming a health and care professional to make decisions about their future career.
This section will not be able to give you a definite answer as to whether you are able to become a health and care professional as each case will need to be considered individually. However, it will provide you with information about the process of becoming a health and care professional, what decisions you and others will have to make throughout this process and how you can find out more information.
If you want to work in one of the professions we regulate, you will first need to complete an approved programme and then register with us. Once you are registered you will be able to apply for employment in your chosen profession. These stages are shown in the flowchart on page 20, which shows that the path to becoming a health and care professional has many stages, involving a number of different organisations.
The process of becoming a health and care professional
