Sue Jones, IBMS Executive for Education, and Tom Mason, IBMS Education Manager, set out the process for graduates to become HCPC registered as biomedical scientists.
To register with the HCPC as a biomedical scientist, you must have met both the HCPC Standards of Education and Training (SETs) and Standards of Proficiency (SOPs).
In the UK, the SETs are met either through completion of an IBMS Accredited undergraduate degree programme, or by completion of a related BSc degree programme, plus the supplementary education identified following a non-accredited degree assessment. More details can be found at ibms.org/degree-assessment.
To meet the HCPC SOPs, everyone wishing to register as a biomedical scientist must complete the IBMS Registration Training Portfolio in an IBMS-approved training laboratory and be successfully verified.
Below is a list of the IBMS Accredited degrees that contain an integrated placement completed in an IBMS-approved training laboratory:
- Biomedical Science (ibms.org/accredited-degrees)
- Applied Biomedical Science
- Healthcare Science PTP programme, or
- Level 6 Healthcare Science Practitioner degree apprenticeship.
When you graduate with a degree from an accredited provider, your university will send your details to the IBMS education team who will issue your Certificate of Competence. They will then send your details to the HCPC to allow your registration as a biomedical scientist.
If your degree programme with the integrated clinical pathology placement is directly HCPC approved, your university may send your details directly to the HCPC once you have completed your degree and registration portfolio verification successfully.
If you took a sandwich placement and completed the IBMS Registration Training Portfolio during your placement, at the end of your final year you will need to send a copy of your degree certificate (or an official transcript of your completed degree programme) to the IBMS education team.
They will then issue your Certificate of Competence to you and inform the HCPC that you have completed an IBMS Accredited degree programme and have been issued your Certificate of Competence.
You can then apply directly to the HCPC for registration as a biomedical scientist. Under these circumstances, you must cite the IBMS as the education provider on Section 3 of the application form (Education and Training), NOT your university – the IBMS is the HCPC-approved education provider for this route to registration.
Further information
For info on registering your application with the HCPC, visit hcpc-uk.org/registration/getting-on-the-register. If you have already applied for registration and are waiting for confirmation from the HCPC, you can check the HCPC register at hcpc-uk.org/check-the-register. Additional info and resources to support the different routes to registration as an HCPC-registered biomedical scientist can be found on our website at ibms.org/accredited.
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