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Consultant practitioner accreditation
Accreditation is time-limited and is granted to individuals who have met pre-defined College of Radiographers (CoR) requirements which are detailed in the sections below.
Accreditation evidences to your peers, employer and those who use your services that you have met professional body requirements and that you practise in all four core domains of higher-level practice at consultant practitioner level.
- Expert clinical practice.
- Professional leadership and consultancy.
- Education, training and development.
- Practice and service development, research and evaluation.
Accreditation will enable you review your practice, goals, impact of your role and self, and provide a way of evaluating the direction you and your team are moving towards.
Accredited consultant practitioners say the process of preparing and reviewing CPD for accreditation provides ideas for future personal and service developments:
"I have also had ‘light bulb’ moments as I reviewed my CPD content to reveal new ideas and even make a focus for a presentation or publication that can be delivered to all levels of student when teaching; this also has formed the basis for the development of new projects within the team, some of which are MDT orientated once developed further. […] I have used the opportunity to focus my direction and through this have gained external opportunities that have allowed me to enhance my role (Dr Jonathan McConnell, Accredited Consultant Practitioner)."
‘Accreditation’ is not the same as registration, licencing, validation, certification or credentialling. Accreditation is applied to the whole practitioner and all their practice rather than very specific small elements, competencies or capabilities. Accreditation is not linked to registration and, ‘Accredited Consultant Practitioner” is not a protected title and is not a statutory requirement. It may be a requirement of your employer.
Accredited consultant practitioners will be able to access the Society and College of Radiographers (SCoR) online discussion group which is for accredited individuals only. This group will give you access to resources, information and most importantly the opportunity to network with other accredited consultant practitioners throughout the United Kingdom.
‘Consultant’ level practice
Consultant practice is more than just carrying out practice that requires a very high level of expertise and skill. It’s essential that consultant practitioners do this but on their own, skill and expertise don’t evidence consultant practice.
Within their area of expertise, consultant practitioners should work in all four core domains.
They should create the evidence base upon which imaging and radiotherapy practice and service delivery is based. Consultant practitioners should be able to appropriately use and adapt evidence to fit the needs of those who use their services and should also demonstrate a strategic understanding within their profession and wider healthcare system.
The College does not specify how much time you should spend in each domain. The amount of time you spend in each may change throughout the course of your career. For example, one year you may spend a large proportion of your time in the ‘practice and service development, research and evaluation’ domain and the next year you may concentrate more on ‘expert clinical practice’. This is fine but all four domains must be included in your role and within your application.
The Education and Career Framework (CoR, 2022) may help you decide if your practice is ‘consultant’. If you don’t have elements of all four domains in your role, at the level described above and within the Education and Career Framework, your practice will not be classed as consultant level.
Applying for consultant practitioner accreditation
We are currently in the process of updating our accreditation application process. Guidance on completing an application will be made available when the new system goes live. Please check the website for updates.
Page last updated: 22/08/2023