Frank Vincent, The British School of Osteopathy, UK

The principles and philosophy of osteopathy form the basis of osteopathic practice. It is these principles which make Osteopathy an individual primary health care profession today and set us apart from other manual therapists. In the UK, the General Osteopathic Council maintains that critical and continuous application of the concepts and principles of osteopathy is an essential expression of osteopathic care and management. The British School of Osteopathy has long been aware of the challenge faced by students in progressing from theory to clinical practice. In developing the current Master of Osteopathy (MOst) course, a new module in the concepts of osteopathy area of study has been written and delivered to third year students. This module, Osteopathic Concepts in a Clinical Setting, (OCCS) was designed specifically to help students bridge the theory-practise gap.

The first cohort has completed this module and are now in their fourth and final year. Students’ opinion regarding the effectiveness of the course in preparing them for autonomous clinical praxis and competence examination will be presented and discussed.