Professional Life
General Osteopathic Council (GOsC)
Until very recently, 1993 in fact, there were several bodies operating voluntary registers and associations. Often, one body performed both functions. The GOsC was formed as the result of the Osteopaths Act of 1993 to protect the public by regulating the profession and monitoring standards. It has a similar function to the General Medical Council (GMC) in this regard. The title 'osteopath' is protected and it is illegal to practice osteopathy in the UK without being registered with the GOsC. It maintains and publishes a register of osteopaths which is freely available to the public. The GOsC monitors educational standards by inspecting schools and awarding Recognised Qualification (RQ) status. The London School of Osteopathy was the first fully part-time school to have been so recognised.
The London School of Osteopathy offers guidance and help in setting up a practice once you are qualified. Advertisements by osteopaths wanting partners and associates, as well as practices that are for sale, appear in Osteopathy Today, the magazine for osteopaths, published by the British Osteopathic Association. The school has a bulletin board, where further information is available.
British Osteopathic Association (BOA)
The BOA is an association that supports osteopaths. It holds a similar position to the British Medical Association (BMA). Historically, it is the oldest osteopathic body in the UK. It was formed by American trained osteopaths in 1903 and only recognised American trained osteopaths until the London College of Osteopathic Medicine was formed just after the war to provide an osteopathic training for doctors. In 1997, in the wake of the Osteopaths' Act, the BOA invited all the other bodies that carried out association affairs to merger talks. The Osteopathic Association of Great Britain (OAGB), in fact the only osteopathic organisation to be purely association, and the Guild of Osteopaths, agreed to a merger and they adopted the title of the BOA. The BOA is open to membership of all registered osteopaths. Students of osteopathic schools are welcome to apply for membership of the BOA at heavily discounted rates. The BOA publishes Osteopathy Today, a newsletter, and the British Osteopathic Journal, a research publication for osteopaths.