Many podiatrists display 'letters' after their names that refer to their qualifications and the professional body that they may belong to. To help you understand what the your podiatrists 'letters' refer to, simply check below.
Health Professions Council (HPC)
All podiatrists must be registered with the Health Professions Council in order to use the title Chiropodist or Podiatrist. The HPC regulates the chiropody and podiatry profession and ensures that all of its members meet their standards for training, professional skills, behaviour and health.
Before being eligible to register with the Health Professions Council, a podiatrist must undergo extensive training. Podiatrists will have followed one of two common paths -
Many podiatrists have undergone a three year, full time undergraduate diploma or degree course with training carried out in an NHS hospital or clinical setting. The letters they can display are -
DPodM - Diploma of Podiatric Medicine
BSc Podiatry / Podiatric Medicine - bachelor of science degree
BSc (Hons) Podiatry / Podiatric Medicine- bachelor of science degree awarded with honours
Many podiatrists have studied for further qualifications such as -
PGCert - postgraduate certificate
MSc - masters degree
Podiatrists who have DPodM or BSc Podiatry/Podiatric Medicine are eligible to become members of the
Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists. The letters they can display are -
MChS - member of the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists
FChS - fellow of the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists
FCPodS - fellow of the College of Podiatrists of the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists
Other podiatrists will have undergone training at the SMAE Institute School of Surgical Chiropody and display the following letters -
MSSCh - member of the School of Surgical Chiropodists
DPodM - Diploma of Podiatric Medicine
FSSCh - Fellowship of the School of Surgical Chiropodists
Podiatrists who have trained with the SMAE Institute School of Surgical Chiropody can become members of the
British Chiropody and Podiatry Association and display the following letters -
All trained Podiatrists can choose to be members of the Institute of Chiropodists and Podiatrists and display the following letters -
M.Inst.Ch.P - member of the Institute of Chiropodists and Podiatrists
F.Inst.Ch.P - Fellow of the Institute of Chiropodists and Podiatrists
Hon.F.Inst.Ch.P - Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Chiropodists and Podiatrists
NB: The Institute of Chiropodists and Podiatrists does not require its members to be recognised by the Health Professions Council (HPC). Always check your podiatrist is registered with the HPC.
State registration - podiatrist's who have received their training through the NHS used to be known as 'state registered'. This term is no longer in use as all podiatrists are regulated by the Health Professions Council.
If you are still unsure about the 'letters' that your podiatrist is displaying or do not recognise them on the above list then be sure to query them with the podiatrist or the Health Professions Council. The Health Professions Council have a website that makes it very easy to check if your podiatrist is registered, go to HPCheck.org to find out more.
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