The General Osteopathic Council requires all registered osteopaths to engage in continuing professional development as a condition of maintaining registration. CPD is not an optional extra or a box to tick at renewal — it is a core professional obligation, and the GOsC expects osteopaths to approach it as such.
What the GOsC Requires
The GOsC CPD framework is built around the principle that osteopaths should be continuously developing their knowledge, skills, and professional practice throughout their careers. The requirement applies regardless of years of experience, part-time or full-time status, or specialist area.
The GOsC requires osteopaths to complete a minimum of 30 CPD hours per year. These hours can come from a mix of formal and informal learning activities, provided they are relevant to your practice and properly evidenced. The GOsC does not mandate a particular split between formal and informal learning — both count on equal terms, subject to documentation.
CPD must be logged annually, and osteopaths are required to maintain a CPD record that can be reviewed as part of the GOsC's quality assurance processes. You are not routinely asked to submit your portfolio, but it must be available if the GOsC requests it.
What Activities Count Toward Your 30 Hours
The GOsC takes a broad view of what constitutes valid CPD, recognising that meaningful learning takes many forms.
Formal learning activities — accredited courses and workshops, osteopathic conferences, postgraduate study, webinars and online modules — are the most straightforward to document because providers issue certificates. For formal activities, a certificate alongside a brief reflection on what you took from the learning is strong evidence.
Informal learning activities count equally and are expected as part of a varied CPD profile. Peer discussion and case review, reading research journals and clinical guidelines, reflective practice, clinical supervision, mentoring, and teaching all contribute. The difference between formal and informal CPD is not their validity but their documentation requirements. Informal learning requires you to create your own records — a dated note describing the activity and what you learned from it.
What Does Not Count
Clinical practice itself — treating patients — does not constitute CPD. Patient care develops skills experientially, but it is professional activity rather than structured learning. CPD must involve a deliberate learning component beyond what ordinary clinical work provides.
Administrative tasks, travel, and business-related activities do not count. Neither does continuing education that has no clear relevance to your scope of osteopathic practice.
Evidence and Reflection Requirements
For each CPD activity, your records should include the date and duration, a description of the activity and who provided it (for formal learning), and a reflection on what you learned and how it relates to your osteopathic practice.
Reflection is not a bureaucratic add-on — it is how you demonstrate that the learning was genuine and connected to your professional development. A one-paragraph reflection that is specific and honest is more valuable than a page of generic commentary.
Building Your CPD Portfolio
The most useful CPD portfolio is one you maintain continuously throughout the year rather than assembling at renewal time. After each learning activity, take a few minutes to log it: date, what you did, how long, what you learned, how it connects to your practice. Keep certificates and any other evidence alongside your reflective log.
ManualCPD offers on-demand CPD courses accredited through The CPD Group (Provider #788442) and is designed specifically for UK manual therapy professionals including osteopaths. Courses include certificates of completion and cover topics relevant to osteopathic practice.