A Fitness to Practise meeting can sound like a nerve-wracking meeting but this is an area we assist students with on a very regular occurrence.
If you are on an undergraduate or postgraduate programme which leads to a professional qualification or programmes associated with professional practise, you will find that the Fitness to Practise policy and procedure is relevant to you.
Many different things can spark this procedure, ranging from a student accused of falsifying paperwork to their conduct on social media or from issues that have occurred on placement to problems with drugs. The umbrella is wide but it all boils down to things that raise questions about your ability to practise the profession you are working towards.
If you find yourself invited to a meeting under this procedure, we strongly advise that you contact us as soon as possible. Like with most things, the more time we have prior to the meeting, the more work we can do to help you prepare.
There are three distinct stages to this procedure, and we can help with all of them. You can read more about what they entail here.
As you will see, Stage 1 is informal and is a discussion regarding an incident that has occurred. In this meeting the accusation/incident will be outlined, and you will have your changed to give your account of what happened. The biggest worry a student normally has is that they will be removed from their studies, but that can only happen as a possible outcome at the final stage of this process, a Stage 2b.
If a Stage 1 is escalated, it will often go to a Stage 2a, and this is where the procedure becomes more formal. At least five days prior to this meeting, you will have access to a pack of documents that will relate to the incident. You will then have time to prepare a statement giving your account and can also gather any evidence that backs up what you are stating. We cannot write a statement for you, but we can discuss with you and then comment on any draft statement prior to submission to help you make it as strong as possible.
Occasionally, in serious situations, a stage 2a meeting could escalate to a stage 2b, and again, we can help guide you through that.
Even though the majority of work we do is in the preparation, we can also attend these meetings alongside you, if our schedules allow. This is another reason it is important you inform us about meetings as soon as possible because it gives us a more likely chance of having availability. We have so much experience in these meetings, and it is for you to make the most of that. We are free, we are independent, we are confidential, and we are here to help guide you through.
Get in touch with SU Advice: