Progression to Full POGP Membership
As a professional organisation POGP supports Physiotherapists working in the specialty of pelvic health, obstetrics and gynaecology providing good practice advice; mentorship and educational opportunities. Full membership eligibility is provided by three routes to promote excellence and quality in this specialist area of physiotherapy.
The candidate must provide evidence of Physiotherapy experience in one or more of the specialty areas of male and female bladder, bowel and sexual dysfunction and pain; pre and post-natal musculoskeletal dysfunction and pain; breast care, oncology.
Membership routes:
1. Completion of a POGP recognised post-graduate course (PG certificate)
Demonstrate successful completion of one of the POGP post-graduate courses [Physiotherapy for Women’s Health or Continence for Physiotherapists both worth 60 credits] at present with the University of Bradford.
A short personal statement should be included to demonstrate how you have developed your skills in assessment and patient management in the specialty of pelvic, obstetric, and
gynaecological physiotherapy (500 words) accompanied by evidence of completion of the course (title of course and date attended) and the membership number for the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy.
International Physiotherapists who do not reside or work in the UK and are not a member of the CSP may still apply for full membership but must have proof of membership to their own country’s recognized physiotherapy governing body.
2. An academic award at Masters or PhD level in a relevant topic area
Demonstrate successful completion of a Masters or PhD in a relevant topic area (as above).
A short personal statement should be included to demonstrate how you have developed your skills in assessment and patient management in the specialty of pelvic, obstetric, and gynaecological physiotherapy (500 words) accompanied by evidence of completion of the degree and the membership number for the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. International Physiotherapists who do not reside or work in the UK and are not a member of the CSP may still apply for full membership but must have proof of membership to their own country’s recognized physiotherapy governing body.
3. Portfolio of Evidence
Submission of a portfolio of evidence of practice. This is a route for full membership to POGP by successful submission of a Portfolio of Evidence.
The portfolio must evidence Physiotherapy experience in one or more of the specialty areas of male and female bladder, bowel and sexual dysfunction and pain; and pre and post-natal musculoskeletal dysfunction and pain.
Mentorship is provided by the POGP to support and guide a candidate through the submission process. It is strongly recommended that candidates gather the content for their portfolio in the months before submitting an application form and that the candidate works with a mentor over the six month period to submission.
Portfolia Criteria:
Submission of an extensive anonymised curriculum vitae detailing: a minimum of 2 years of clinical experience, working at least 2 days in pelvic health, the route into this speciality, the candidate’s current work role, relevant training course/ inhouse training, attendance at conferences, work based projects/ audits/ service developments/ research.
Completion of a clinical log book containing: three different patient assessments relevant to the candidate’s area of expertise and detailing the main assessment findings/ analysis and plan of management. And three treatment sessions for one of these patients, showing clinical reasoning of the treatments selected, the research evidence to support it and also how treatment was progressed. The log book should be completed over a 6 month period (enough time to see one patient a few times).log book template
OR Submission of 2-3 peer reviews, which may better suit applicants in research or management roles.
Completion of three reflective accounts of any clinical/ professional issues encountered and how the candidate managed/ learnt from these. (It would be beneficial for applicants to consider equality, diversity and inclusion and how this affects patient access to Pelvic Health Physiotherapy, as one account).
Evidence of attendance and reflection of two regional meetings or POGP related activities in the last year.
Submission of a position statement detailing the reasons for applying for full POGP membership via the portfolio route, why the candidate has chosen pelvic health as a physiotherapy speciality, aspirations for career development/ achievements.
All evidence must be to CSP Standards of Professional Practice; within Scope of Practice; retaining standards of confidentiality and anonymised. Further understanding on activities that count towards continuous professional development can be found on The Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) website.
Following the assessment of the portfolio, the candidate will be invited to an online viva with two assessors lasting approximately 20 minutes viva purpose and process
International Physiotherapists who do not reside or work in the UK and are not registered with HCPC may still apply for full membership but must have proof of membership to their own country’s recognized physiotherapy governing body.
Useful Documents
13 September 2024: Following a recent review, the new portfolio process is now launched. Please find the necessary documents below.
Membership routes to POGP
Criteria for Membership of POGP
Portfolio of Evidence to Full Membership
Portfolio application form
Portfolio evaluation
Portfolio Evaluation Process
Logbook of patient assessments for POGP portfolio
Logbook of patient treatments for POGP portfolio
The viva process for the POGP portfolio
Candidate Checklist
Educational Resource Introduction to POGP
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A great place to look for more information is in our resources section. If you cannot find what you are looking for then you can contact us via our contact us section, by email info@thepogp.co.uk or through our Twitter and Facebook social media channels.