Competences: Their development and value in contemporary health care education. The experience of the osteopaths

Summary The following article lays out the sequence of events which encouraged the General Council and Register of Osteopaths to undertake an exercise to delineate what osteopaths considered to be the main competences required for clincial osteopathic practice. The article suggests some reasons why the general public are increasingly turning towards the complementary medical professions. It further suggests that there are dangers therein for both the patients and the professions themselves in becoming confused by who does what, when and how. It offers the concept that the delineation of competences required for clinical practice facilitate a way out of this dilemma. It concludes with thoughts for the future.