Advanced practice review

Our approach to engagement

By enabling people and communities to shape what we do, we can make sure the way we regulate is rooted in people’s needs and experiences – so we’re better placed to protect the public and inspire confidence in our professions.

We set out to ensure that diverse voices and experiences shaped our understanding of the issues around advanced practice, of people’s needs and expectations, and of the options for regulation that will best benefit the public and people receiving care.

Full details of this engagement is set out in the Thinks Insight & Strategy report.

Our engagement with the public and people who use services

We have taken a mixed approach to seek a range of perspectives to inform this project, with both breadth and depth. We have heard from the public through the following avenues at this stage of the project:

  • A standing public advisory group, whose Chair is also a member of the independent steering group. This group comprises both members of the public with lived experience of being cared for by advanced practitioners; and representatives of charities and advocacy organisations representing those people.
  • Qualitative focus groups with members of the public in each of the four nations of the UK;
  • A qualitative focus group with women on their pregnancy journey and mothers, specifically to discuss their experience of maternity care;
  • A qualitative and quantitative survey of a representative sample of 2,000 members of the public;
  • Two discussions with the NMC Public Voice Forum
  • A discussion with the NMC Midwifery Panel, which includes lay representatives

This mixed approach allowed us to hear from people with lived experience and expertise, professionals who work with and advocate for people with lived experience, and our forum members who combine their own lived experience of health and care with a more detailed understanding of the work of the NMC.

Our engagement with professionals and other stakeholders

Due to the breadth and complexity of the landscape in which advanced practice nursing and midwifery take place, we’ve engaged widely with people from across both professions. This has included:

  • An independent steering group of key partner organisations and experts, chaired by Kay Fawcett OBE.
  • A working group of colleagues from other healthcare professional regulators, feeding into the steering group.
  • A webinar, with 356 people attending live and over 1,000 views afterwards on the website and YouTube; attendees were able to complete a feedback form on the website to give us their views on advanced practice.
  • Roundtables, attended by 358 professionals, to discuss advanced practice with the following audiences:
    • Educators
    • Employers
    • Learners
    • Researchers
    • Professionals working in clinical specialisms.
    • Professionals working in primary and urgent care settings.
    • Professionals working in maternity settings.
    • Nurses and midwives educated outside the UK (and groups who represent them)
    • System regulators
  • The NMC’s standing strategic groups (Midwifery Panel and the Professional Strategic Advisory Group)
  • Slots to discuss advanced practice at other stakeholders’ meetings and events. This includes:
    • Our joint annual meeting with the Council of Deans for Health and their members
    • Two sessions at NHS England’s Centre for Advancing Practice Conference
    • A chief nurses call with the Independent Healthcare Provider Network
  • Our eight advanced practice advisers – a nurse and a midwife nominated by each of the four UK CNOs/CMidOs – have also been directly engaging with stakeholder groups in their respective countries.
  • A social care nurse adviser, representing the social care sector and engaging with stakeholder groups.

Throughout our engagement we’ve heard from people from all four nations of the UK. Our engagement has ensured we’ve accounted for the views of people from different practice sessions and different parts of the country, as well as both nursing and midwifery.

Working with other regulators 

We’re engaging closely with other professional regulators as part of the review. We held our first joint roundtable on 29 June 2023, which identified commonalities and differences in how professionals in AP roles are regulated. 

The group continues to meet and collaborate on development of a shared statement on advanced practice. The group feeds directly into the steering group – the Health and Care Professions Council are also represented on the steering group.