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Demand for health and social care is rising, and people’s needs are becoming increasingly complex. At the NMC, we must equip future professionals to meet people’s evolving care needs across a range of sectors and settings.
Effective education and varied training pathways, that widen access for students and provide flexible learning opportunities, are vital to this.
That’s why we’re reviewing nursing and midwifery practice learning – so that our education requirements continually equip students with the knowledge, skills and behaviours to deliver safe, effective care for the public and people who use services.
Modernising our standards – a roadmap
In February 2025, we announced a programme of work which includes the modernisation of the Code and the revalidation process, progressing our practice learning review and re-sequencing our review of advanced practice.
Delivering this regulatory work will ensure that our standards will reflect the significant changes that have impacted the delivery of health and care in recent years, from EDI to the Covid-19 pandemic, high profile inquiries and the progression of artificial intelligence. This programme will support the professionals on our Register to continue delivering safe and effective care within this evolving societal, technological and policy context.
If you have any questions, please contact us via email at practicelearningreview@nmc-uk.org.
About practice learning and our review
What is nursing and midwifery practice learning?
Nursing and midwifery programmes are delivered through a combination of theory learning (50%) and practice learning (50%). Theory allows students to learn the necessary evidence-based knowledge, skills and behaviours in a classroom setting, while practice learning gives them the opportunity to demonstrate this in real life health and care environments, by putting them in direct contact with people who use services
Nursing, nursing associate and midwifery students must undertake practice learning placements across different health and care settings. These placements provide them with opportunities to develop the confidence and ability to think critically, apply their knowledge and skills in real-life settings, and provide evidence-based care while under supervision.
Why are we reviewing nursing and midwifery practice learning?
Our standards for education and training set out how pre-registration nursing, nursing associate and midwifery programmes should be delivered – ensuring that future professionals achieve the standards of proficiency they need to deliver safe, effective care for people when they join the Register.
When the UK left the EU, we gained the flexibility to set the standards for pre-registration nursing and midwifery programmes. In January 2024 we launched a review of practice learning requirements so that we can understand how best to support student learning across the UK.
We are reviewing the following standards:
• Standards for pre-registration nursing programmes
• Standards for pre-registration nursing associate programmes
• Standards for pre-registration midwifery programmes
• Standards framework for nursing and midwifery education and training
• Standards for student supervision and assessment
The pre-registration standards of proficiencies and post-registration standards are not included in this review of nursing and midwifery practice learning.
