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How we develop our standards
We're conducting a major review of our education standards
Nursing and midwifery practice today is different from a decade ago and we know it will change even more in the next 10 years.
We want to ensure that our education standards are fit for purpose and that nurses, midwives and nursing associates are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to deliver high quality and safe care now and in the future.
That’s why we're carrying out a major review of our education standards and the ways we quality assure.
What we're doing
Our education programme timeline sets out our plans for the review.
Future nurse standards and education framework
Our first phase of new standards were approved by our Council in March 2018 and published in May 2018. They consist of:
- Standards framework for education and training - these are standards for providers of all pre and post registration nursing and midwifery programmes
- Standards for student supervision and assessment - how nursing and midwifery students are supported and assessed in theory and practice
- Standards for pre-registration nursing programmes - these standards describe the entry criteria, programme length and the award for providers of pre-registration nursing programmes
- Standards of proficiency for registered nurses - these describe the knowledge and skills that nurses should have at the point of joining our register
- Standards for prescribing programmes - these standards describe the entry criteria programme length and the award for providers of prescribing programmes
- Adoption of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s competency framework – which describes the knowledge and skills that nurse and midwife prescribers should have
We also made the decision to withdraw our standards for medicines management.
Nursing associate standards
Our second phase of new standards were published in October 2018. These consist of:
- Standards of proficiency for nursing associates - these describe the knowledge and skills that nursing associates should have at the point of joining our register
- Standards for pre-registration nursing associate programmes - these set out the specific requirements that apply to all pre-registration nursing associate education programmes
Midwifery standards
We’re currently reviewing the standards that student midwives will need to meet in order to join the profession.
Find out about how we’re reshaping the future of midwifery education in the UK.
Post-registration standards
As part of our education programme of change, we're beginning to consider our post-registration standards.
During 2018 we commissioned an independent evaluation of our specialist community public health nursing and specialist practice qualification standards. These findings will inform the next stages of our review and in the early summer we’ll start to engage with interested nurses and midwives more about this.
We haven’t made any decisions on this issue and won’t do so before we’ve considered the findings of the evaluation and engaged widely with stakeholders.