Frequently asked questions

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has published advice on the groups that should be prioritised for vaccination.

Although there aren’t any mandatory vaccines in the UK, the Code and our standards make clear that professionals have a responsibility to maintain their own level of health. And that they should take all reasonable personal precautions to avoid potential health risks to colleagues and people receiving care.

With that and the potential risk to vulnerable people of inadvertently spreading Covid-19 in mind, we would expect the majority of professionals on our register to be vaccinated - where a vaccine has been approved and is available. We also recognise that there might be a good reason why vaccination is not appropriate in individual circumstances- people may need to take account of any underlying health conditions, and in some cases there may be other appropriate options for managing any risk that a professional’s health poses to those receiving care and their colleagues.

All nurses, midwives and nursing associates, whether they decide to be vaccinated or not, need to be confident that measures are in place where they work to manage any risk of transmission, and they need to take appropriate steps themselves to reduce risks and prioritise the safety of people in their care.

The Human Medicines Regulations have been amended to allow the temporary authorisation of an unlicensed medicine or vaccines in the response to a public health emergency.

A nurse or midwife who will be administering a Covid-19 vaccine authorised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority, must do so in line with the laws, protocols and policies in the nation where they work.

The role of nursing associates in the Covid-19 and influenza vaccination programmes will be set out in the national protocol in England and local policies. Like nurses and midwives, nursing associates follow the Code and must only undertake roles where they are competent to do so.

Each of the four nations of the UK will determine whether students are able to be involved in the vaccination programme as part of their practice learning experience, in line with programme learning outcomes.

Students would need to receive the right education and training under the relevant national protocol and be supervised to administer either of these vaccines in line with our standards of student supervision and assessment.

The vaccination programme includes a variety of roles, some of which do not require you to be on our register. Please refer the relevant role description and act accordingly in regard to the registration requirements.

Please be aware that the national protocol may be rolled out differently across the four nations of the UK.

You can find out more about the various roles you could apply for here:

• England
• Wales
• Scotland
• Northern Ireland - please contact your local NHS Trust

We’re asking people on the temporary register to complete a diversity survey. Collecting this information helps us to meet our legal responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010. You can read more about why collect this information in our privacy notice.

You may have received a request from ‘survey@wh.snapsurveys.net’ . This message is authentic and has been sent by the NMC.

To ensure we build up the Covid-19 temporary register in a safe and measured way, we will be only allowing groups of people that we determine to be fit, proper and suitably experienced to join the register in a certain order.

Find out who can join the temporary register on our Covid-19 temporary registration page.

You will be working under conditions of practice if:

• you left the permanent register between 1 March 2015 and 31 January 2018, or
• you're an overseas candidate who meets the requirements for temporary registration.

Find out more about these conditions of practice.

No, our normal registration and revalidation requirements will not apply to those joining the Covid-19 temporary register. You do not need to pay a registration fee to join the Covid-19 temporary register.

Please speak to your employer about what arrangements will be in place for indemnity cover. The government is ensuring that legal protections will be in place for those who take part in work as part of the Covid-19 response.

Once you complete our online temporary registration form, we'll check this and let you know when we have added you to the Covid-19 temporary register.

We'll then make your details available to those leading the UK’s health and care services who are co-ordinating and planning how best to deploy the emergency workforce.

If they need your support, they’ll contact you directly on the email address that you give us to see if you want to work.

Please follow the most recent government advice relating to keeping well during this period and discuss this with your employer.

You must give due consideration to your health and well being before opting in to be on the Covid-19 temporary register. Please refer to the most recent government guidance when making your decision. It may be possible that there are support and advice roles that you could be involved in. Please speak with your employer.

No, your previous post-registration qualifications will not stand if you are on the temporary register. This includes any previous prescribing qualification you may have held.

These would not be dealt with by way of any FtP proceedings, but where there were justifiable concerns the Registrar would have the power to remove you from the temporary register.

You can get advice on this from the Department for Work and Pensions.

At any time during or after your temporary registration, you can apply for readmission to our permanent register in line with our return to practice (RtP) standards and readmission process. You can only do this if you have previously been on our permanent register.

Any hours you have practised on the temporary register will count as practice hours needed for readmission to the register (450 hours over three years or 750 hours over five years).

Find out more

If you have been off our permanent register for less than five years, you may opt in to join our temporary register. If you are currently on an RTP course you can defer your course and return at a later date. Your education institution should be able to advise you whether they will grant you Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) for the hours you complete in practice while on the temporary register.

Alternatively if the hours you have practised on the temporary register fulfil the criteria for admission (450 hours over three years or 750 hours over five years) then you could apply for readmission.

Find out more

On 14 January 2021 we made an announcement regarding our emergency education standards. Read the statement to find out more.

Our chief executive, Andrea Sutcliffe, has written a blog to explain how this decision was made, why we did it, and what it means for students. Read this blog.

We've closely monitored the ongoing and future workforce requirements and the progression of the pandemic.

Informed by the views of our partners and our assessment of the current situation, we’ve made the decision not to open up the temporary register to nursing students.

Find out more

You will need to discuss this with your education institution.

Your education institution will have processes to support you during any period of sickness or if your institution closes. Depending on the circumstances, your placement may be deferred for a period of time by your education provider. This may extend the time it takes for you to complete your programme once you return.

Hours worked alongside your programme would not count towards your programme. You will still be expected to achieve all of the learning outcomes specified in our standards.

The minimum practice hours required for nursing and midwifery education programmes to ensure that students are capable of safe and effective practice when joining our register are determined by the standards approved by our Council. These standards were designed to be compliant with European legislation, including minimum practice hours. Although we have left the EU these standards remain until they are reviewed and any changes, if required, are approved by our Council.

You should follow the guidance from your education institution about whether placements are going ahead. If they are not going ahead then your university should advise you on what this means for you, and what this means for the rest of your programme with them.

Your university should advise you on what this means for you, and what this means for the rest of your programme with them.

Preceptorship is employer led and they will be able to advise you about this when you start working.

We require all of the learning outcomes to be met by the end of your programme, this includes practice and theory hours. If you have an concerns about this please speak to your education insituation as they should have plans in place to support you.

As you are still required to meet you clinical placement hours you should speak to your education institution about what alternative solutions to clinical placements they have in place.

Yes, student on clinical placements are still considered key workers. Speak to your AEI regarding evidence should you be asked to provide this.

We recommend you speak with your education institution and your employer, they will be able to discuss your options and support you to decide what the most appropriate option would be. 

During these challenging times, different ways of working are required to keep people safe. You will need to discuss your situation with your education institution who will advise you on the options available.

You should discuss your situation with your employer and your education institution who will advise you on the options available.

We recommend you speak with your education institution and your employer, they will be able to discuss your options and advise you on how to defer and return to your programme. 

Yes, you should discuss the options with your education institution.

If it is not possible to undertake these placements as required in our standards, students may need to defer their placement learning.

Practice learning may be undertaken through simulated learning up to 300 hours (pre-registration nursing education, 2010) or in a proportionate way (standards for pre-registration nursing programmes, 2018).

Approved education institutions must ensure that simulated experiences involve direct contact with a healthy or sick individual and/or community for adult nursing to comply with our standards that were designed to be compliant with European legislation, including minimum practice hours. Although we have left the EU these standards remain until they are reviewed and any changes, if required, are approved by our Council.

Any change to the programme by way of virtual or simulated learning, indicating how this meets the standards for practice learning can be articulated using the Covid-19 exception reporting form.

Please see our Covid-19: Revalidation page for more information on revalidation deadlines during this time.

Please see the blog from our Chief Executive, Andrea Sutcliffe, about this.

We know that nurses, midwives and nursing associates are experienced in dealing with challenging health issues, including infected patients, on a daily basis.

As part of planning preparations, it’s our job to make sure you’re aware that the Code continues to apply. Section 1 explains what you should do to make sure people’s individual needs are recognised, assessed and responded to without undue delay.

It’s also important that you’re supported to take account of your own safety and wellbeing. Your employer is there to help by managing resources effectively and dealing with risk so that that the quality of care or service you provide for people can be maintained.

If you have any concerns that you believe puts you or those you are caring for at increased risk in your workplace, please share these with your manager as soon as possible so they can make sure you’re able to practise safely.

As mentioned in our recent joint statement, we recognise that in highly challenging circumstances you may need to depart from established procedures in order to care for patients and people using health and social care services.

Our regulatory standards are designed to be flexible and to provide a framework for decision-making in a wide range of situations.

In-line with the Code, use your professional judgment, working with other colleagues across all disciplines to assess risk, find the best way to provide care for people while recognising and working within the limits of your competence.

Rules around which businesses and ventures are allowed to operate during this pandemic are issued by the government in each of the countries. The NMC has no decision making powers in relation to this. This means we can neither advise you on the reopening of businesses, nor can we grant you permission to do so. 

Our concern as a professional regulator is whether an individual nurse, midwife or nursing associate on our register has applied the principles of the NMC Code to their practice. This includes ensuring they follow the laws and policies in the countries where they practice, having appropriate indemnity and make decisions (including risk assessments) in line with The Code.

Further information may be available from the relevant system regulator or trading standards body, where appropriate:

• Care Quality Commission (England)
  
• Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (Wales)
• Care Inspectorate (Scotland)
• Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (Northern Ireland)

For registrants managing or working in businesses in the aesthetic and cosmetic industries, you may find it helpful to refer to the guidance of the Professional Standards Authority accredited voluntary registers run by the Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners and Save Face, as well as the British Association of Cosmetic Nurses.

Some professional standards and behaviours, as set out in the Code, that may be particularly helpful to bear in mind at this time include:

• Acting in the best interests of people at all times within the limits of your knowledge and competence.
• Keeping to and promoting recommended practice and guidance in relation to controlling and preventing infection.
• As well as your own safety, taking account of the safety of others and the availability of other options for providing care.

We’re encouraging those who are currently on the NMC register, but not working in clinical care, to consider coming into clinical practice during this time where it’s appropriate to do so.

The Department of Health in your country will be coordinating this. Follow the links below for more information:

• England
• Scotland
• Wales 
• Northern Ireland

This decision is for your employer who should be acting within the latest government guidance. Please contact them directly.

Where a nurse, midwife or nursing associate refuses to agree to a Covid-19 test that will primarily be a matter for their employer to deal with. Depending on the individual circumstances, an employer could decide to take disciplinary action against the nurse, midwife or nursing associate.

However, the NMC’s Code says that nurses, midwives and nursing associates must:

• take all reasonable personal precautions necessary to avoid any potential health risks to colleagues, people receiving care and the public (para 19.4)
• maintain the level of health you need to carry out your professional role (para 20.9)

Refusing to agree to a Covid-19 test could be regarded as a failure to comply with these requirements of the Code, depending on the individual circumstances.