Person-centred principles set the course for the future of advanced practice

Our new Principles for Advanced Practice mark a step-change in how advanced nursing and midwifery is understood and delivered – thanks to the voices of the people who shaped them.

From maternity care to social care, primary care to acute services, professionals, employers, and members of the public have all helped define what advanced practice should mean across the four nations of the UK.

The principles, which apply in every health and social care context, aim to bring clarity and consistency to advanced nursing and midwifery practice across the UK.

These principles aren’t just words on paper – they’re the result of hundreds of conversations with professionals and the public, including nurses and midwives who live and breathe advanced practice every day. Their insights have made sure the principles reflect the reality of care in different settings and nations.

We strongly recommend and encourage the widespread use of these principles across workforce planning, education and governance. They complement existing advanced practice frameworks in each of the four UK nations and include:

• The distinction between experienced and advanced level practice
• Autonomous complex decision-making, managing risk and uncertainty
• Equity, equality, diversity, and inclusion responsibilities
• Recognition of the four pillars of advanced practice – clinical, education, research and leadership/management
• Consideration of the breadth of advanced practice across nursing and midwifery, and all health and social care settings
• The importance of inter-professional learning and working, and
• Employer governance arrangements.

Shaped by real experiences

We’ve spoken to members of the public, professionals and system leaders about how the principles will strengthen advanced practice care and produced a series of videos to show the value of the principles and the importance of partnership working.

• Deborah Sturdy CBE, Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care (England), stresses the significance of clarity and collaboration in social care to protect the public
• Wendy Olayiwola, National Maternity Lead for Equality at NHS England, welcomed the principles as “a foundation for clarity, accountability and public understanding”
• From a public perspective, Meg Hill from Stockport Birth Services and a member of our Advanced Practice Public Advisory Group, said that including a public definition “will be really valuable for everyone using maternity services”
• Bongi Sibanda, Corporate Lead for Advanced Practice at University Hospitals of North Midlands, said the principles will help explain “the uniqueness of the role” to both the public and colleagues. Bongi also discusses the international perspective of advanced practice.

All of these videos and more are available on our website.

Building towards advanced practice standards

The principles will form the foundation of a wider set of regulatory measures that will support the best possible advanced practice care in the future, including setting advanced practice standards – a move that stakeholders say will strengthen public protection, support consistent standards, and help employers plan their workforce.

Dr Anna Jones, who worked as an NMC advanced practice adviser during the development process, said: “The principles are the first step towards full regulation. They signal a shared commitment to quality, safety and clarity across the UK.”

Find out more

To make the principles a success it’s vital that we understand how organisations are embedding them and developing their governance processes. To help us do that, 37 organisations from a broad range of settings have signed up as early adopters. We’ll explain more about that work in part two of this blog next week.

In June 2025 we held two webinars to explain what the principles are, how we developed them, and how they support professionals and employers to deliver the best possible care for people:

• Principles for advanced practice: employers
• Principles for advanced practice: professionals

Explore the full principles, watch our videos and join our community of interest to be kept up to date.

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