Brexit means the nursing regular is no longer bound by EU law.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is preparing to consult on changes to its pre-registration education standards for nursing.
It comes following Brexit, meaning the UK is no longer bound by EU law on requirements for nursing and midwifery education programmes.
A list of proposed changes to the standards includes doubling the number of simulated practice hours, moving away from “dated” clinical placement requirements and permitting universities to set their own entry requirements.
The number of simulated practice hours would permanently increase from 300 to 600, and outdated mandated placements would be reviewed as they no longer “reflect contemporary practice, language and service design”.
Universities would also be able to set their own admission criteria to make it more “inclusive”, encouraging applications from “excluded groups, such as those from travelling communities and refugees”.
Flexible and innovative.
The NMC has confirmed it does not seek to change the total number of academic and clinical hours (4600) mandated for nursing and midwifery training at this time.
Professor Geraldine Walters, Executive Director of Professional Practice for the NMC, explained the changes: “We want to improve our existing education programme standards to make them more flexible, and allow more innovation.
“This consultation will give people the opportunity to tell us what they think about the proposed changes, allowing us to refine them further.
“Modernising our pre-registration standards will mean educators can offer programmes with more flexibility for student learning, and widen participation. And it will make sure future nursing and midwifery professionals continue to graduate with the knowledge and skills they need to provide safe, effective and kind care.”
During the next council meeting on 26 May, the NMC’s governing council will be asked to approve a 10-week consultation on the suggested changes.
