Joanna Smith (@josmith175) Associate Editor, EBN
There will be no EBN Twitter chat this week, as there is an important chat being hosted by the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) and Royal College of Nursing (RCN) on the proposed changes to nurse education. The chat will be held on Wednesday 5th July 2017 from 6-7pm UK time. Join in the conversation by using #RCNchat
Participating in the Twitter Chat requires a Twitter account; if you do not already have one you can create an account at www.twitter.com. Once you have an account contributing is straightforward; follow the discussion by searching for #RCNchat. Once linked to the discussion, click “all tweets” to keep up-to-date with recent tweets. To join in, add the #RCNchat hash tag your tweets, this allows everyone taking part to view your contribution.
The purpose of the Shape of Caring: Raising the Bar review published in March 2015 was to review models of education & training for nurse registrants & healthcare assistants in England with 34 recommendations made that would shape the future of nurse education:
https://www.hee.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/documents/2348-Shape-of-caring-review-FINAL.pdf
The Nursing & Midwifery Council is responsible for the regulation of nurses & midwives in England, Wales, Scotland & Northern Ireland, with the purpose of protecting the public (https://www.nmc.org.uk/about-us/our-role/).
The council set standards of education, training, conduct & performance so that nurses & midwives can deliver high quality healthcare. Since the publication of Shape of Caring: Raising the Bar review there has been consultation & much debate, consternation & expectation from nurses in practice, managers & educators in anticipation of the proposed framework and whether it will meet the rapidly changing health & social care landscape and reflect the shift in nurses’ roles over the next 10 years.
The standards will establish:
- How nurses & midwives are educated – the standards for education & training;
- What nurses & midwives can do when they join our register – standards of proficiency;
- What their education & training courses need to set out – course requirements.
The consultation will close on 12 September 2017 and can be accessed at https://www.nmc.org.uk/education/education-consultation/
The following links outline the main changes that have been proposed:
https://www.nmc.org.uk/globalassets/sitedocuments/edcons/cq1-consultation-questions.pdf
Draft standards of standards of proficiency:
Draft standards for education & training