The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has been given the go-ahead to proceed with the additional regulation of advanced practice nursing, it has been announced.
At a meeting on Wednesday, the NMC’s governing council accepted a recommendation from the regulator to develop a ‘combination of approaches’ to the regulation of advanced practice.
These include:
- developing standards of proficiency for advanced level practice (and associated programme standards)
- adopting a collaborative approach to develop a UK-wide advanced practice principles framework incorporating a shared position or definition of advanced level practice
- ensuring that advanced level practice requirements are included in the wider reviews of revalidation and the Code scheduled for 2025/26
Sam Foster, executive nurse director of professional practice, said: ‘Advanced practitioners bring significant knowledge, skills, and experience to provide person-centred care.
‘Regulation is about enabling the public to have consistently high expectations and experiences of working with professionals across settings and locations.’
She added: ‘Now that council has given us the green light to proceed with the additional regulation of advanced practice, we’ll continue to collaborate with the public, professionals and stakeholders to refine proposals that will support advanced nursing and midwifery practitioners to give the best possible care.’
The NMC will also plan for a ‘proportionate approach to recognising professionals with existing advanced practice qualifications’, it said.
Further engagement with stakeholders will also be carried out, as a well as a public consultation on final proposals.
