RCN and ICN agree partnership to ‘boost’ nurse education

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and the International Council of Nurses (ICN) have agreed a partnership to ‘boost’ nurse education and continuing professional development (CPD).

The ‘historic’ agreement was signed on Wednesday at the ICN annual Congress in Helsinki by RCN general secretary and chief executive, Professor Nicola Ranger, and ICN chief executive, Howard Catton.

The partnership will see collaboration between both organisations on learning and accreditation resources and hopes to ‘influence the quality of nurse education and professional development on offer to an increased number of nursing staff globally’.

‘Accreditation of education and continuous professional development is central to not only improving access to learning opportunities, but also in improving standards across the world,’ the organisations said in a joint statement announcing the news.

Further details on what the partnership entails are not yet available, but Mr Catton said the collaboration would help in ‘accelerating access’ to nurse education internationally.

‘We have an opportunity and also a responsibility to enable the world’s nurses to lead the change we so urgently need, which is why it is so important to create these strong, accessible pathways for nursing education and professional growth,’ Mr Catton explained.

Meanwhile, Professor Ranger said she was ‘delighted’ to partner with the ICN and said improving ‘world-class’ nurse learning will help strengthen the nursing workforce.

‘Being part of the ICN means the voice of nursing is heard even louder by governments and health leaders around the world,’ she added.

‘This collaboration makes us even stronger as we work together to give access to even more nursing staff to grow and develop their careers.’

Earlier this month an exclusive Nursing in Practice survey revealed that almost 60% of practice nursing staff are not given any time for professional development or training on a weekly basis.

Only 7.5% of respondents said they were given just one hour a week for professional study or development.

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In April, the ICN warned that almost two-thirds of countries are struggling to provide a safe environment for patient care because of nursing shortages.

Last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) published its second State of the World’s Nursing report which warned that a ‘pattern of inequity’ within nursing across the globe must be urgently addressed to achieve universal healthcare.