The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is set to ‘modernise’ its Code and revalidation guidance with a new focus on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), behaviour outside of professional practice and use of social media.
If granted approval by its governing council, work to update the NMC Code and revalidation will be carried out in the year 2025-26, with the goal of consulting on the changes between July and October 2026.
The revised Code would aim to ‘set clearer standards’ with a focus on areas where practice has changed in the past decade, it added.
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The regulator also plans to ‘review’ its revalidation requirements to ensure professionals on the register are supported to update their practice in line with the NMC’s Code and standards.
An updated Code and revalidation process is expected to come into effect in October 2027.
Separately, the regulator plans to consult on changes to its practice learning requirements between February and March 2026, with the goal of transitioning to new NMC standards from September 2026.
In the meantime, the NMC will carry on with the next phase of its practice learning review, pursuing the five key lines of inquiry that were improved at the last council meeting.
The plan follows an NMC report into practice learning requirements for nursing and midwifery students.
The NMC has also confirmed further delays to its work around regulating advanced practice.
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An update from the interim CEO
Paul Rees, NMC interim chief executive and registrar, said this work was ‘fundamental to nursing and midwifery professional practice, and will ensure we protect the public through modernised standards’.
He added that the standards ‘must reflect’ the major changes which have taken place in the health and care sector in recent years, including in EDI and during the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘The core regulatory work we are delivering will support the professionals on our register to continue delivering safe and effective care in this changing context,’ Mr Rees said.
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