Fit to practise? Why nurses shouldn’t be fearful of the NMC

Nursing Standard Podcast

How can the nursing regulator be fair to the professionals on its register while protecting the public?

The Nursing and Midwifery Council’s ability to remove a registrant’s licence to practise – their livelihood – understandably makes some nursing staff fearful of the regulator.

Research has also shown inequalities for certain groups of nurses, midwives and nursing associates on the NMC register who face fitness to practise proceedings.

This episode of the podcast hears from NMC chief executive Andrea Sutcliffe who, since taking up the helm in 2019, has been striving to make the regulator fairer and kinder.

Ms Sutcliffe speaks to Nursing Standard editor Flavia Munn about eliminating discrimination from NMC processes including whether English language testing requirements for overseas nurses should be less stringent.

She talks about supporting overseas nurses to flourish in their careers rather than overlooking them for promotion because ‘they will return home soon’.

Ms Sutcliffe also discusses the retention of the nursing workforce and why the UK cannot rely on international recruitment alone to fix staffing issues.

And she reveals her personal experience of staying resilient and why safety always comes first – including on her bike.

For more episodes of the Nursing Standard podcast, visit rcni.com/podcast

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