If you’d like to be kept up to date with our progress, and be notified of any opportunities to get involved, please sign up to our community of interest.
In 2024 we commissioned independent research from the Nuffield Trust, in partnership with the nursing and midwifery charity Florence Nightingale Foundation, to better understand what contributes to effective practice learning across the UK and in other countries.
The report examined the evidence relating to regulations and standards around students’ practice learning. It investigated how our requirements are being implemented, and the opportunities and challenges in providing optimal practice learning placements for the next generation of nurses, midwives and nursing associates.
The findings reflect positive learning experiences, but also highlight how nursing and midwifery students across the four nations experience varied practice learning and supervision. This includes a need for clarity around practice learning requirements and a consensus that quality should outweigh the quantity of learning (however there is limited evidence about the appropriate number of assessments, practice hours, or births for midwifery, that students should undertake during their education).
The report further identifies areas where the NMC, its approved education institutions and practice learning partners can strengthen learning experiences for students across a range of practice settings. This includes greater communication around practice learning requirements, further research about the impact of simulated practice learning on student learning, greater support for educators, and an expansion of community-based placements.
Report findings and suggested areas for action
The UK’s regulatory requirements around practice learning for nursing and midwifery students are comprehensive, but there are inconsistencies in how requirements are interpreted. The report recommends clearer communication around standards to support consistency among students, approved education institutions, and practice learning partners.
The report recommends that each UK nation agrees strategies to ensure placements are accessible, high-quality, and well-resourced, with enhanced support for practice supervisors and assessors.
The report suggests expanding and supporting the pool of qualified practice supervisors and assessors, and addressing their workload and time pressures, in order to support students as effectively as possible. As part of this, the findings emphasise that the expectations and requirements on training and support for practice supervisors, practice assessors and educator roles are better understood.
There is confusion and conflicting interpretations around practice learning requirements, and differing opinions about the necessary number of practice learning hours. But there is limited evidence and varying opinions about what the appropriate number of practice hours, assessments and number of births (for midwifery students) should be.
While simulation was identified as a valuable tool for learning, the report suggests that more robust research is needed in this area. Limited studies, and discrepancies within nursing and midwifery education, mean there is little evidence about the impact of simulated learning on outcomes for people receiving care, or information on resource implications and cost-effectiveness.
Previous
