Nursing in the UK made Easier
Information received from the UK NMC indicates that effective the 7th of October 2019, the processes involved in an oversea’s nurse qualifying to work in the UK would be made simpler. This should come as good news for nurses aspiring to work in the UK as well as all industry players including us.
The information in part talked about the following:
“We’re building on the changes we’ve made so far to introduce an application process that is simpler and quicker for candidates. We plan to launch a new, streamlined overseas registration process for nurses and midwives on Monday 7 October 2019.
New online application form
We’re moving our online application form into NMC Online to make it more straightforward to apply. Candidates will get their own NMC Online account where they’ll be able to track their application’s progress throughout. Instead of having to download and post paper forms to us, candidates will be able to complete their application and upload supporting documents online. We’ll also be able to ask their referees for supporting declarations directly to cut down on having to go back and forth to get things right.
Streamlined requirements
We’ve considered our current registration requirements for nurses and midwives against the evidence we need to allow us to assess each candidate’s ability to practise safely and effectively. Where we can, we’ve streamlined these requirements while making sure that we still have good levels of assurance over a candidate’s competence.
Identity
Our identity requirements provide continued assurance that the person applying to the register is who they say they are.
Candidates under the new process will need to provide:
- a valid passport
- evidence of name changes, if relevant
Under the current process, candidates are required to provide their birth certificate as well.
Qualification
Our eligibility criteria under the new process recognise that candidates are trained, qualified professionals.
Candidates under the new process will need to provide a qualification certificate for each part of the register that they are applying for, rather than full transcripts and a form to accompany the transcript of training.
Registration
Registration in a candidate’s country of training is no longer a pre-requisite for entry into the UK register. This brings overseas candidates in line with the UK application process.
If they’re registered or have been before, we’ll ask for confirmation from their relevant regulator.
If they haven’t been registered, we’ll ask for confirmation from both their training institute and the relevant regulator that the qualification would lead to registration to the equivalent part of the register they are applying for.
Under the current process, candidates are required to provide certification from each country they have been registered.
Health
We‘ve brought the health declaration in line with our revised health and character guidance.
Candidates under the new process will be asked to declare whether they’re capable of safe and effective practice. This might include where they have a health condition and/or disability that is being managed.
If a candidate declares a health condition and/or disability that is being managed, we’ll ask for a supporting declaration from either their medical practitioner or occupational health department.
Under the current process, all candidates are required to provide a good health declaration from their medical practitioner.
Character
Candidates under the new process will be asked to provide a supporting declaration about their character.
If they’re registered or have been in the last three years, we’ll ask for a supporting declaration from their current or most recent regulator.
If they haven’t been registered in the last three years, but have previously held registration we’ll ask for a supporting declaration from their most recent regulator, but we’ll also need a more recent supporting declaration as well.
In this instance, and for those who have never held registration before, they’ll need to provide a different supporting character declaration. Depending on the candidate’s circumstances, we may ask for this from their training institute, former healthcare employer, NMC or other UK healthcare registrant.
We’ve also aligned our police clearance requirements with UK Visas and Immigration requirements. This means that candidates under the new process will need to provide:
- a police clearance from each country that they have lived in for 12 months in the past ten years while over the age of 18
- a UK DBS certificate if they’ve been in the UK more than three months at the time of their application
Under the current process, candidates are required to provide a certificate of good standing from each country (or state) where they practised and/or been registered.
Language
There is no change to the English language requirements.
Improved guidance and support
We’re redesigning the way we present guidance on our website so that candidates, and those who support them, have a better understanding of our requirements, what we ask for and why, and the process they can expect to follow.
This information will be clearer, easy to read and accessible across a range of devices.
We’re also creating a pre-application checklist tool for candidates to check how ready they are to apply and see what evidence they need to prepare. They’ll be able to download and share their checklist results with others, like employers or recruiters.
Test of competence
Early in 2020, we’re launching a new test of competence in line with our future nurse standards. The company that is designing the new test will produce a range of materials to help candidates prepare.
We’re also creating a new ‘assurance panel’ to oversee the quality and consistency of the test – this will be made up of a group of experienced nurses, midwives and other health and care professionals.”
Source: UK NMC
It’s well