Alison Twycross: NMC’s new education standards must bring radical change

Professional self-interest should not be allowed to shape the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s education standards, says nursing professor and deputy dean Alison Twycross

Part of my role at London South Bank University is leading the development of our curricula against the new Nursing and Midwifery Council standards. As editor of Evidence Based Nursing I also want to ensure that our new curricula are underpinned by robust evidence.

Surprisingly, there is limited evidence underpinning how we educate pre-registration nurses. Maybe this explains why in many universities we continue to deliver lectures to large groups of students and test the regurgitation of knowledge through essays and exams, rather than using teaching and assessment strategies that support the application of knowledge in practice.

The draft NMC standards and education framework make it clear that newly qualified nurses need to be able to deliver