CPD: is your employer reluctant to give you protected learning time?

Many nurses struggle to negotiate time out during working hours – but support is available

For nurses, learning doesn’t stop when they’re handed their degree on graduation day. It doesn’t stop when they’re given their NMC registration number. Nurses are expected to maintain and improve their skill set to care for patients safely, and with competence, throughout their careers in a process called continuing professional development, or CPD.

The RCN, working with other colleges and organisations, defined common principles for CPD in order to create a culture of continuous improvement. These principles are regularly reviewed.

The principles make clear that while each registrant is responsible for their lifelong learning, it must be made possible and supported by employers.

What the NMC