How many practice hours are required to become a registered nurse?

Abstract

Globally, the number of nurse vacancies is high, and there has been much scrutiny of the preparation of the nursing workforce. The World Health Organization (2020) has called for an acceleration of nurse education to meet future demands. Brexit presents the NMC with an opportunity to reconsider practice hours. The authors call for a robust evaluation that will inform the NMC’s decision-making about changes to practice hours within its pre-registration nursing programmes across the UK. The authors argue that this evidence is currently lacking. The evaluation could also inform a learning framework that demonstrates proficiency, rather than what we<br/>have termed the prevailing ‘tick-box, time served’ ethos.