In 2013 the Nursing and Midwifery Council launched a public consultation to review how nurses maintain their CPD (referred to as their ‘registration’ and ‘re-registration process’). Following the review, new requirements mean that nurses must undertake at least 40 hours of CPD every three years, up from 35 hours.
In addition, half of this requirement (20 hours) will have to be undertaken as interactive learning activities, as a directive from their regulatory body, this will be taken very seriously.
This system will go live in December 2015.
Implications: From the NHS’ most recent count (July 2015), there are 377,191 nurses in the UK, with all of these nurses required to do 5 more hours of CPD over the next 3 years, that is almost 2 Million more hours of CPD that have been added to the market between 2016 – 2019.
If you are already delivering into this market, you could think about introducing new larger CPD packages or training ‘add-ons’.
Most nurses carry out CPD that has been paid for (at least in part) by their employers, so head to events, publications, or other avenues which will lead you to the HR department or managers.
It’s worth noting that the NHS and private institutions sometimes have internal CPD that nurses can undertake. However, only well-funded specialities, such as critical care, usually have the resources to be able to offer this tool.
In addition, the directive regarding interactive learning means soft skill providers are well placed to meet the new CPD needs of nurses that are unlikely to be met internally.
