Revalidation processes, launched in 2016 by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), require individual nurses and midwives to demonstrate through a range of evidential requirements that they are fit to practice against the standards of the Code.
In that context the Government Chief Nursing Officers (GCNOs) working alongside the NMC took forward a nationwide initiative to define what professionalism means in practice. The project was chaired by Professor Charlotte McArdle on behalf of the UK GCNOs, supported by NIPEC.
The resulting framework: Enabling Professionalism, takes into account the impact of autonomous, competent, accountable practitioners and the difference that they make to a person’s health and wellbeing.
Launched on International Nurses Day 12 May 2017 a range of resources were developed and are available on the NMC website: www.nmc.org.uk/professionalism including three animations demonstrating how the framework might be used to support professionalism in practice. The animations can be viewed here
In 2019, The Chief Nursing Officers (CNOs) of the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland pledged to undertake a collaborative work stream aligning with the ethos of the Year of the Nurse and Midwife and Nursing Now 2020, linked to the Enabling Professionalism (EP) framework (2017).
Phase 1 of this work saw the refreshing of the original EP work to co-produce a resource to support the collection of ‘narratives’ describing ‘Defining characteristics’ of nurses and midwives in a modern context: Enabling Professionalism 2022.
Produced and consulted on by a Five Country Task and Finish Group using the lens of EP, this framework was developed to guide nurses and midwives in the construction of stories defining what the contribution of nursing and midwifery ‘is’ in 2022 to the public they serve.
A campaign, launched on 12 May 2022, encourages nurses, midwives and the public to tell their story and why they are ‘Here for Life’.
Nurses and midwives can use the Enabling Professionalism 2022 Framework to help them think about how to describe what they do, every day. A How to Use Enabling Professionalism 2022 guide is also available.
To find out more click on the Enabling Professionalism in Nursing and Midwifery documents link below to view the framework and access the accompanying ‘how to’ guides.
View the Enabling Professionalism in Nursing and Midwifery documents
View the Agendas and Action Notes