RCN Accreditation
The RCN accredits learning and development initiatives for a diverse range of clients who want to guarantee that their initiatives are up to date, of the highest quality, effective in educating nurses and the wider health care family, and promote best practice.
Accreditation involves peer review by expert representatives drawn from clinical, management and educational fields of practice who have the appropriate professional background and experience.
Why choose RCN Accreditation?
Promoting your learning and development initiatives as RCN accredited will automatically associate them with the RCN's high standards and commitment to professional development.
The RCN has around 400,000 members from the nursing family. We are recognised for actively promoting the art and science of nursing and the value of quality services.
The RCN 'seal of approval' will ensure your learning and development initiatives stand out and appeal to nurses and managers who need to choose the most effective use of their time and money. They will know that they are accessing a learning initiative of the highest quality when they attend an event or use a resource that has RCN Accreditation.
Any conference, course or resource that receives accreditation can be promoted free of charge in the following online listings (please note, these listings are not comprehensive):
We include a model for structured reflection for delegates to use, to reflect on their experiences and to capture their learning. This can be kept in nurses' PREP (post-registration education and practice) portfolio and contributes towards their continuing professional development..
Certificates are provided to nurses who attend RCN accredited events, demonstrating evidence of the study hours required to keep them up to date. So knowing that an initiative has been accredited will appeal to nurses.
RCN Principles of Nursing Practice
The Principles of Nursing Practice describe what everyone can expect from nursing and represent the RCN’s dedication to excellence in nursing care. The Principles make clear exactly what quality nursing care looks like, provide a framework for supporting the evaluation of care, and support quality improvement. The RCN is committed to driving forward quality improvements – these Principles are an invaluable contribution to that task.
Training providers will find it useful to consider these principles in their training initiatives for nurses and other health care professionals.
PREP (CPD requirements for nurses)
The Nursing and Midwifery Council's (NMC) post-registration education and practice (PREP) standard requires that nurses undertake at least five days (35 hours) of learning activity relevant to their practice during the three years prior to renewal of registration. This learning can be completed in a variety of ways as long as it maintains and develops professional competence. Attendance at RCN accredited events can be used as evidence of PREP, nurses should keep their RCN certificate and reflection of learning in their PREP portfolios. Please visit the NMC website for more information and to download the PREP handbook.