While all registered nurses share a core foundation of practice, each field of nursing requires distinctive, specialist education to ensure safe, effective and person‑centred care. Field‑specific knowledge, skills and clinical judgement are essential to meeting the diverse needs of the UK population.

The RCN is committed to achieving parity of esteem between physical and mental health across the life span. We do not support a move toward generic nurse education models that risks diluting specialist skills, weaken field‑specific expertise or compromise patient safety.

The College remains protective of all nursing fields and specialisms, the vital contribution each makes to safe, effective and equitable high-quality care should be recognised. We will continue to advocate for the nursing profession in which specialist knowledge is valued, expertise is strengthened and every individual receives care from a nurse fully prepared to meet their specific needs. 

The Nursing and Midwifery Council’s regulatory reform programme may bring about significant changes to the structure and delivery of nursing education. The RCN will continue to actively engage and influence this programme of work.