Community nursing and the 2020 Nightingale bicentenary celebrations

Nursing and midwifery will be in the spotlight throughout this year, as 2020 has been declared the international year of the nurse and midwife by the World Health Organization (WHO), and Nightingale bicentenary celebrations are also taking place globally. Last year, we saw a centenary of UK nursing regulation, as the Nurses Registration Act was passed on 23 December 1919. Seen as the UK's most trusted profession, nursing impacts on the lives of people and communities everywhere, as nurses play a variety of roles in a number of profound ways. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (the professional regulator in the UK) constantly reviews professional standards, ensuring that those on the professional register provide contemporary, evidence-based care that contributes to positive outcomes for patients and those who use nursing services. The specialist community public health nursing (SCPHN) part of the register is for those registered nurses and midwives who are working in public health roles and have completed SCPHN courses approved by the NMC.