Correspondence

Re: Nursing and Midwifery Council Post-registration Specialist Practice qualifications-District Nursing

Although I appreciate the need for the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) to review the Standards for Specialist Education and Practice, in particular for community practice, to ensure that they reflect contemporary and future practice, the introduction of a single programme that leads to a single qualification fills me with concern.

The new NMC programme will lead to one Specialist Practice Qualification (SPQ), with universal core standards of higher practice for all current community SPQs (i.e. Community Mental Health Nursing, Community Learning Disabilities Nursing, Community Children's Nursing, General Practice Nursing and District Nursing), as well as bespoke standards for the different fields of practice. If this is the case, that is, bespoke standards are a requirement to reflect the additional specialist knowledge and skills needed for that area of practice, how can only one qualification at the end of the programme be acceptable? One size does NOT fit all.