Our public consultation on the Draft Nurse Registration Programme Standards for undergraduate students is open and we are encouraging you to provide your feedback by 20 May 2025.

We would really appreciate your views. Your first step is to read the draft consultation document and then submit your feedback by completing the online survey which is available on our website.

NMBI, as the regulator, publishes the standards and requirements to guide the design, development, delivery and evaluation of nursing and midwifery registration programmes.

NMBI is mandated to do so under the Nurses and Midwives Act 2011, as amended, which states that NMBI "shall set and publish in the prescribed manner the standards of nursing and midwifery education and training for first time registration and post-registration specialist nursing and midwifery qualifications".

NMBI Interim CEO Carolyn Donohoe said “This is a positive initiative with sound reasoning behind it. Building and strengthening the standards and requirements for undergraduate students will mean that they will be better equipped to support population-based care delivery in the community and in hospitals that is based on patient needs.”

NMBI firstly set the regulatory standards, and then the Higher Education Institutions write the curriculum all the while mapping the content of the curriculum to those standards.

Following the public consultation, NMBI will review, analyse and integrate the feedback received into the draft Standards and Requirements.

In late May, NMBI will circulate a draft report on the public consultation for feedback and will facilitate online meetings with key stakeholders in June, prior to submitting a final draft to the NMBI Board in July 2025.

The new standards and requirements and a new curriculum will be in place for student nurses entering third level from the autumn of 2027.