Quality assurance and UK nurse education.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the quality assurance model for nursing education in the United Kingdom (UK) for the first nine months after the inception in 2002 of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).


METHODS
A specially designed questionnaire was administered to representatives of higher education institutions where nurse education took place and representatives of the NMC in all four countries of the UK.


RESULTS
Quality assurance activity had taken place across the UK, mostly in the shape of validation events. Quality assurance events proceeded largely as expected by higher education and NMC representatives. There was a statistically significant trend towards greater preparedness and knowledge for validation and satisfaction with the new quality assurance procedures in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland compared with England.


CONCLUSIONS
At the time of this study the new quality assurance procedures were less than 12 months old and there may have been resistance to change in England where the changes were greatest.
Hogston
Richard
R
School of Health and Community Care, Leeds Metropolitan University. r.hogston@leedsmet.ac.uk
Watson
Roger
R
Norman
Ian
I
Stimpson
Anne
A
Sanderson
Diana
D
O'Reilly
Jacqueline
J
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003479:Curriculum; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004739:England; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000592:standards; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D017145:Models, Educational; D009660:Northern Ireland; D009718:Nurse Administrators / Q000523:psychology; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D010687:Philosophy, Nursing; D011361:Professional Competence / Q000592:standards; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012606:Scotland; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014852:Wales