The changes to the English language requirements previously announced by the NMC came into effect yesterday, Wednesday 8th February and will be fully operational by the summer.
We discussed the changes in one of our earlier blogs and examined how the changes could be beneficial for the employers of permanent international nursing and health and social care staff.
Changes
The changes have been the source of much discussion. In summary the changes that the NMC HAVE made are:
- Extended the period in which scores can be combined from 6 months to 12 months.
- Updated the minimum scores when combining.
- Begun accepting supporting information from employers as supplementary evidence of English language proficiency.
The NMC HAVE NOT changed the required scored for IELTS & OET.
Knowledge of English
When applying to the register the NMC have to be satisfied that the applicant has the necessary knowledge of English to communicate clearly and effectively.
The three evidence types accepted by the NMC are:
- If the applicant has a pre-registration nurse, midwife or nursing associate qualification which was taught and examined in English.
- The applicant has one year of recent practice as a nurse, midwife or nursing associate in a majority English speaking country.
- The applicant has recently achieved the required score in one of the English language tests accepted by the NMC
To demonstrate, the Occupational English Test (OET) organisation gives a clear example of scores that will meet the new NMC requirements:
| | TEST ONE | TEST TWO |
| Listening | C+ | B |
| Reading | B | C+ |
| Writing | C (score 250 or upwards) | C+ |
| Speaking | B | B |
The example below shows an example of scores that will not meet the new NMC requirements:
| | TEST ONE | TEST TWO |
| Listening | C+ | B |
| Reading | B | C |
| Writing | C | C+ |
| Speaking | B | B |
In this example, Reading is more than half a grade lower than required in the second test.
NursingjobsUK provides support for international nurses in other ares required to join the NMC register.