The education of nurses, midwives and allied health care professionals in the UK is guided by professional bodies and the over arching Health Professionals Council (HPC)/Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). Each of these professional bodies provides regulatory frameworks and guidance notes on the educational content of the degree level programmes…

National Vocational Qualifications assessment methods have the potential to fragment and damage learning. Holistic approaches to competence such as those used in Australia are more congruent with the needs of professional nurses, midwives, and health visitors in Britain. (SK)