Exploring the dynamics of the nursing and midwifery workforces

Overview

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) hold a register of all nurses, nursing associates and midwives across the United Kingdom. Maintaining the register requires registrants to revalidate every three years. 

This data provides an overview of the register that can inform policies designed to better support registrants in these key professions. The three yearly updates essentially turns the database into a longitudinal dataset. Analysis can then investigate who comes onto the register, who leaves, how long they remain on the register, and differences based on demographic or professional characteristics.

Resulting data provides a basis for workforce related research. Opportunities are expanded markedly by enabling the linkage of other datasets. A first project will make available the NMC register linked to the 2021 Census for England and Wales. That data will be made available through the Office for National Statistics’ Integrated Data Service. We are working closely with the NMC and national statistical bodies to enable accredited researchers to take forward analysis this data to the benefit of the public.

Stakeholders

An important part of this work has involved collaboration with key stakeholders. A stakeholder group was formed early in this project. We are grateful to colleagues from the NMC and representatives of statistical agencies, government, and representative organisations for their involvement. Representation has been drawn from the Office for National Statistics, Royal College of Nursing, Royal College of Midwives, Chief Nurses Offices and others.

Public involvement is an important component of this work. To that end, we have discussed this work with our Scotland Talks Data public panel. This has enabled us to talk through how the data is being used with a cross-section of the general public. Our intention is to widen that engagement through the development of a new engagement group with membership drawn from nursing and midwifery professions.

Initial Research 

SCADR are taking forward a number of research projects to make early use of these data resources. The aims of those projects are to:

(a) provide insights into the data to facilitate and encourage other researchers; and

(b) to showcase the policy potential.

Two early projects with NMC register data are looking to provide initial insights into the demographic composition of the register at regional levels. Analysis will provide figures for nurses, nursing associates, and midwives. It will further compare and contrast retention and recruitment patterns drawing on the longitudinal dimensions of the data.

A further project will use the linked NMC – Census England and Wales 2021 data. This project will assess the proportion of registrants who were engaged in clinical practice at the enumeration. Further analysis will assess the range of occupations held by those on the register. Importantly, it will also assess what influences engagement in clinical practice.

Future Developments

The NMC register is a valuable resource to help understand the nursing and midwifery workforces across the United Kingdom. To enable benefits widely we are working closely with the Nursing and Midwifery Council, and national statistical agencies including the Office for National Statistics, Research Data Scotland, and SAIL in Wales. The end goal is to make anonymised data available in secure settings for accredited researchers more widely.

We were delighted to be awarded an ADR UK fellowship in October 2024, which will enable us to extend our initial pilot research exploring migration patterns of nurses and midwives. It will use the NMC register and 2021 Census for England and Wales dataset as well as explore further linkages with other datasets available via ONS such as LEO. 

Our vision is that we will complete a wide range of policy-relevant research to further our goal of realising the potential of this data to the benefit of nurses, nursing associates, midwives, and the wider public.

Data sources 

The primary data sources for this research include:

1. Nursing and Midwifery Council Data (NMC) - This dataset offers a detailed view of the registered nurses, nursing associates, and midwives, including their demographics, qualifications, and professional status. It will be used to understand the current profile of the nursing and midwifery professions in the UK, and to understand their dynamics, especially which groups are likely to leave. 

2. 2021 Census for England and Wales: This provides a rich background of social and demographic data that complements the professional details from the NMC Register. 

Research team

 Iain Atherton and Michelle Jamieson.

Publications, Outputs and Media Coverage