Take a closer look at the committee responsible for leading the College’s professional agenda and ensuring members’ views inform this work
Who sits on the committee?
The Professional Nursing Committee (PNC) has 14 members. This includes one member each from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and one from each of the nine English regions. The other two members represent the RCN’s student and nursing support worker membership categories. Members are elected by the members they represent and sit on the committee for four years.
What does the committee do?
The committee, which is accountable to RCN Council, oversees and provides leadership on the work undertaken by the RCN as a professional body and a royal college.
Committee members act as a conduit of expertise for nursing staff across all specialties, and across all parts of the UK. They ensure members’ views are sought and taken into account when making decisions on professional issues and influencing policy and practice in nursing.
How often does the committee meet?
The committee has six formal meetings a year, plus some additional sessions for in-depth discussions on key pieces of work or for development work.
The committee ensures members’ views are sought and taken into account when making decisions on professional issues
What is the committee working on?
The committee is overseeing the RCN’s staffing for safe and effective care campaign. A critical piece of work within this has been the development of a set of nursing workforce standards. The standards, which have been widely consulted on across many expert groups, are due to be published early this year and will be applicable to all health and care settings across the UK.
One of the key principles underpinning the safe staffing campaign, is the recognition that safe staffing is not just about numbers, but also about skill mix, education and training. The RCN’s education, learning and development strategy is a key priority for the committee. As well as providing governance to the development of the strategy for 2021-2024, committee members will go on to oversee its implementation, continuing to engage members throughout the process.
The committee will also be leading work to develop a UK-wide RCN professional career framework for registered nurses and nursing support workers across all settings and levels of practice. A member of the PNC will be co-chairing the expert reference group taking this forward with participation from across the RCN’s wider membership including forums and fellows.
This year, the committee will also work with the RCN Research Society to look at developing a research strategy for the College. The committee works closely with all the RCN’s professional forums and networks, and is leading a review to look at the criteria by which they are established, and the resources and support available to ensure their work continues to contribute to and influence the College’s professional agenda.
The committee is also responsible for ensuring that the work and contribution of RCN fellows is recognised and integrated into the RCN’s work.
How does the PNC work with the RCN Trade Union Committee?
Although each committee is independent and responsible for different aspects of the RCN’s work, the PNC works closely with the RCN’s Trade Union Committee.
Chair of the Trade Union Committee Graham Revie attends part of the PNC’s formal meetings to update on the pay campaign and Chair of the PNC Rachel Hollis will in future be providing regular updates to trade union committee members on work related to the staffing for safe and effective care campaign.
Find out more or get in touch
If you’re logged in as an RCN member, you can see agendas and key messages from PNC meetings on our website. Take a look.
To find out who represents you on the committee and how to contact them, visit our Professional Nursing Committee page.
Join the committee
Nominations are currently open to join the RCN Professional Nursing Committee. Find out more and apply before 3 September 2021.
