Overseas improvements assist the road to regulation

October has officially arrived to signal the end of summer and the arrival of colder months, bringing along with it the approach of Halloween. This month also brings something new to the aesthetic sector, as the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) brings in a regulation regarding improvements to help overseas nurses join the NMC register (NMC, 2019).

While there seems to be no end to Brexit dominating headlines and screens being bombarded with stories describing the difficulties faced by European residents living in the UK, this regulation is a commitment to not only strengthen our international relationships, but also continue paving the way on the road to stronger aesthetic regulation. It was just last May that a ‘dramatic fall [in] the number of nurses and midwives from EU countries’ aroused feelings that safe practice could be taken back a step with a shortage of trained professionals (Campbell, 2019). However, the NMC regulation brings with it hope that the ongoing fight in regulating aesthetics is heading in the right direction, with victory nearer than ever before. The regulation will bring with it improvements ranging from a move ‘from a paper to an online application system’ to a ‘further reduction in the cost of the computer-based test’ (NMC, 2019). Such advancements not only ensure that highly experienced overseas nurses can become part of the UK workforce, thus ensuring patient safety and a continually improving standard of care, but also assists in evading often-avoidable delays which can prevent nurses from practicing.