Regulation and the empowerment of nursing

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has been a vanguard for the regulation of nursing standards worldwide. In the European region ICN has organized three workshops at which nurses representing 14 countries* critically examined their national legislations and, with their respective nurses' associations, devised concrete plans to change the regulations where necessary in their respective countries. Compared with developing countries, the structures in the European countries are more established and resistant to change, thus making it more difficult for European nurses to break the hard-fast regulatory encasement. An area that has received special attention has been the regulation of nursing specialties, particularly issues relating to their identity and control. An active participant in ICN's European regulation workshops and chief executive of the UK's regulatory body for nursing and midwifery, Colin Ralph takes a stand for empowering the nursing profession through regulation and offers assistance to those who need help in developing nursing regulations, not only in Europe but worldwide.