The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has announced a new UK centre for checking the competence (OSCE) of nurses and midwives trained Overseas. The NMC introduced a New OSCE at Oxford Brookes University. The new Centre opening next month will increase capacity, leading to shorter waiting times, and improve flexibility with the choice of location, In order to join the NMC’s register, nurses and midwives trained outside the EU and EEA must successfully take a two-part test of competence. The first part is computer-based(CBT) and can be taken anywhere in the world. If successful, applicants must then take the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) in the UK. The fact that the OSCE needs to be taken in the UK has resulted in situations where some trusts have had to use newly-recruited overseas nurses in healthcare assistant roles while they wait for their test slot. The existing OSCE centre opened at University of Northampton in 2014 and increased its capacity in 2016 to meet demand. It will continue to offer the OSCE. The NMC said the new test centre at Oxford Brookes University will offer the test of competence across two sites in Oxford and Swindon, and will be open for booking from December 2016.A third UK test centre is also likely to be introduced early in 2017.
