Accountable use
- Educators
- Students
- Programme leads
The NMC Code review and AI
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is rewriting the Code for the first time in over a decade, and AI is one of the topics it covers. This page sets out what is proposed, what already applies today, and how you and your students can take part.
- Proposed change: the NMC plans to add expectations on the "safe and effective use of digital and other technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI)" to the Code (NMC, July 2026).
- Consultation timing: the public consultation on the draft Code was first planned for September to December 2026. It was pushed back, and the NMC now says it will launch by the end of November 2026. It had not opened when this page was checked (NMC future standards; Nursing Times, September 2026).
- Revalidation: consultation on revalidation has been separated from the Code and delayed by at least six months, so the NMC can take account of stakeholder feedback and independent inquiry recommendations (NMC).
- No date yet has been confirmed for when a new Code would take effect.
How UK AI professional regulation is converging (2026–2027)
What applies now: 6 core NMC Code standards
Until a new Code is published and in force, the current Code applies in full, including when you use AI. There is no separate NMC AI standard yet, but these existing standards already cover most AI use:
Privacy & confidentiality
Don't put identifiable information into AI tools your organisation hasn't approved for that purpose.
Best available evidence
Check AI output against authoritative sources (NICE, BNF, local policy) before acting on it or teaching it.
Clear & accurate records
You are accountable for anything AI drafts for a record, including notes from AI scribes. Check and correct it before saving.
Limits of competence
Don't rely on AI for decisions you couldn't make or explain yourself.
Reduce potential for harm
Treat AI suggestions as a prompt for your judgement, not a replacement for it.
Uphold professional trust
Act with honesty and integrity, including in how you use and disclose AI in academic and professional work.
Read the full Code: NMC Code online.
For students, the NMC's programme standards already expect universities to confirm and develop digital and technological literacy throughout pre-registration programmes (Standards for pre-registration nursing programmes, requirement 1.1.7).
What is changing around the Code
The NMC's proposals
In its early engagement, people told the NMC they want clearer standards on the safe use of AI tools in practice (NMC). The draft Code is expected to include expectations on digital technologies including AI, alongside stronger expectations on anti-discrimination, public protection and professional behaviour. The exact wording will only be known when the consultation opens.
Joint principles from UK health and care regulators
On 17 September 2026 the NMC, the Professional Standards Authority and the other UK health and care professional regulators committed to develop shared high-level principles on how they will regulate professionals' use of AI (NMC, September 2026). No publication date has been set for the principles. In its October 2026 response to the National Commission (below), the government said a working group of regulators will clarify professionals' responsibilities, with further details by spring 2027 (GOV.UK, October 2026, recommendation 24). The aim is consistent expectations whether you are a nurse, doctor, pharmacist or allied health professional.
The National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare
Convened by the MHRA, the Commission published its recommendations on 10 September 2026 (GOV.UK). Two points matter most for nurse educators:
- It warns that responsibility for AI-related errors can fall on individual professionals without enough recognition of how the AI and the wider system contributed, and calls for clearer allocation of responsibility between manufacturers and providers.
- It recommends a coordinated approach to AI education, covering initial education, postgraduate training and continuing professional development (Pharmaceutical Journal).
On 6 October 2026 the government accepted all 44 recommendations (GOV.UK, October 2026). For education, it says AI capability expectations for healthcare professionals and students will be built into existing professional education, with further details by spring 2027 (recommendation 32). This suggests AI literacy is likely to become a more explicit part of nursing curricula and CPD.
How to take part
- Sign up for updates from the NMC's Code and revalidation review, so you hear when the consultation opens (NMC future standards).
- Respond when the consultation opens. Registrants, students, educators, employers and the public can all respond.
- Run a group response. A teaching session built around the draft wording is a practical way to develop professional judgement and to give the NMC a student perspective.
Teaching activity: draft your own AI standard
- Scenario sort (10 min). Give groups four short scenarios: a student using AI to draft a care plan, an AI scribe summarising a consultation, a nurse pasting a discharge letter into a chatbot, and an educator using AI to mark reflections. For each, which current Code standards apply?
- Draft (15 min). Write one sentence, in Code style ("You must..."), setting out what a registrant should do when using AI.
- Test (10 min). Swap drafts. Does the sentence protect patients? Can it be followed in practice? Would it still make sense in five years, as the technology changes?
- Compare (10 min). When the NMC's draft is published, compare it with your group's sentences and consider sending your views to the consultation.
Related: AI scribes on placement · Guardrails for nurses · Safe use checklist
Quick self-check: NMC Code & AI Today
A colleague says: 'Because the new NMC Code consultation hasn't finished yet, there are currently no NMC standards that govern how nurses use AI.' How should you respond?