This autumn and winter, UNISON’s nursing and midwifery sector is hosting an interactive series of online discussions focused on key policy issues that matter to you.
All members are invited to take part in these seminars — a chance to share your experiences, raise your voice, and help shape the future of nursing and midwifery. Your insights will directly inform UNISON’s policy development and campaigning work.
Each session will be supported by representatives from our elected nursing and midwifery committee, alongside expert speakers from across the sector. Together, we’ll explore the challenges and opportunities facing our professions — and how we can influence change.
We’re stronger together in UNISON. Join us, be part of the conversation, and help steer the strategy that supports and empowers our workforce.
Making practice placements work for students, Wednesday 26 November 2025, 2pm-4pm
Healthcare students spend a large proportion of their studies on practice placements. However, UNISON students often report poor experiences — from being used merely as an extra pair of hands to not receiving the reasonable adjustments, supervision, or support they need to thrive.
These challenges are not limited to students. We also hear from our members who are practice assessors and supervisors, many of whom face significant barriers such as lack of time and insufficient training to effectively support students in practice.
Recognising these issues, the NMC is currently reviewing practice-based learning for students, with recommendations for change expected in the coming years. In parallel, the Chief Nursing Officer’s upcoming professional strategy for nursing and midwifery will include a focus on improving student retention — a crucial step in strengthening the future workforce.
This creates an exciting opportunity for UNISON to influence policymakers and the government as they consider how best to educate more students and expand the health workforce.
To ensure our voice is strong and representative, we are keen to hear directly from both healthcare students and registered professionals who support students in practice. Your experiences and insights are vital to shaping the future of healthcare education.
Join this seminar to:
- Understand more about your rights on placement as a healthcare student
- Learn more about the NMC Practice Learning review
- Share your experiences and insights into what helps — and what hinders — the delivery of high-quality practice learning
Regulation of advanced nursing and midwifery practice, Thursday 18 December 2025, 2pm-4pm
There are growing numbers of nurses and midwives working in advanced practice roles. They use their evidence-informed knowledge, skills and experience to shape, deliver and lead effective and person-centred care, while managing risk, uncertainty and complexity.
With the government’s 10-year health plan committing to expanding nurse consultant roles and developing advanced practice models, and the NMC undertaking a review of advanced practice that will lead to additional regulation, this is an important moment for the profession.
The growth of advanced practice in nursing and midwifery offers exciting opportunities for career progression. But to ensure advanced practice works effectively for both staff and patients, it’s essential that nurses and midwives have access to the right education, ongoing professional development, and effective employer support — including supervision — to practise safely and confidently.
Join our upcoming seminar to:
- Learn more about the NMC review of advanced practice
- Share your experiences and perspectives
Right band for the job – value nurses fairly, Wednesday 28 January 2026, 2pm-4pm
Nurses are taking on greater responsibility for patient care, managing increasingly complex conditions, working with more autonomy, and developing advanced clinical skills. But for too many, job descriptions haven’t kept been regularly updated, meaning they fail to reflect your responsibilities and the knowledge and skills you bring to your role.
As a result, many nurses are regularly performing duties above their band — without the pay or recognition that should come with it. While this affects nurses across all bands, we know it’s especially common at Band 5.
With the release of new national job profiles for nursing and midwifery, UNISON is launching a campaign to make sure nurses are fairly banded and properly paid for the work they do.
Join this seminar to:
- Find out what the new job profiles mean for you
- Share your experiences from your role and workplace
- Help us build a strong campaign to ensure every nurse is paid the right band for the job
Only Enough is Enough: Making safe staffing a reality, Wednesday 18 February 2026, 2pm-4pm
Staff shortages are placing unfair strain on you and your colleagues and putting patients at risk. Every day, you and your colleagues are stretched too thin, expected to deliver safe care without the staffing levels to support it.
UNISON branches across the UK are taking action. Through local safe staffing campaigns, we’re collecting shift-level data directly from nursing and midwifery staff and using it to hold employers to account.
The results from the first two years of this campaign are deeply concerning: most shifts are reported as having unsafe staffing. And when staff raise concerns, they rarely receive a meaningful response from their employer.
Join our upcoming seminar to:
- Hear from UNISON nurse leaders who are driving local safe staffing campaigns across a range of settings
- Share your own experiences of unsafe staffing and its impact on you and your patients
- Help build our national campaign to demand safe staffing for every shift, every team, and every patient