Aim To provide a synthesis of literature on international policy concerning professional regulation in nursing and midwifery, with reference to routes of entry into training and pathways to licensure.
Conclusions Multiple regulatory systems, with multiple routes of entry into initial training and multiple pathways to licensure pose challenges, in terms of achieving commonly-agreed understandings of practice competence. Implications for nursing management The variety of models of initial training present nursing managers with challenges in the recruitment and deployment of personnel trained in many different jurisdictions. Nursing managers need to consider the potential for considerable variation in competency repertoires among nurses trained in generic and specialist initial training models.