As our clients demand greater and greater accountability, we as professionals are increasingly being challenged to meet rising expectations. This is translating into an emphasis across professions and borders on the continual improvement of practice by individuals, employers, regulatory bodies, and governments. This editorial sets out to describe the changes to the nursing re-registration process happening in both Canada and the UK, and the increased emphasis on lifelong, self directed learning as the mechanism for ensuring continued competence in practice. In particular, we will describe how resources such as Evidence-Based Nursing and the Cochrane Library can help with the process of continuing professional development (CPD) and registration.

Most nurses undergo a basic training that lasts for 3 or 4 years. This training equips them with basic competencies and prepares them for a 30 or 40 year career in which most of their learning will take place. Historically, payment of an annual fee was the only requirement for maintaining registration as a nurse, but there have long been concerns that this is no safeguard against outdated knowledge and an unthinking approach to practice. Whereas CPD was once viewed as a desirable option, it is now a prerequisite for periodic re-registration.