
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is a registered
trade union
A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
and
professional body
A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) is a group that usually seeks to advocacy, further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in ...
in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
for those in the profession of
nursing
Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...
. It was founded in 1916 as the College of Nursing, receiving its
royal charter
A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...
in 1928.
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
was the patron until her death in 2022,
King Charles III
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms.
Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
continued the royal connection and became patron in 2024. The majority of members are
registered nurse
A registered nurse (RN) is a healthcare professional who has graduated or successfully passed a nursing program from a recognized nursing school and met the requirements outlined by a country, state, province or similar government-authorized ...
s; however student nurses and
healthcare assistants are also members. There is also a category of membership, at a reduced cost, for retired people.
The RCN describes its mission as representing nurses and
nursing
Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...
, promoting excellence in practice and shaping health policies. It has a network of stewards, safety representatives and union learning representatives as well as advice services for members. Services include a main library in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, and regional
libraries
A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...
. The RCN Institute provides courses for nurses.
History
The College of Nursing Ltd was founded on 27 March 1916, with 34 members, as a professional organisation for trained nurses. On a proposal from Dame
Sarah Swift (then matron of
Guy's Hospital
Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital founded by philanthropist Thomas Guy in 1721, located in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the Kin ...
) and
Arthur Stanley, chairman of the
Joint War Organisation, developed with
Rachael Cox-Davies (matron of the
Royal Free Hospital) and
Alicia Lloyd-Still (matron of
St. Thomas Hospital ) the College was founded with articles of association.
The objectives of the College were 1) to promote better education and training of nurses , 2) to promote uniformity of curriculum, 3) to recognize approved nursing schools, 4) to make and maintain a register of persons who had certificates of proficiency in nursing and 5) promote bills in parliament in support of the interests of the nursing profession.
Eleven
matron
Matron is the job title of a very senior or the chief nurse in a hospital in several countries, including the United Kingdom, and other Commonwealth countries and former colonies.
Etymology
The chief nurse, in other words the person in charge ...
s signed the founding articles of Association , one of whom was
Margaret Elwyn Sparshott.
It attempted amalgamation with the
Royal British Nurses' Association, but this was frustrated, largely by the efforts of
Ethel Gordon Fenwick
Ethel Gordon Fenwick (née Manson; 26 January 1857 – 13 March 1947) was a British nurse who played a major role in the History of Nursing in the United Kingdom. She campaigned to procure a nationally recognised certificate for nursing, to sa ...
.
In March 1917 the college had 2,553 members and, by 1919, 13,047, a great deal more than the RBNA. It had most of the nursing places on the
General Nursing Council
General Nursing Councils for England & Wales, Scotland, and Ireland (then one country and part of the United Kingdom) were established by three country specific Nurses Registration Act 1919, Nurses Registration Acts 1919. Each General Nursing C ...
when it was first established, and by 1925 it had about 24,000 members. Membership was restricted to registered general nurses. The college initially excluded male nurses, and those on the mental, mental subnormality, fever and children's nurses' registers from membership.
Annie Warren Gill
Annie Warren Gill & Bar (1862 – 2 March 1930) was a British nurse who served as president of the College of Nursing in 1927.
Life
Gill was born on the Isle of Man and trained as a nurse at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh eventually bei ...
was one of the founders of the Scottish board of the College of Nursing which held its first meeting on 1 November 1916 in Edinburgh. She was instrumental in setting up local branches in Scotland to increase membership. Gill also proposed in 1922 that married members be considered part of the College, having realised that there would be a nursing shortage following World War 1.
A royal charter was granted in 1928.The organisation became the College of Nursing and
Frances Goodall
Frances Goodall CBE (8 December 1893 – 22 July 1976) was a British nurse who was General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing and a founder of what became the Colostomy Association.
Personal life and career
Goodall was born in Dulwich ...
its Assistant General Secretary. The college pushed for registered nurses to be given precedence, and to be in charge. In 1935 Frances Goodall became General Secretary and the
Trades Union Congress
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...
promoted a Parliamentary
bill to secure a 48-hour working week for all hospital employees. The college opposed this and was accused by the TUC of being "an organisation of voluntary snobs". In 1939 the college's name was changed to “the Royal College of Nursing”. The Ministry of Health guaranteed a salary of £40 to nursing students in training in 1941, about double what voluntary hospitals were paying before the war. The College said that this was too high. In 1943 the College held nine seats to represent 'employees' on the
Nurses Salaries Committee The Nurses Salaries Committee was the first official body to fix salary scales and conditions for nursing in England. It was founded in 1941, and ceased its activity with its last report in 1943. Henry Betterton, 1st Baron Rushcliffe or Rushcliffe, ...
chaired by
Lord Rushcliffe which published two reports in 1943. In the 1940s the College joined efforts by the
Equal Pay Campaign Committee to secure equal pay for public sector employees, particularly women civil servants, teachers and nurses, which in 1955 was agreed by government to be implemented in stages.''
'' In 1963, active RCN member
Grace Margery Westbrook became the first practising nurse to be elected Chair of the Staff Side Committee, Nurses and Midwives
Whitley Council 1963-1969; her RCN activities had included being elected Council member representing Southern England in 1959.
Since 1977 the RCN has been registered as a trade union.
21st century
In 2018, after a pay agreement was not clearly explained to the membership, the Chief Executive and General Secretary Janet Davies resigned and
Dame Donna Kinnair was appointed in an acting capacity. She was confirmed in the role in April 2019. A motion of no confidence in the RCN Council was called shortly afterwards and passed in September 2018 with 78% of votes, but on a turnout when only 3.7% of the membership voted. As well as the Chief Executive and General Secretary, the Director of Member Relations had previously resigned.
Twelve of the 17 council members resigned, 10 of them standing for re-election in the subsequent election.
In 2019, the RCN's first strike – limited to Northern Ireland, over staffing and pay issues – took place.
In May 2019, the Royal College of Nursing voted to back the “decriminalisation” of prostitution.
In April 2021,
Pat Cullen started acting as General Secretary & Chief Executive, and was appointed as interim General Secretary & Chief Executive in July 2021.
In August 2021, the RCN cancelled its annual meeting of members in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
following allegations of sexual harassment and said the 2021 Congress would now be held virtually in order to safeguard those attending.
In 2022, the RCN held a strike ballot over pay, held separately across NHS trusts and boards. Its members went on strike as part of the
2022–2023 National Health Service strikes.
The RCN commented that from 2010 (the start of the government's
austerity programme) to 2022, pay for nurses had fallen by 20%.
The government offered a 5% pay rise to most
Agenda for Change
Agenda for Change (AfC) is the current National Health Service (NHS) grading and pay system for NHS staff, with the exception of doctors, dentists, apprentices and some senior managers. It covers more than 1 million people and harmonises their ...
classes;
the RCN demanded a pay rise of
retail price index
In the United Kingdom, the Retail Prices Index or Retail Price Index (RPI) is a measure of inflation published monthly by the Office for National Statistics. It measures the change in the cost of a representative sample of retail goods and servi ...
inflation plus five per cent.
Around 60 per cent of NHS workplaces in England reached the turnout necessary to legally strike. Outside of Scotland—where the government began negotiations over its 7.5 per cent offer—strikes took place on 15 December and 20 December 2022.
In England, further strikes took place in January and February 2023.
Offices

The UK headquarters are at 20 Cavendish Square, London, a
Grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
building. This also serves as the England HQ and London region offices.
Additional country headquarters are based in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.
Additional England regional offices are located in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
,
Bolton
Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...
,
Bury St Edmunds
Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well as market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds an ...
,
Croydon
Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...
,
Exeter
Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...
,
Leeds
Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
,
Newbury,
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
, and
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
.
Council
The RCN is governed by its Council. Council members represent members, making decisions that meet the RCN's legal and statutory requirements. These include responsibilities as set out in the royal charter and in trade union legislation.
As at 2024 Council is made up of 17 elected members. 14 of these members are elected directly to the role. 12 are elected by the geographical sections (Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and 9 English regions). One member is elected by student members (RCN Students). One member is elected by Nursing Support Worker members. These 14 members choose 3 Council officers from among themselves for the roles of Chair of Council, Vice Chair of Council and Honorary Treasurer.
All RCN members elect the final three roles of RCN President, RCN Deputy President,and the Chair of RCN Congress (non-voting).
The RCN's General Secretary is appointed by Council. Council members are not paid to serve on Council but voluntarily give up their time to serve the RCN and its members, in their governance role.
Chairs of Council (since 2005)
* 2005–2013 Sandra James
* 2013–2018 Michael Brown
* 2018–2019 Maria Nicholson
* 2019– Sue Warner
* Since 2024 Paul Vaughan
Presidents
Chief Executive & General Secretary
RCN libraries

The RCN has four physical libraries in London, Cardiff, Belfast and Edinburgh.
The largest of these is in London, which is also responsible for the online library services.
The London library was founded in 1921, and claims to hold Europe's largest nursing library resource.
Due to its Museum holdings, the Library is a member of
The London Museums of Health & Medicine group. Special collections include the printed Historical Collection and the RCN Steinberg Collection of Nursing Research, the latter of which comprises over 1,000 nursing theses and dissertations 1950s-2010s.
The RCN Archive is physically held in Edinburgh, with increasing online services
Fellowships
Fellowships are selectively awarded by the RCN in recognition of exceptional contributions to nursing. Honorary fellowships are granted by the RCN Council to those who are unable to become an RCN member, either because they are from overseas or because they work outside the nursing profession. Only a small number of fellows are elected each year. For example, in 2021, 11 fellows and two honorary fellows were elected, and in 2022, five fellows and three honorary fellows were elected.
Fellows and honorary fellows are entitled to use the postnominal FRCN.
RCN publications
As at 2024 the RCN produces an online member publication ''RCN Magazine'' (formerly ''RCN Bulletin'')
RCNi (previously RCN Publishing) produces ''
Nursing Standard
''Nursing Standard'' is a weekly professional magazine that contains peer-reviewed articles and research, news, and career information for the nursing field. The magazine was founded in 1987. It is published by RCNi. The magazine is abstracted and ...
'', which is available through subscription and on news stands. It also publishes a range of journals for specialist nurses: ''
Cancer Nursing Practice'', ''
Emergency Nurse'', ''
Learning Disability Practice'', ''
Mental Health Practice'', ''
Nursing Children and Young People'', ''
Nursing Management
Nursing management consists of the performance of the leadership functions of governance and decision-making within organizations employing nurses. It includes processes common to all management like planning, organizing, staffing, directing an ...
'', ''
Nursing Older People'', ''
Nurse Researcher'' and ''
Primary Health Care
Primary health care (PHC) is a whole-of-society approach to effectively organise and strengthen national health systems to bring services for health and wellbeing closer to communities.
Primary health care enables health systems to support a pe ...
''.
See also
*
List of nursing organisations in the United Kingdom - Wikipedia
References
Further reading
*
*
*
National Network of Learning Disability Nursing
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal College Of Nursing
1916 establishments in the United Kingdom
Grade II listed buildings in the City of Westminster
Health in the City of Westminster
Medical museums in London
Nursing organisations in the United Kingdom
Organisations based in the City of Westminster
Professional associations based in the United Kingdom
Royal colleges
Trade unions established in 1916