Nurses and Midwives Act
(Chapter 209, Section 44)
Nurses and Midwives Regulations
Rg 1
G.N. No. S 220/2000

REVISED EDITION 2002
(31st January 2002)
[1st May 2000]
Citation
1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Nurses and Midwives Regulations.
PART I
REGISTRATION, ENROLMENT, CERTIFICATION AND PRACTISING CERTIFICATES
Register of Nurses and Register of Midwives
2.—(1)  The Register of Nurses shall be in such form as the Board may determine and shall consist of the following parts:
(a)a general part containing the particulars of all persons who are registered as registered nurses; and
(b)a supplementary part containing the particulars of all persons who are registered as registered nurses and who are qualified in the nursing and care of persons suffering from psychiatric diseases.
(2)  The Register of Midwives shall be in such form as the Board may determine and shall contain the particulars of all persons who are registered as midwives.
Specialised branches of nursing specified in First Schedule
2A.  For the purposes of section 32(2)(a) of the Act, the specialised branches of nursing approved by the Board are specified in the First Schedule.
[S 391/2006 wef 01/07/2006]
Advanced Practice Nurse Register
2B.  The Advanced Practice Nurse Register shall be in such form as the Board may determine and shall contain the names and such other particulars as the Board may determine of all persons who are certified as Advanced Practice Nurses.
[S 391/2006 wef 01/07/2006]
Roll
3.  The Roll shall be in such form as the Board may determine and shall consist of the following parts:
(a)a general part containing the particulars of all persons who are enrolled; and
(b)a supplementary part containing the particulars of all persons who are enrolled and who are qualified in the nursing and care of persons suffering from psychiatric diseases.
Correction or alteration of Register, Roll or Advanced Practice Nurse Register
4.  The Registrar shall ––
(a)insert in the Register, Roll or Advanced Practice Nurse Register, as the case may be, any alteration which may come to his knowledge to the name, address or other particulars of any registered nurse, enrolled nurse, registered midwife or Advanced Practice Nurse;
(b)insert in the Register, Roll or Advanced Practice Nurse Register, as the case may be, any alteration to the qualifications or any additional qualifications of any registered nurse, enrolled nurse, registered midwife or Advanced Practice Nurse;
(c)correct any error in any entry in the Register, Roll or Advanced Practice Nurse Register; and
(d)remove from the Register, Roll or Advanced Practice Nurse Register, as the case may be, the name of any person whose registration or enrolment as a nurse, registration as a midwife or certification as an Advanced Practice Nurse is cancelled by the Board under section 19 of the Act.
[S 391/2006 wef 01/07/2006]
Application for registration or enrolment
5.—(1)  An application for registration or enrolment shall be made in Form 1 in the Third Schedule and shall be accompanied by the following:
(a)the applicable fee specified in the Second Schedule;
(b)evidence of successful completion of the course referred to in section 14 (1)(a), (2)(a) or (3)(a) of the Act, as the case may be, duly certified by the institution that conducted the course or such other authority as the Board may approve;
(c)if the course is a course referred to in section 14 (1)(a)(ii), (2)(a)(ii) or (3)(a)(ii) of the Act, a statement describing the type, content and duration of the course;
(d)evidence of having acquired such experience in nursing or midwifery as the Board may require;
(e)if the applicant is registered or enrolled as a nurse, or registered as a midwife, in a foreign country —
(i)a certified copy of the certificate of registration or enrolment in that country; and
(ii)a statement from the registration or enrolment body of that country verifying that the applicant is registered or enrolled as a nurse, or registered as a midwife, as the case may be, and that no proceedings have been taken or are pending against him;
(f)if the applicant is not a citizen or permanent resident of Singapore, evidence of a firm offer of employment as a nurse or midwife, as the case may be; and
(g)any other information, statement or document as the Board may require.
(2)  Any document produced under paragraph (1) that is not in English shall be accompanied by a certified translation thereof in English.
(3)  The Board may, in any particular case, dispense with the production of any certificate or other document if the Board is satisfied by other evidence that the information furnished by the applicant is sufficient and correct, and that as regards character and professional competence the applicant is suitable for registration or enrolment, as the case may be.
Application for certification as Advanced Practice Nurse
5A.—(1)  An application for certification as an Advanced Practice Nurse (referred to in these Regulations as certification) shall be made in Form 1A in the Third Schedule and shall be accompanied by the following:
(a)the applicable fee specified in the Second Schedule;
(b)evidence of successful completion of ––
(i)an accredited course in a specialised branch of nursing approved by the Board conducted by an accredited institution or other institution recognised by the Board; or
(ii)a course conducted outside Singapore which, in the opinion of the Board, is equivalent to a course referred to in sub-paragraph (i);
(c)evidence of having acquired such experience in that specialised branch of nursing as the Board may require;
(d)if the course referred to in sub-paragraph (b) is conducted outside Singapore, a statement describing the type, content and duration of the course;
(e)if the applicant is certified as an Advanced Practice Nurse or its equivalent in any territory outside Singapore —
(i)a certified copy of the Advanced Practice Nurse certificate or its equivalent in that country; and
(ii)a statement from the certification body of that country verifying that the applicant is certified as an Advanced Practice Nurse and that no proceedings have been taken or are pending against him; and
(f)any other information, statement or document as the Board may require.
(2)  Any document produced under paragraph (1) that is not in English shall be accompanied by a certified translation thereof in English.
(3)  The Board may, in any particular case, dispense with the production of any certificate or other document if the Board is satisfied by other evidence that the information furnished by the applicant is sufficient and correct, and that as regards character and professional competence the applicant is suitable for certification.
[S 391/2006 wef 01/07/2006]
Induction programme and competency assessment
5B.  Before certifying a person as an Advanced Practice Nurse under section 32 of the Act, the Board may require the person to undergo such induction programme or competency assessment as may be approved by the Board, and the Board may refuse to certify him if he fails to undergo or complete such induction programme or competency assessment.
[S 391/2006 wef 01/07/2006]
Provisional certification as Advanced Practice Nurse
5C.—(1)  The Board may provisionally certify as an Advanced Practice Nurse a person who has been required under regulation 5B to undergo an induction programme or a competency assessment.
(2)  If a person who is provisionally certified becomes certified under section 32 of the Act, his certification shall date from his provisional certification.
[S 391/2006 wef 01/07/2006]
Temporary certification as Advanced Practice Nurse
5D.  Subject to regulation 5A, where a person has fulfilled such conditions as the Board may specify for his case, the Board may grant temporary certification as an Advanced Practice Nurse to that person, in order to enable him to ––
(a)teach, undertake research or study in Singapore;
(b)undergo training under a training scheme approved by the Board; or
(c)provide voluntary nursing service under a volunteer scheme approved by the Board.
[S 391/2006 wef 01/07/2006]
Board may impose conditions
5E.—(1)  The Board may, in certifying a person as an Advanced Practice Nurse, impose such conditions on him as the Board considers appropriate to his case, and may at any time vary or revoke the conditions or impose new conditions on him.
(2)  Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1), the conditions may include a condition limiting the fields of nursing and the institutions in which the person may practice.
[S 391/2006 wef 01/07/2006]
Renewal of temporary registration, enrolment or certification
6.—(1)  A person who is ––
(a)temporarily registered or enrolled under section 16 of the Act; or
(b)temporarily certified as an Advanced Practice Nurse under regulation 5D,
may apply in writing to the Board for renewal of his registration, enrolment or certification, as the case may be, no later than one month before the expiration of his registration, enrolment or certification.
[S 391/2006 wef 01/07/2006]
(2)  The application shall be accompanied by such information, statements and documents as the Board may require.
Competency assessment and examination
7.—(1)  The Board may conduct, or make arrangements for an institution approved by the Board to conduct —
(a)the competency assessment referred to in section 15(4) of the Act or regulation 5B; or
(b)such examination as the Board may require an applicant for registration, enrolment or certification to undergo.
(2)  An applicant may undergo the competency assessment or examination up to such number of times as the Board may determine.
Registration Committee
8.—(1)  The Board shall appoint a committee to be known as the Registration Committee.
(2)  The Registration Committee shall consist of not less than 4 members of the Board and such number of other persons as the Board may decide.
(3)  The Board shall appoint a member of the Registration Committee as the chairman of the Committee.
(4)  The term of office of the members and the quorum of the Registration Committee shall be determined by the Board.
(5)  The Registration Committee shall examine such classes of applications for registration or enrolment as the Board may determine, and for this purpose the Committee may interview each applicant, make inquiries and take such other action as the Committee considers necessary.
(6)  The Registration Committee shall advise the Board whether an applicant whose application has been examined by the Committee —
(a)should be registered or enrolled, as the case may be, and if so, the conditions to be imposed on him; or
(b)should be required to undergo the induction programme or competency assessment referred to in section 15 of the Act or any examination referred to in regulation 7.
Advanced Practice Nurse Accreditation Committee
8A.—(1)  The Board shall appoint a committee to be known as the Advanced Practice Nurse Accreditation Committee (referred to in these Regulations as the APN Accreditation Committee).
(2)  The APN Accreditation Committee shall consist of —
(a)the Chief Nursing Officer; and
(b)6 other members, of whom not more than one shall be a member of the Board and not less than 2 shall be medical practitioners registered as specialists under the Medical Registration Act (Cap. 174) who are in active clinical practice.
(3)  The Board shall appoint a member of the APN Accreditation Committee who is a member of the Board as the chairman of the Committee.
(4)  The chairman and members of the APN Accreditation Committee shall be appointed for a term not exceeding 3 years.
(5)  At any meeting of the APN Accreditation Committee, 4 members shall form a quorum.
(6)  Any question arising at a meeting of the APN Accreditation Committee shall be determined by a majority of votes of the members present and, in the case of an equality of votes, the chairman of the Committee shall have a casting vote.
[S 391/2006 wef 01/07/2006]
Functions of APN Accreditation Committee
8B.  The functions of the APN Accreditation Committee shall be ––
(a)to determine and approve the qualifications, experience and other conditions for certification;
(b)to approve specialised branches of nursing for the purposes of section 32(2)(a) of the Act;
(c)to form an Advanced Practice Nurse Certification Panel, consisting of not less than 3 members, to examine applications for certification, interview each applicant and make such other inquiries as the Panel considers necessary, in order to determine whether the applicant is eligible for certification;
(d)to grant to any person who has the qualifications for certification a letter to that effect, according to the findings of the Advanced Practice Nurse Certification Panel; and
(e)to advise the Board on matters affecting or connected with the practice of Advanced Practice Nurses.
[S 391/2006 wef 01/07/2006]
Practising certificate
9.—(1)  An application for a practising certificate or its renewal shall be made ––
(a)together with an application for registration, enrolment or certification in Form 1 or 1A in the Third Schedule, as the case may be; or
(b)in Form 2 in the Third Schedule or such electronic form as the Board may provide,
and shall be accompanied by the applicable fee specified in the Second Schedule and such other information, statement or document as the Registrar may require.
[S 391/2006 wef 01/07/2006]
(1A)  The Board may make any modification or amendment necessary to the electronic form for the purpose of facilitating the submission of that form.
[S 391/2006 wef 01/07/2006]
(2)  Where a practising certificate is lost or accidentally destroyed, the holder thereof may apply to the Board for a duplicate certificate and the Board may, if it thinks fit, issue a duplicate certificate upon payment of the applicable fee specified in the Second Schedule.
(3)  The Board may require the applicant to submit a statutory declaration certifying the loss or destruction of the original certificate.
Form of certificate of registration, etc.
10.—(1)  A certificate of registration or enrolment or an Advanced Practice Nurse certificate shall be signed by the Registrar and shall be under the seal of the Board.
(2)  Where a certificate of registration or enrolment or an Advanced Practice Nurse certificate is lost or accidentally destroyed, the holder thereof may apply to the Board for a duplicate certificate and the Board may, if it thinks fit, grant a duplicate certificate upon payment of the applicable fee specified in the Second Schedule.
(3)  The Board may require the applicant to submit a statutory declaration certifying the loss or destruction of the original certificate.