Nursing Midwifery Council( NMC) UK has announced it’s changing its International English Language Testing System – known as IELTS – requirements for overseas nurses and midwives from both within the European economic area and beyond. It will increase flexibility for applicants while ensuring that the appropriate standard of English language is still achieved. The latest change shows the NMC has responded to concerns from nurses and employers that the difficulty of the test was proving a barrier to recruitment at a time of nurse staffing shortages.