All nurses, midwives and nursing associates in the UK have to go through revalidation every three years to keep their registrations active with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
Revalidation can feel a bit intimidating and complicated, but it’s actually a simple process. Getting revalidated shows that you’re a safe, effective nurse, midwife or nursing associate.
If you’re feeling nervous in the runup to revalidation, flip your viewpoint. Revalidation can be a chance to review your skills and think about how you apply them, and how you stay true to the NMC Code. It’s also the perfect opportunity to share your learning and experiences with a trusted colleague who can give you valuable feedback.
Let’s look at the language used during revalidation to see what it really means.
Meeting the requirements
Tip 1. Practice Hours
“You must have worked at least 450 hours as a nurse, midwife or nursing associate in the previous three years.”
This might seem like a lot, but it really isn’t – especially if you work 12-hour shifts. If you work three 12-hour shifts per week, you can achieve your practice hours in just 3 months: amazing how quickly they add up!
Tip 2: Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
“You must have at least 35 hours of CPD, of which, 20 hours must be participatory.”
In simple terms, “participatory learning” is an activity you do with one or more other health and social care professionals. It doesn’t have to be face-to-face training. Participatory learning can be group supervisions, team meetings, case conferences, virtual meetings or webinars.
If you need to top up your continuing professional development (CPD) hours, Florence Academy offers participatory webinars and e-learning modules. All of the modules have CPD time in the overview section, ranging from 15–60 minutes per course. Like our First Aid course, with 8 great chapters and only ranging from 30-40 mintues, try it out today!
Tip 3: Feedback
“You must have collected five pieces of practice-related feedback over the previous three-year period.”
Most of us already get a range of feedback from our supervisors, clients and colleagues. It might be formal or informal, written or verbal, but it all counts as long as you keep a record of the things you’re told and how you apply them to your practice.
If you work for Florence, your profile has a peer review rating score, which is a valuable form of feedback given by the people you work with.
Written feedback can include formal supervisions or appraisal documents, or informal “thank you” cards from a patient or service user. You can also track verbal feedback to use during revalidation.
Tip 4: Written reflective accounts
“You must have prepared five written reflective accounts in the previous three year period.”
Your five written reflections can be about a piece of CPD training, feedback or an experience from your work as a nurse, midwife, or nursing assistant.
You’ll need to use the NMC template to write your reflections, which can be handwritten or typed up. They don’t need to be thousands of words long, and you don’t need to use complex language.
Write about the key things you learned, how your practice has developed and how the experience relates to the NMC Code. Your reflection doesn’t have to be about a negative event: it’s great to look at things that went well, too!
Tip 5: Reflective discussion
“You must have had a reflective discussion with another NMC registrant, covering your written reflective accounts and how they relate to the Code.”
Some people think they can only have reflective discussions with their line managers. Actually, you can choose any colleague you feel comfortable talking to, as long as they’re also registered with the NMC.
This conversation is often the most rewarding part of the revalidation process, and can strengthen relationships between colleagues. It’s usually best to have a chat face-to-face over a coffee.
If you’re an agency nurse, choose a colleague that you regularly work with. If you work with Florence, a branch nurse (or a nurse in the governance team) can support you if you’re having trouble finding a colleague you feel comfortable reflecting with.
Click here to see the NMC reflective discussion form.
Tip 6: Confirmation
“You must declare that you have demonstrated to an appropriate confirmer that you have met the revalidation requirements.”
Your “confirmer” can be the same person you have your reflective discussion with – so, your supervisor or a trusted colleague. This person reviews all your evidence and confirms that you’ve met the standards for revalidation using the NMC confirmation form.
When you’re ready, set up a meeting with your confirmer, show them all your evidence and explain how you’ve met NMC revalidation standards. Confirmation is the last step in the revalidation process.
Revalidation made simple
We hope you’ve found these six tips useful, and that they make revalidation easier for you. You can find out more about the revalidation process by completing the Florence Academy Guide to Nurse Revalidation module (which also counts towards your CPD hours).
Florence can help you find flexible shifts near you, take essential training courses and improve your work-life balance, so find out more and sign up today. If you join Florence as a nurse, our compliance team will support you through registration.
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