Revalidation time

In her blog, Lynne Hall, Senior Nursing Policy Manager at Health Education England (HEE), reflects on her own experiences of revalidation and provides some advice to nursing staff going through the process. 

There are commonly held myths that nurses like me who work in nursing policy development and  therefore don't have a direct patient facing role will have difficulty in evidencing their practice for revalidation; in my view this can't be further than the truth! Like other nurses, the whole focus of my role is to ensure that I contribute to the delivery of outcomes for the people who use health services, their family and/or supporters and the ethos of my practice, is enshrined in ensuring that I meet the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Code.

Having been a nurse and latterly a Health Visitor for more years than I'm prepared to admit in print(!) I was firstly registered by the General Nursing Council (yes, that long ago) then the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting, and of course now the NMC and never before have I felt more rigorously regulated than now.

I am tremendously proud to be called a nurse with all the privileges that brings us in terms of the positive way I truly think that the public still see us, so to me Revalidation is both evidence to the fact that I am fit to not only continue to practice but also uphold the public belief in nursing.

Having been involved in the early NMC revalidation planning at the start, I knew quite some time ago that I would probably be one of the registrants involved in the early days of it going live. Even though I had a good understanding of the requirements, I must admit that I approached the looming May 1st date with a little trepidation!

Right, where to start? While I had started a Post-Registration Education and Practice (PREP) portfolio, if I'm honest my later written reflections weren't as plentiful as they ought to have been but I do keep a journal which was very helpful alongside my electronic diary. In the event, I found that just having the time to sit down and reflectively think and write about me as a nurse, was quite a cathartic experience. I have no doubt that I use the knowledge, skills, competence, values and beliefs that I have acquired from starting as a cadet nurse to the role I'm in today. I also know that both the things that went well and not so we'll, have positively influenced my practice.

As all my continuing professional development in the last three years has either been related to conferences, residential courses etc., I found the participatory element of great value. I welcome feedback as a learning opportunity and tend to naturally seek it as it enables me to both reflect on my nursing practice and my senior management role so it was quite easy to evidence. I do think it is important to think creatively about receiving it particularly when you’re not in a direct clinical role.

The easiest decision I made was to ask Lisa Bayliss-Pratt, HEE Director of Nursing, and Deputy Director of Education and Quality to have a reflective discussion with me and be my confirmer. It was a first for both me and Lisa, and we both felt that it was an enjoyable and meaningful experience.

Overall, I found revalidation a really valuable exercise and my advice for other nurses and midwives? Don’t’ worry about and if you are, talk to someone, me if you want to and visit the NMC revalidation microsite as there are also lots of useful resources on it including a set of very helpful films. Then if you’ve not already registered on NMC online do it now as there is information you can input before you get as far as meeting with your confirmer. When that’s done and you are ready to submit, you will be ready to quickly press the button.

Happy revalidation!

Lynne can be contacted at lynne.hall1@nhs.net.