updated nurse revalidations standards and guidance

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has updated its revalidation standards and guidance in line with a planned review and stakeholder feedback.

Key changesAll documents except the Code have been revised. The standards and guidance includes:

• New examples of circumstances which would not count towards practice hours, i.e. work as a healthcare assistant or placements undertaken as part of a shortened midwifery training course.
  
• Changes in How to revalidate and the guidance sheet to explain why the reflective discussion partner must be a registrant and why the discussion must be a single discussion with one other person.
• Changes to the continuing professional development (CPD) examples to clarify that CPD is separate and different from everyday learning. Coaching and mentoring counts when it involves a specific skill. Group meetings should be outside of everyday practice.
• An explanation on how confirmation differs from appraisal, and clarification that confirmation is not an assessment against the requirements of the registrants current/former employment.
• Amendments to the alternative support arrangements guidance sheet to explain that applications for exceptional circumstances, due to lack of time, will not generally be accepted if nurses and midwives have been practising for more than six months since the guidance was launched. Registrants are expected to meet the requirements in a timely manner, on an on going basis.
  
• Clarification that where applicants declare they are not able to meet the revalidation requirements due to health reasons, their application may be referred to the assistant registrar for consideration in line with NMC guidance on health and character.

Further information 
To find out more about revalidation, please visit our revalidation for nurses and midwives section of the website.  Download the revised guidance documents