Revalidation 'not too onerous for nurses'

Revalidation should not prove too onerous for nurses, Wales’ chief nursing officer Jean White has said. 

Nearly 16,000 nurses and midwives will be the first to go through the Nursing and Midwifery Council's new process in April. From then, all new and existing registrants will revalidate every three years to show their fitness to remain on the register.

Speaking at the RCN Wales leadership summit in Cardiff last week, Dr White said revalidation is an 'important regulatory step’ for the profession.

Having a reflective discussion with a fellow registrant, and getting practice-related feedback and third-party confirmation are among the key requirements of revalidation. 

Dr White said nurses may question when they will be able to have the conversations needed to fulfil these requirements, particularly during the busy winter months. But she added: ‘Revalidation is not onerous and it is over a three-year period.’

She said: ‘Revalidation follows what we have been doing for some time with appraisals and the conversations that people are having. We are starting to have more examples of peer review going on. 

‘It is coming at a time when there are a number of activities that are helping professionals to ensure that what they are doing is the best it can be.’

The NMC has said that more than 60% of the registrants who are due to revalidate next month have started or completed their applications.