Editorial

Improving access to CPD is absolutely vital

Revalidation has arrived. Years in the making, testing and fine tuning, the new system is designed to offer assurance to the public that nurses and midwives are keeping their knowledge, skills and practice up to date. The first 16,000 registrants to be affected directly have until this week to complete the process on the Nursing and Midwifery Council website.

Revalidation has arrived. Years in the making, testing and fine tuning, the new system is designed to offer assurance to the public that nurses and midwives are keeping their knowledge, skills and practice up to date. The first 16,000 registrants to be affected directly have until this week to complete the process on the Nursing and Midwifery Council website.

This week’s Nursing Standard is packed with essential information on what you will have to do when your turn comes. We also launch the #1hour2empower campaign to improve access to continuing professional development (CPD), which is a central pillar of revalidation.

The campaign is necessary because you have told us in your thousands that obtaining the funding, time and backfill to attend training courses and other CPD activities continues to be a considerable challenge. The full findings of the RCNi survey are on page 12, but here are some of the most striking.

CPD for nursing staff is not an optional extra that employers can support if they wish

Almost four in ten say that their employer does not give them time off to complete CPD, about one third have encountered resistance from their line manager and a similar proportion have had to pay for their own training. Some report taking annual leave to carry out CPD, and a few have even resorted to going off sick.

Revalidation is a personal, professional responsibility. But it is incumbent on employers to play their part by making it as easy as possible for nurses and midwives to meet the NMC’s requirements. This would improve staff retention – and that should be motivation enough – but even more importantly it will enhance patient safety.

It should not be forgotten that a system of revalidation for nurses and midwives was among the recommendations in the Francis report on the care scandal at Stafford Hospital. CPD for nursing and midwifery staff is not an optional extra that employers can support if they wish, but an essential investment in safer, more effective care and outcomes.

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