Are you ready for revalidation?

As chair of the newly renamed RCN general practice nursing (GPN) forum, I am looking forward to 2016. GPNs make a significant contribution to community based health services, but many difficulties in recruitment and retention are still to be overcome. Revalidation is also challenging, with the first nurses revalidating from April 2016 onwards.

Revalidation requirements are clear. Nurses are expected to demonstrate that they are engaged in continuous practice and professional development and professional dialogue with fellow registrants, and to provide evidence of ongoing reflective practice. Along with thousands of other nurses, however, GPNs are not employed by the NHS, and have no guarantee of support for revalidation from their employers.

Most GPs recognise that they are responsible for helping their staff meet specific mandatory requirements so that they can continue in employment. But they may not be aware of their responsibilities in relation to revalidation.

Even if your revalidation is not imminent, you should start a discussion with your employers on how they can support you as soon as possible. Make the most of your appraisal by setting out the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) requirements and how they can be met, and whether they can be mapped to practice aims and objectives.

Reflection as a learning experience can be valuable and does not have to be complicated. You can reflect on any aspect of your work

One area that causes anxiety is that of producing reflections on professional standards of practice and behaviour, as set out in the NMC code of practice. The NMC has produced a template for this, but structured reflection on practice did not form part of many GPNs’ education and so does not come naturally.

Reflection as a learning experience can be valuable and does not have to be complicated. You can reflect on any aspect of your work. For example, has a patient or student nurse asked you a question you could not easily answer? Do you think you have communicated something well?

The crucial element of reflective learning is that you access literature or guidelines about a topic to ensure that, next time you encounter a similar situation, you can provide an evidence-based approach to exploring it.