Practice nurses must have their say in NMC revalidation review
What does revalidation mean for nurses working in general practice? Dr Helen Anderson questions whether general practice nurses are given the time and headspace for revalidation, and urges the profession to get involved in the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC’s) ongoing review of the process.
I am the sort of nerdy nurse who quite enjoys the revalidation process. I’m fortunate to work in an environment where the importance of my registration is supported. I value time for reflection and enjoy engaging in reflective discussion with a colleague who asks interesting questions and makes me really think about my practice.
But through my work as a researcher, I’m aware nurses working in general practice can face barriers during the revalidation process, and it makes me question whether they have enough support in the workplace to appropriately carry it out.
The NMC is reviewing both the Code and the revalidation process to ensure they reflect modern standards and practice as well as the current and future health and social care landscape. The current model has been in place for nine years and the review will explore how this can be improved and made robust and accessible regardless of role or background.
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It aims to incorporate fundamentals such as equality, diversity and inclusion as well as AI and reflection on high profile safety enquiries.
To this end a survey was held which closed at the end of 2025. A formal consultation is due to be opened in September 2026 with a view to a new revalidation model being in place by October 2027.
It is important that nurses working in general practice have a voice in the consultation, and help to shape the new model to make sure it suits their needs, protects patient safety, supports effective patient care and is fit for purpose.
So, what does revalidation mean for nurses working in general practice? Given that it’s a demanding process (see box below), is it fully supported by their workplaces and is there the time and headspace to truly consider the process? The picture appears mixed.
Nurses in general practice tell me about issues that affect their everyday working lives that may have an onward impact on revalidation. For example, some nurses tell me they struggle to access adequate CPD.
Some report having to undertake CPD in their own time, often funding it themselves. Sometimes CPD does not fit the needs of the practice nurse, or reflect their professional interests, but rather is focused on the needs of employers and practices. There needs to be a balance but nurses are not always best placed to ensure this can be achieved.
It is also felt by some nurses that their employers do not fully understand CPD requirements or recognise the importance of revalidation more broadly.
For example, It is unclear how much meaningful support nurses working in general practice have with revalidation. I have serious concerns that in many cases there is little protected time given to practice nurses or encouragement or support to identify a fellow registrant who can engage in reflective discussion. I wonder if line managers, where they are not nurses themselves, understand the significance of confirmation? All these concerns become even greater when it comes to lone nurses in practices.
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Of course, there are plenty of great and supportive employers out there helping practice nurses achieve their best. This best practice should be more widely shared (some research on this would be interesting).
However, it remains the case that nurses working in general practice are the experts on their own experiences and it is imperative that their voices are heard. Not only that, given the importance of diversity, equality and inclusion, a broad range of voices within general practice nursing is required so that many needs and views are represented.
Against this background, I’m urging that if you are a nurse working in general practice to please use the opportunity to have your say and engage with the consultation when it opens. While it can feel like another job on a very long list, it’s not just another task.
Any changes will have implications for registration and practice, so it is vitally important that the needs of nurses working in general practice are considered and taken into account to make revalidation a more rewarding process.
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A webinar explaining the revalidation review can be found here.
The revalidation process
Registered nurses and midwives undergo a process of revalidation every three years to maintain their place on the professional register. Alongside the Code, revalidation is seen as the cornerstone for ensuring safe and effective nursing and midwifery practice. Revalidation currently requires 450 practice hours (per registration), undertaking 35 hours of CPD (including 20 hours of participatory learning), gathering five pieces of practice-related feedback, writing five reflective accounts, having a reflective discussion with another NMC registrant, making a health and character declaration, having a professional indemnity arrangement in place and confirmation with a ‘confirmer’ that revalidation requirements have been met. Where possible the confirmer should be a line manager, but if not, they should be a NMC registrant.
Dr Helen Anderson is a registered nurse and research fellow at the University of York
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