Revalidation Workshop

Facilitators Guide

Purpose:

The purpose of this facilitators guide is to provide you (the Revalidation Coach) with the relevant information to enable you to facilitate coaching sessions with all registered nurses within your area of responsibility.

The guide will cover how to facilitate the sessions you will need to deliver to support all registered nurses with the process of revalidation.

The sessions to be delivered are;

  1. Introduction to Revalidation
  2. Developing and Maintaining your personal professional portfolio
  3. The role of the Code
  4. Writing reflections
  5. Reflective discussions
  6. Continuing professional development
  7. Practice-related feedback
  8. Confirmation
  9. Completing your online application
  10. Verification process
  11. How to find out more information?

Materials required:

The materials and resources you’ll need in order to deliver these sessions are;

  • Presentations for each session to be delivered
  • Copies of the NMC templates for nurses to complete
  • Copies of the NMC and Bupa guidance documents
  • Printed copies of the session activities
  • PC and projector
  1. Introduction to Revalidation

The purpose of this session is to provide an introduction to revalidation and what is required in order to revalidate. By the end of this session our nurses should understand;

•What revalidation is and its requirements

•The benefits of revalidation

•How revalidation links to the Code

•The importance of keeping a portfolio

The Code

You will need to explain that the NMC updated the Code of Professional Standards in March 2015, partly because they hadn’t been updated since 2008 and partly because of criticism the profession had faced from reports such as the Francis report.

The new code should be used as a living guide at the heart of everyday practice and it centres around 4 themes;

•Prioritising people

•Practising effectively

•Preserving safety and;

•Promoting professionalism and trust with public protection being at the core of the updated Code.

Activity 1 - 10 minutes

What do these 4 themes mean to you personally within your scope of practice?

Facilitator to break participants into 4 groups (no more than 7 per group) each taking a theme – nominate a feedback lead – 5 minute discussion within group on what the Code means to individuals.

Facilitator to get examples from each group to share with the wider group – 5 mins

If the group is larger than 28 participants – repeat the theme allocation.

Revalidation Requirements

You will need to explain that revalidation is about a change in behaviours and culture. All registered nurses will be required to revalidate every three years in order to renew their PIN registration. Nurses will need to meet a range of requirements in order to revalidate. This is to show that they are living by the Code of Professional Standards.

Explain that revalidation is designed to show that nurses are keeping up to date and practising safely and effectively. It is also designed to emphasise continuous learning and development rather than an exercise to complete once every 3 years.

Re-enforce the continuity of the process, participation is on an ongoing basis rather than a one point in time assessment and must not be a last minute rush to get the required evidence.

Benefits of Revalidation

You will need to talk through the anticipated benefits of revalidation for the public, for employers, for the NMC and for the Nurses themselves.

When do they need to revalidate

Provide the group with an explanation of how they will find out their revalidation renewal date. This can be found on their NMC online account. Once they log in they will see two dates, one is their annual registration fee retention date and the second is called the renewal date. The renewal date is their revalidation date. This date replaces the Notification of Practice date, however is a continuation of this three yearly cycle.

The NMC will provide a reminder notification to all nurses 60 days prior to their renewal date. At this point the online revalidation application form will be available to complete. All nurses will be required to complete their online application form prior to their renewal date.

For example, if your renewal date is 30 April, your revalidation application date will be 1 April.

You will need to reiterate that revalidation will take place every 3 years at the point of renewal and that nurses and midwives will still need to pay their retention fee every year.

  1. Developing and Maintaining your personal professional portfolio

One of the most important parts of the revalidation process is the recommendation that every nurse and midwife maintains a portfolio. The portfolio is the place to save all of the evidence nurses accrue that proves they are able to meet the revalidation requirements.

Contrary to what many people think, there is no requirement for the portfolio to be

online or use an e-portfolio. However some nurses and midwives prefer the traditional approach, storing hard copies of meeting notes, CPD certifications and personal reflections in a folder.

Whatever type of portfolio that works best for the nurses, will prove incredibly helpful when the time comes to revalidate. But be aware that some elements of revalidation are required to be stored in paper form, such as the reflective discussion document and the form completed by your confirmer. These can be accessed from the NMC website.

The NMC recommends that nurses keep their portfolio until after the next revalidation,in other words, for a full three-year cycle. As an example, if the nurse revalidates in May 2016, we suggest that they should keep the portfolio until after they have revalidated again in May 2019. Maintaining this record will help them to demonstrate continuing professional development and that they have access to all the relevant evidence to meet the requirements for the revalidation process and should make the process simple and straightforward. The process of collating the evidence will also help the nurses to identify any gaps in their evidence before the revalidation date, giving them time to complete any necessary CPD, collate practice related feedback or prepare a reflective account.

Remember to reiterate that the confirmer will want to see the nurses portfolio to be able to verify the declarations they have made as part of the Revalidation process.

  1. The role of the Code

You will need to reiterate the importance of the Code in the nurses everyday practice and how it should be used as a ‘living guide’ at the heart of their practice.

There are then two activities to take the group through to help with their understanding of the role of the Code in their practice, these are;

  1. Writing reflections

Explain the NMC’s requirement of writing at least five reflective accounts over the three period between their revalidation dates. You will need to talk about the importance of and purpose of this requirement as well as how their reflections should always relate and link to the Code.

Highlight that the written reflective accounts can cover CPD, practice-related feedback and/or experiences in a nurse or midwife’s own practice. Explain that their reflections will need to include what they have learnt, how it has improved or changed their practice and also how it relates to the Code.

Each reflective account can be about an instance of CPD/feedback/event or experience in practice, or a combination of both. For example, a reflective account could be created based on a particular topic which may have arisen through personal or team feedback.

Each of the 5 reflections must relate directly to one or more themes of the Code as it may be the case that the subject content may reflect more than one theme.

There must be 5 separate written reflective accounts in total over three years.

The NMC has provided a form that you must use to record your reflections.

Explain that reflections are not routinely required to be submit a copy to the NMC. However, you must retain these in your portfolio as a record and your confirmer will want to see this.

  1. Reflective discussions

This session should last approximately 30 minutes.

Explain that the registered nurses must have a reflective discussion with another NMC registered nurse. This must cover the five written reflections and how they relate to the Code.

Explain what the purpose and importanceof having a reflective discussion. Describe how having a discussion with another registered nurse about your reflections will encourage a culture of sharing, reflection and improvement amongst nurses.

You will then need to facilitate an activity about reflective discussions. The activity will take approximately 5 minutes.

Activity 2 - 5 minutes

Ask for feedback on the question ‘What is reflective discussion?’

Capture the feedback on a post it notes. Then consolidate feedback using the slides in the reflective discussion presentation.

Remember to emphasise the need for the reflective discussion to take place with another NMC registered nurse and to highlight the professional development opportunity this give this provides the reflective discussion partner with.

Explain the knowledge and skills the reflective partner will need. Provide the group with some of the qualities the reflective discussion partner should have, for example, good listener.

Describe the preparations both the registered nurse and the reflective partner need to complete in order to take part and lead a reflective discussion.

You will then need to facilitate another activity. This activity should take approximately 12 minutes.

Activity 3 -12 minute exercise – 5 minutes each – facilitator to call half time.

Each participant to use reflective account from previous module.

Each participant to practice reflective discussion techniques.

Action for facilitator

Put up next slide from the presentation (Linking to the Code) during the discussion.

You will then need to explain to the group how they will need to record the content of their reflective discussion and also how to complete the reflective discussion form.

You will also need to discuss what the confirmer will need to see in relation to the reflective discussion. It is not the role of the confirmer to assess the written reflective accounts or the reflective discussion. They simply need to be satisfied that these requirements have been met.

At the end of the session don’t forget to recap and confirm that the group should now understand;

How to hold a reflective discussion and link this to the Code

Who your reflective discussion partner can be

How to record your reflective discussion

  1. Continuing professional development

In this session you will need to provide the group with information about the CPD requirement for revalidation.

You will need to explain that they must have undertaken 35 hours of continuing professional development (CPD), relevant to their scope of practice as a nurse, in the three year period since your registration was last renewed or you joined the register.

Remember to discuss the importance of this requirement, particularly the 20 hours of participatory learning element. Explain that this is to reduce isolation, encourages sharing of knowledge and ideas.

Provide the group with information about how to meet the requirement.

Then facilitate an activity with the group so that they can demonstrate their understanding of participatory and individual learning.

The activity will take approximately 3 minutes

Activity 4 -3 minutes

Ask the group to give examples of what they think individual, and then participatory, CPD might be.

If necessary clarify the difference.

Remember to define participatory learning – any learning activity in which you personally interact with other people. It is an activity undertaken with one or more professionals or in a larger group setting. This can include a virtual environment, such as an online discussion group, and can include interaction through social media.

Highlight which of the types of CPD outlined on the slide are specifically participatory learning and why. This type of CPD will also help to challenge professional isolation.

Clarify that the list of CPD shown on the slide is not an exhaustive list and these examples do not have to be included.

Reiterate that nurses and midwives are best placed to decide what CPD is best for them.

This list of what can be included as CPD can be found in the NMC’s How to revalidate guidance document.

Explain that mandatory training such as health and safety and fire training does not count unless it is specifically relevant to their scope of practice. Also, mandatory training such as fighting financial crime would not count.

Highlight that nurses will be required as part of revalidation to reflect on CPD. Reiterate that nurses should begin to think about how their CPD links to the Code.

You will then need to discuss with the group how they will need to evidence their CPD including what records will need to be shown to the confirmer.

Show the group the NMC CPD log template that they will be required to complete.

Finally, recap on the session and ensure that the group understand the requirement of CPD, the requirement of participatory learning and how to evidence their CPD.

  1. Practice related feedback

This session will last approximately 25 minutes.

In this session you will need provide the group with information about the purpose of the practice-related feedback requirement for revalidation. Explaining that it will encourage registered nurses to be more responsive to the needs of customers, patients, residents, relative and service users by seeking feedback from those they work with and care for. It can also be used to make improvement to the nurses’ practice.

Explain that nurses do not need to go out and specifically set up procedures to gather feedback. They will be receiving this throughout the natural course of their duties. It is about recognising when they receive it

Before moving on to the next slide, facilitate an activity by asking them the group to give examples of where they think feedback can come from – maybe use a show of hands exercise to gather as many different examples.

Moving on to the next slide explain how they will need to meet this requirement. Explain that feedback can come either orally or in writing and can relate to personal or team practice. It is recommended that a note is kept of any feedback. This will be helpful when preparing reflective accounts.Nurses may collect more that the required five pieces but only need to note the details of five.

Emphasise that feedback can come in a variety of forms and is not just ‘formal’ feedback. Also highlight that they are likely to already receive a range of feedback.

You will then need to explain to the group how they will need to record their feedback. It is recommended that they use the NMC’s practice related feedback log to note the details of the feedback received.

Remember to advise them never to identify any individual, whether alive or deceased within these records.

You will then need to facilitate an activity in which the group will discuss their experiences of receiving feedback and to reflect on what they learnt from it.

The activity will last approximately 15minutes.

Activity 5 -Working in pairs each participant will share a positive and constructive experience of feedback (briefly) with their partner that has occurred over the last year. They must reflect on what learning they achieved and how they changed their practice.

Each nurse should quickly note this for their personal use.

Ensure that nurses are aware that they don’t need to write long, detailed notes on the feedback they receive. The feedback they receive will feed in to the five written reflective accounts they will prepare, and that are covered in a separate module.

Action for facilitator: Put up next slide while discussions are taking place to act as an aide memoire.

You will then need to provide the group with information about what the confirmer will need to see in order to demonstrate that they have met this requirement.

At the end of this session the group should understand the requirement for practice-related feedback, the different types of feedback, where it can come from and how to record their feedback.

  1. Confirmation

This session should take approximately 40 minutes.

Ensure, as facilitators, you are familiar with the updated Code of professional standards, including;

Duty of Candour
Every healthcare professional must be open and honest with patients when something goes wrong with their treatment or care which causes, or has the potential to cause harm or distress.

Social media
The Code recognises the changing nature of communications and sets standards for acting responsibly, including the use of social media.

Fundamentals of care
The Code sets standards of fundamental care and provides examples of what this includes, such as nutrition, hydration and environmental cleanliness

Medicines management and prescribing
Standards that clearly set the context for prescribing, supply, dispensing and administering medications.