The NMC's public consultation into the revalidation of nurses closed on Monday 31 March. Approximately 6500 submissions were received from individual members of the profession.
The week before the consultation ended, the NMC held a revalidation and code review summit in London. The day began with an introduction from NMC chief executive Jackie Smith, before a stakeholder panel took questions from the audience on the NMC's proposals. In all, 15 questions were posed by a range of nurses and midwives, but not one of these came from a practice or community nurse, although I understand that a small number were able to attend.
The NMC proposes that revalidation be linked to existing appraisal or other processes for evaluating performance and setting goals. There is also the question of who will validate renewal of registration. Third-party feedback has also been proposed as evidence that would need to be submitted as part of the revalidation process.
Community and practice nurses have many employment models that would not easily fit with these proposals. What will this mean for them? Attending the NMC summit made me wonder how many practice and community nurses submitted their views to the NMC, who is keen to hear from everyone.
I couldn't help but notice that practice and community nurses were conspicuous in their absence at the NMC's London summit. Summits will also take place in Belfast Leeds and Cardiff in May and June. Further details can be found on the NMC website.
I urge you to engage with the NMC's proposals on revalidation and the Code, and to express your opinions at every opportunity. It is only by contributing that nurses will have a revalidation model that best suits all registrants. A consultation on the revised Code will begin in mid May.