Revalidation celebrates one year anniversary

The Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) revalidation programme celebrated its one year anniversary on Saturday. Revalidation, which at the time was described as the biggest regulatory change in a generation, has seen over 200,000 nurses and midwives successfully revalidate. 

Revalidation was launched in April 2016 and requires all nurses and midwives on our register to demonstrate on a regular basis that they are able to deliver care in a safe, effective and professional way. Despite initial concerns, there has been no adverse effect on the size of the register as a result of revalidation and the number of nurses and midwives renewing their registration is in line with our expectations and previous years' data.

Chief Executive and Registrar Jackie Smith said: “I’m delighted that the first year of revalidation has been such a success. Despite some initial fears, feedback has been overwhelmingly positive with nurses, midwives and employers alike praising revalidation for being simple, straightforward and beneficial to practice. 

Jackie continued “We have received fantastic support from our stakeholders, which has been particularly valuable as the success of the revalidation process is dependent on it working at all levels and in all parts of the system.  We will continue to work closely with our stakeholders in the future to identify any areas for improvement and ensure that nurses and midwives continue to be supported through the process.” 

One nurse who has been through revalidation said: “Like any other change, going through the revalidation process was daunting initially. However, once I had more information and having seen the videos on the NMC website, I embraced the process fully and enjoyed it in the end. Reading through the great feedback given to me actually made me feel valued and empowered.”

Despite the success of the first year, we recognise that two thirds of our register still needs to go through revalidation for the first time. We continue to update our resources and guidance, taking into account feedback from nurses, midwives and employers and will continue to support each and every person through the process over the next two years and beyond. 

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Notes for editors

1.  For media enquiries, please contact NMC press office on 020 7681 5649 or email media@nmc-uk.org. 
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2. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the independent professional regulator for nurses and midwives in the UK. We exist to protect the public. We do this by maintaining the register of qualified nurses and midwives and setting standards of education, training, conduct and performance. We make sure that nurses and midwives keep their skills and knowledge up to date through a regular revalidation process. If concerns are raised about the standards of a registered nurse or midwife, we have a duty to investigate and, where necessary, take action to protect the public.