The incoming revalidation process is an opportunity for practice nurses to display their skills, a leading nursing figure has said.
Heather Henry, an independent nurse and co-vice chair of the NHS Alliance, made the comments after a twitter discussion for @weGPNs that looked at the effect revalidation might have on the practice nursing workforce. Speaking to Independent Nurse, she suggested that revalidation was an opportunity to raise awareness and recognition of the work of practice nurses.
She said: 'We should use revalidation to demonstrate how great we really are. Shouldn't we therefore open our portfolios and promote what we have achieved, rather than dread the prospect?'
The twitter discussion also highlighted the need for clear examples of how practice nurses can revalidate. Ms Henry said that the process may be difficult to orchestrate for practice nurses, who often work in small teams or alone, and therefore could find it difficult to choose a confirmer since it is common for a practice nurse's line manager not to be a nurse.
She said: 'You'll often find that a nurse's line manager won't be a nurse, so where can a practice nurse find a confirmer? We need to outline the process more clearly for how practice nurses can revalidate properly. For example, how do we avoid the situation where two practice nurses agree to be each others' confirmers and go easily on each other?'
The revalidation process will begin in April 2016, with all registrants at the NMC required to complete it on their date of renewal. Concern has previously arisen that some nurses may not have enough information about the process.