Key documentation to have in your revalidation portfolio

The importance of good documentation for your revalidation portfolio

Registration as a nurse, midwife, or nursing associate with the NMC isn’t just a one-off activity. It is something that must be renewed every three years through revalidation.

We understand that the prospect of revalidation can seem daunting, particularly the first time around. But it can be simple, smooth, and trouble-free, particularly if you’re well-prepared ahead of time and have kept good documentation and records within your revalidation portfolio.

With the Guild, we’re here to support you as much as we can with your revalidation. We have voluntary training courses for our nurses, a revalidation section on Quick Nurse to provide quick access to approved NMC forms and guides along with an exclusive revalidation Facebook forum and revalidation meetings for all our full-time nurses.

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Building and keeping your revalidation portfolio

What is a revalidation portfolio?

While a revalidation portfolio may sound complex, it’s simply a place where you keep and save both documentation and evidence relevant to your NMC revalidation. This will include records of your practice hours, continuing professional development (CPD), the feedback you’ve received and reflections.

A portfolio will help to ensure your revalidation remains a simple and straightforward process. It will make it easier for you to access and share necessary information with your confirmer and the NMC. Having all your documentation together in one place will also allow you to identify and rectify any gaps before the deadline. All in all, it helps to make the process less stressful and more time efficient.

How to build and maintain your revalidation portfolio

You can create and store your revalidation portfolio in different ways:

• Online (such as in the cloud)
• Digitally on your laptop or PC
• As a hard copy in a series of folders in a file

If you’re keeping an electronic revalidation portfolio, download copies of templates from the NMC website. Also, scan in any evidence or documentation that’s on paper and drop it into your revalidation folder on your desktop or save it to your online portfolio. We would recommend keeping your revalidation portfolio online, as it makes it easy for you to store your documents securely and upload everything when you’re ready.

If you choose to maintain a paper portfolio, print off all the necessary documentation and templates from the NMC website or Quick Nurse and insert them in the correct sections of your folder. When gathering evidence for your revalidation, photocopy items and place them into your folder.

NMC revalidation documentation requirements

What documents do I need to complete for revalidation?

Your portfolio needs to show that you meet the revalidation requirements. This includes:

A log of your practice hours

You need to gather evidence of your practice hours. This should account for a minimum of 450 hours during the three years since your initial NMC registration or last registration renewal. If you’re revalidating as a nurse and midwife you will have to gather evidence for 900 hours of practice, 450 hours for each registration.

The log of your practice hours needs to include:

• Dates of practice/shifts
• The number of hours you undertook
• Name, address and postcode of the organisations, trusts or clients you have worked for – remember, you only need to list the Guild as your employer to cover the hours that you have worked for us
• Scope of practice
• Work setting
• A description of the work you undertook
• Evidence of practice hours, such as your timesheets

Ways to gather evidence of your practice hours can be through:

• Timesheets
• Pay slips
• Quick Nurse shift history

The NMC has provided a downloadable template to help you record your practice hours.

A CPD log

When completing the NMC CPD log form, you need to show that you have completed up to 35 hours of CPD (of which 20 hours must be participatory).

Your CPD log needs to include:

• How the CPD was undertaken
• A description of the topic and how it relates to your practice
• The dates of the CPD activity
• The number of hours you spent on this activity (including the number of participatory hours)
• The part of the Code most relevant to the activity
• Evidence that you have undertaken the activity

When collating evidence for your CPD log, this documentation can include:

• Attendance certificates – you can purchase certificates from our training team for any Guild courses that you attend
• Study day programs
• Attendance list
• Emails from providers

A practice-related feedback log

Five pieces of feedback are required for your revalidation. Ideally, the feedback should relate to the Code.

• Your practice-related feedback log needs to include:
• Five pieces of practice-related feedback from the previous three years from any source and in any form. It doesn’t need to be formal feedback received in writing. You just need to make a note of it and say how you used it to improve your practice
• The feedback can come from sources such as service users, students or colleagues; as verbal feedback or in a survey, report, letter or card
• The feedback you collate can’t include any information which might identify any other person. It needs to have come from an anonymised source

The NMC has produced a feedback log template that you can use to record the information. When working with the Guild, please encourage clients to provide feedback at the end of each shift. They can use the Practice Related Feedback box on your timesheet to do this.

Reflective accounts log

As part of your revalidation, you are asked to provide five written reflective accounts around the following areas:

• One of your CPD areas
• Your practice-related feedback
• An event or experience in practice
• An incident or complaint

While you don’t need to submit these reflective accounts during your revalidation, you do need to include them within your documentation to show your confirmer. The NMC reflective accounts form is mandatory and an effective way of maintaining these records.

Reflective discussion document

The NMC’s reflective discussion form is another mandatory document and should be completed following your reflective discussion.

The five reflective accounts that you keep in your revalidation portfolio should be used to form your reflective discussion, which is to take place with another NMC registered nurse. They need to add their signature on the form and provide a summary of your discussion.

If you are a full-time Guild nurse, you can arrange to have your reflective discussion with a member of our team.

Confirmation document

All the documentation and evidence that you have gathered within your portfolio then needs to be shared with your confirmer to ensure you meet the revalidation requirements.

A mandatory NMC document needs to be completed, where the confirmer states that they have seen written evidence supporting revalidation and that you have met all the NMC registration requirements.

If you are a full-time nurse with the Guild, you can arrange to have your confirmation meeting with us, along with your reflective discussion.

Health and character declaration

You don’t need specific evidence stored for this. It is a document where you declare that you are of good health and character, which should be submitted as part of your revalidation.

Professional indemnity arrangement

During your revalidation, you need to state whether your professional indemnity arrangement is through an employer, membership of a professional body or private insurance arrangements.

If you work as a full-time agency nurse, you need to have your own insurance. If you hold a full-time or substantive NHS post or work in a private setting, confirm that you are covered by your employer.

How we support revalidation at the Guild

Here at the Guild, we have produced our 12-step guide to revalidation support for Guild nurses, which is available for anyone to download and print.

We’re also happy to offer support to our agency nurses with revalidation where possible, including voluntary training courses.

You might be interested to read this short blog about revalidation and recording your practice hours.