How to write reflective accounts for NMC revalidation

20th April, 2023

Posted by Pulse Jobs

General

When writing reflective accounts for your nursing revalidation, there are specific requirements to meet.

Within this guide, we’ve put together nursing reflection ideas for your revalidation. We’ve also looked at what you need to include in your reflective accounts and compiled all our advice on how to write them.

We’ve also produced a revalidation reflection example to help you as you begin to write your reflective accounts. Head straight to the reflective accounts example here.

Reflective account support with Pulse

When Pulse is your main employer, we can provide you with a full revalidation service. This includes reviewing your reflective accounts as well as supporting you with the completion of your reflective discussion and confirmation.

For nurses who work with us but where we aren’t your main employer, we can still offer valuable support and knowledge during your revalidation.

Requirements for your reflective accounts

Revalidation, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) compliance process for nurses, requires you to write five reflective accounts. You must then use these to form your reflective discussion with another NMC-registered nurse, midwife, or nursing associate.

Your five reflective accounts for revalidation must be entered into the official template form provided by the NMC. Each form contains four sections, all to be completed by yourself. Within the form, you are required to answer the following questions:

What was the nature of the CPD activity and/or practice-related feedback and/or event or experience in your practice?
What did you learn from the CPD activity and/or feedback and/or event or experience in your practice?
How did you change or improve your practice as a result?
How is this relevant to the Code?

When completing the form, it is important that you only refer to yourself in the reflective accounts, without mentioning anyone else by name or other identifying details.

Reflective ideas for revalidation

When writing your NMC reflective accounts, focus on your real-world experiences as a nursing professional. Choose experiences that have happened in the last three years (within the current revalidation period). Some reflective ideas for your revalidation include:

One of your continuous professional development (CPD) focus areas
Practice-related feedback you’ve been given on your work
An event or experience you’ve had
An incident or complaint
A combination of the above

The reflections that you carry out encourage a culture of sharing and open discussion. They help you to identify changes and improvements that you can make to your practice. They also help to raise awareness of the Code and encourage you to consider the Code in your practice and professional development.

How to write your reflective accounts

Writing your reflective accounts provides you with the opportunity to analyse and evaluate your experiences and achievements. Many people find that this time for reflection gives them fresh motivation in their day-to-day roles.

It is good practice to reflect as part of your weekly routine. Most nurses reflect on their everyday practice all the time, either on their own or through discussions with colleagues. Regularly writing down notes will also help you to accurately recall details and save time later.

Within the NMC reflective accounts template, you’re first asked to outline the nature of the CPD activity, practice-related feedback and/or event or experience in your practice. You then need to expand further on your chosen examples and talk about:

1. What you learned

Here you can talk about how your chosen activity or piece of feedback led to you developing a new understanding of your work and a new approach.

You may want to outline the impact that the chosen event had on you. You can then show how and why you developed a different strategy or perspective following on from it.

2. How it changed and improved your practice

In this section, you must document how your chosen activity or piece of feedback changed and improved your practice. Never write that it has not changed your practice. Essentially, this section needs to highlight how you have applied actionable learnings from the first section.

3. How it relates to the Code

In the final part of the form, you need to demonstrate how your chosen example meets one or more of the principles within the Code:

Prioritise people
Practise effectively
Preserve safety
Promote professionalism and trust

You first need to specify which principle the experience is relevant to. Then, you need to talk about the most relevant guiding statement from within that principle.

Across the five reflective accounts, you must refer to each theme of the Code at least once.

Writing style tips for your reflective accounts

Your NMC reflective accounts don’t need to be extensive in length. There’s no need to be overwhelmed by the various sections that you need to complete. Also, try not to make your answers too brief. Be sure to carefully answer all the questions and demonstrate your understanding of the standards required within the nursing profession.

You can use bullet points to format key information in a way that’s easy to digest. Just take care to write in full sentences within and/or around this to properly convey what you’ve experienced and learned. The nursing reflective accounts don’t need to be written academically or professionally. Simply give honest and thoughtful responses, and this should fulfil what is required.

Reflective accounts example

If you’re still looking for inspiration to help with writing your reflective accounts for revalidation, we’ve put together the below example.

What was the nature of the CPD activity and/or practice-related feedback and/or event or experience in your practice?

Feedback given to the team following a Serious Clinical Incident that had occurred on a ward where I regularly worked agency shifts.
The Ward Manager and Matron were implementing the resulting action plan and changes to practice for the whole ward team.
These included actions and changes relating to:
– documentation
– risk assessments
– handover
– SBAR – Situation Background Assessment Recommendation
– escalation of care.

What did you learn from the CPD activity and/or feedback and/or event or experience in your practice?

Changes in my clinical practice regarding all the above are transferrable to other areas where I undertake shifts and would improve my patient care and teamwork within the whole Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT).

Myself and other members of the MDT would become:
– more efficient
– improved communication
– improved patient and relative satisfaction
– improved patient safety

How did you change or improve your practice as a result?

I took these changes in the way I practiced to other areas where I undertake shifts and shared this good practice with other healthcare staff.

I became a better practitioner by taking this approach throughout my practice in all areas I worked.

How is this relevant to the Code?
Select one or more themes: Prioritise people – Practise effectively – Preserve safety – Promote professionalism and trust

Prioritise people – section 1 – 5 of the code
Practise effectively – section 6 – 12 of the code
Preserve safety – section 13 – 19 of the code
Promote professionalism and trust – section 20 – 25 of the code

How Pulse can support your revalidation

At Pulse, we have supported hundreds of nursing professionals through their revalidation with our tried-and-tested process.

Once you identify that you’d like to revalidate with Pulse and that we’re your main employer, we’ll make sure you never miss a deadline. We’ll send forms and templates to you ahead of time. We can also offer reflective accounts guidance and ensure you have the support you need before your reflective discussion. We’ll carry out your reflective discussion with you and act as your confirmer too.

If we aren’t your main employer, but you’re cleared to work with us, we can also provide valuable support. We can send you your required reports containing your hours, CPD information, and other details needed to inform your documents.

If you’re looking to join Pulse, take a look at the nursing job vacancies that we currently have available. You can also register your interest in joining us and we’ll be in touch to discuss your work preferences.