01.06.15
Do not underestimate the challenges of nursing revalidation
Source: NHE May/June 15
Nursing revalidation could create a significant level of extra administration on an already stretched service warns Jo Parker-Swift, lead for health at Equiniti, who here looks at the challenges facing both employers and their nursing staff – and the possible solutions.
It’s more than three years since revalidation commenced for doctors and, while it is now successfully bedded in, the lessons learned in the implementation are relevant for the revalidation of nursing practitioners.
With around three times as many nurses as doctors, the administrative challenges must not be underestimated when revalidation for nurses and midwives comes into effect in December. In short, by identifying the challenges, it will be easier to implement a system that works for you.
The process must be straightforward, streamlined and proportionate and available 24/7. Any process must be workable across a broader environment than doctors’ revalidation as many more will work remotely. This is critically important as it is very easy to over-engineer a process that may look great on paper, but won’t work in practice. The system needs to keep control, but must not be costly or bureaucratic.
It is also important to think about how the revalidation might work with other systems such as the appraisal process, CPD or specific/quantifiable business measures. Equiniti will be launching a new revalidation process in June, which integrates both revalidation and the organisational appraisal, in addition to integrating with any pre-existing systems.
It is important to manage expectations and provide feedback, as revalidation is a means to an end, not the solution in its entirety. In a profession that is often castigated by the media, feeding back a reality check is essential for your staff, patients, stakeholders and the community. For example, our analysis (based on more than 50,000 interviews) showed that 98% of patients are satisfied with the overall experience provided by their doctor, and there is much more granular information available. For instance, 99.35% said they have confidence in their doctor. Similar feedback will be important for your nursing staff.
Technology will be essential; in our experience, paper-based systems are inefficient, especially on a large scale, and much more prone to errors and, ultimately, expensive. The technology must also integrate seamlessly with existing technology systems used on PCs and tablets, and have full reporting and reduce costs.
The NMC revalidation pilot group recently confirmed the need for technology when it suggested that an electronic portfolio integrated with an organisation’s appraisal system could be the way forward.
Equiniti is one of a handful of suppliers providing software that can manage this process. More importantly, we are also looking to revolutionise the revalidation process by providing the very first system of its kind to be rolled out for the revalidation of all healthcare professionals, whilst integrating with organisational appraisal.
Our platform enables a nurse or midwife to move and take their revalidation account with them, which we see as critical given the turnover of many nursing staff. This ‘transportability’ will reduce administration and also cut costs.
I also believe that revalidation is a critical step in improving the quality and safety of patient care. Dr Katerina Kolyva, director of continued practice at the NMC recently said (in an interview with NHE in the previous edition): “The behavioural change that revalidation brings cannot be underestimated.”
This is because it creates reflection on practice rather than just ticking boxes.
My final recommendation to all trusts and nursing and midwifery staff is to engage with their peers and anyone that has first-hand experience of the revalidation process, and not to be deterred. We already have 15,000 nurses who have expressed an interest in getting organised for revalidation using E360, and we have a small, dynamic, flexible team to work and evolve with them.
As the King’s Fund recently stated through its research in this field: “Electronic systems work.”
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