Nurse Revalidation: NMC claims decline in nurses “no cause for concern”

Despite large numbers of nurses predicted to leave the profession when revalidation comes into effect in April, the Nursing and Midwifery Council says it will not automatically view this as a concern.

Up to 16,000 nurses are midwives are set to revalidate in April and there are claims that a third could potentially retire when their time is due throughout the year, yet the regulator has analysed trends and is reassuring nurses and midwives about the new system.

According to an NMC report shared with the Nursing Times, annual trends show that the number of staff retiring varies month by month – with April being at the peak of this with 11% of annual leavers departing.

This has been put down to the number of older nurses and midwives who used to only be able to join the register at one of two times a year – which is reflected in previous years’ data showing, of the 3,000 nurses leaving in April each year, the majority are aged over 54.

However, the NMC has predicted it will lose almost 30,000 nurses and midwives in the first year of revalidation, between April 2016 and March 2017 – which could put the size of the register back six years.

The Nursing Times held a recent revalidation conference, which claimed 94% of attendees felt fully prepared for the new system once the day was over. There is another event running in Manchester on 9^th March to help reassure further nurses and midwives.

What are your thoughts about revalidation? Will you be leaving the industry when your time is due or are you confident you will be able to manage the workload and pass the system checks? Let us know on our Facebook page.

If you need further guidance or assistance, you can read more about Revalidation here and, if you’re a Kare Plus nurse, you will receive ongoing support and guidance from your local branch and head office.

More revalidation news:

Nurse Revalidation: who, when, what and how?

30,000 nurses to be revalidated in first quarter of 2016/17

Have you logged in to your NMC revalidation account yet?

Why revalidation could cause a third of nurses to retire