Post-registration Education And Practice Research Articles

Revalidation and the new NMC registration process

Changes to the re-registration process will affect all nurses, including those in the cardiac environment. The new revalidation format set out by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) replaces the need for renewal of registration set out in the PREP (Post Registration Education and Practice Standards) Handbook ( NMC, 2011 ). It is scheduled for introduction in April 2016. From that date, all nurses and midwives registered with the NMC will be required to have completed a minimum of 450 practice hours, 35 continuing professional development hours, and undertaken five written pieces of reflection on practice, as well as receiving practice-related feedback and confirmation of all of these activities from a third party. This article aims to summarise the background to these changes, as well as provide an overview of the process and requirements of the new format that will be introduced this year. It is hoped that it may help to prepare cardiac and other nurses for the new NMC registration process.

Revalidation: what does it mean?

© 2 01 5 M A H ea lth ca re L td Post-registration education and practice (PREP) was introduced in 1990 by the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing and Midwifery and adopted by the current regulator, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), to ‘ensure coherent and enforceable professional accountability’ (Gately, 1992). Since 1995, PREP has been a legal requirement for every practising nurse and midwife to maintain their registration. PREP requires confirmation of a minimum achievement of 450 practice hours over 3 years or completion of an approved return to practice programme. Also, it requires we undertake and record our continuing professional development (CPD). However, there have been many challenges to policing such requirements, especially with over 670 000 nurses registered with the NMC. After a deal of research and consultation (NMC, 2014), PREP is being replaced by a system of revalidation. From January 2015, a number of pilot sites introduced a 6-month period to test the process, forms and guidance of revalidation, with a view to refining the model ahead of its roll-out at the end of 2015.

Continuing professional development: the key to demonstrating fitness to practise

Aesthetic nurses provide a myriad of services to a variety of people, in a number of ways. They must demonstrate to these people that they are up to date, competent and confident in the services provided. Ensuring standards and protecting those who use nursing services across the profession within the NHS, the voluntary and independent sectors lies in education and effective regulation, one aspect of regulation is the notion of continuing professional development (CPD). Patients have a right to expect the aesthetic nurses that advise and treat them to be up to date in their knowledge and skills and to be fit to practise. The majority of aesthetic nurses are compliant with the PREP standards, competent and confident; and PREP helps to assure this for the people they care for. This article reminds aesthetic nurses of their responsibilities to patients and their profession concerning Post Registration Education and Practice (PREP). The article also considers the issue of CPD, providing the reader with an example of a framework that can be used to identify and address CPD needs.

Regulator to pilot safer system of checking nurses’ credentials

The Nursing and Midwifery Council has drawn up proposals for a system that will replace the much-maligned post-registration education and practice (PREP) standards.

Continuing professional development for nurse prescribers

All registered nurses and midwives are required to take part in continuing professional development (CPD) in order to maintain their professional registration (NMC, 2004). This is part of the post-registration education and practice (PREP) requirements (NMC, 2004). In addition to this, the NMC (2006) stated that nurse and midwife prescribers have to undertake CPD within their own area of prescribing practice. This article considers the CPD requirements for nurse prescribers under three sections: personal responsibility; accessing CPD; and employer's responsibility. Tools to help identify your own learning needs are discussed and some useful competency frameworks are identified, both of which will assist in identifying and planning your CPD requirements.

Regulation review response

Back in July, the government proposed that the current post-registration education and practice (PREP) periodic registration scheme for nurses should be replaced by a system run by employers using the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF). As consultation on the Foster review of non-medical healthcare professionals’ regulation ended last week, unions made it clear they are against the proposal to replace PREP with this new ‘revalidation’ scheme.

Only 60 practitioners have undergone prep checks

Just 60 nurses and midwives have been checked for compliance with post-registration education and practice (PREP) requirements since the profession’s regulatory body introduced the monthly checking system five years ago.

Nurses’ perceptions of continuing professional development

To investigate NHS and private sector nurses' perceptions of the value of continuing professional development (CPD), and to analyse the factors that influence these perceptions and any potential barriers to successful CPD. Questionnaires were sent to 200 staff working in two NHS trusts and 13 nursing homes. Following analysis of the questionnaires, interviews took place with eight self-selecting respondents to explore certain issues further. Each interview was taped and lasted 30-45 minutes. The venue for the interview was arranged to suit the respondent, either in a private office in the work environment or at home. Written consent was sought before taping the interview. From the results of the postal questionnaires a largely positive perception of CPD was determined. However, it was shown that there were some barriers to professional development that have not previously been reported in the literature. Managers' leadership styles were found to influence nurses' perceptions of the value of CPD, as well as their ability to reflect, which affected the application of learning to practice. Influencing factors included managers' leadership styles and their responsiveness to change, as well as a reduced ability for nurses to reflect. A disassociation between post-registration education and practice (PREP) and CPD in terms of understanding the purpose of PREP was also discovered among nurses.

Webwatch

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) stipulates that to maintain professional registration as a midwife it is necessary to fulfil Post Registration Education and Practice (PREP) requirements. PREP is designed to help midwives keep up to date with new developments in practice and encourage thinking and reflection by practitioners.

Do nurses go on courses just to collect tickets?

The question ‘Which course shall I go on next?’ has become a familiar cry in hospital wards throughout the country. When the postregistration education and practice (PREP) guidelines were introduced it was never envisaged that this would create a new ethos of collecting certificates. There is a fundamental misconception among many nurses that in order to meet their PREP requirements they need to jump constantly from one course to the next.

Are we PREPared?

The author determined, by means of a small questionnaire survey carried out at a district general hospital, what understanding nurses have of post-registration education and practice (PREP) and whether they were prepared to meet the requirements set out by the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (UKCC). His study also aimed to establish how Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements of staff at the hospital could be met.

Reflections on postnatal depression

Midwives are being encouraged to utilize reflective practice in order to develop professionally (Chesney, 1996). Indeed, with the implementation of PREP (post-registration education and practice) (UKCC, 1995), every practitioner is required to demonstrate professional updating, and reflective writing is one way of achieving this. This article consists of a ‘reflection’ on the experience of caring for a postnatally depressed mother. Gibbs' (1988) reflective cycle has been utilized to assist the reflective process. In addition, background factors have been integrated by adapting the reflective cycle to include cue questions from a model of structured reflection develpoed by Bulman (1994), who draws form the work of Johns (1992) and Carper (1978). To ensure confidentiality, a fictitious name has been used when referring to the mother.

Clarifying the UKCC's position in relation to higher level practice.

The UKCC is currently consulting on its proposals to recognize and regulate a higher level of practice (UKCC, 1998a). These proposals follow the work undertaken by the UKCC from 1996-1998 on advanced and specialist practice and seek to build on the current postregistration education and practice (PREP) framework (UKCC, 1994). This article outlines the background to the consultation and puts the proposals into context. It is hoped that it will encourage practitioners to respond to the consultation, as the UKCC is very keen to hear the views of specialist nurses, midwives and health visitors. Copies of the UKCC's consultation document are available from Katrina Neal, Professional Officer (0171 333 6542) and are also available on our web site (http:/(/)www.ukcc.org.uk.). Responses should reach Sarah Waller, Director of Standards Promotion at the UKCC, by 20 October 1998.

The continuing professional education needs of midwives

The philosophy behind Post Registration Education and Practice (PREP) dictates that continuing professional education (CPE) must be tailored to the needs of the individual and relevant to the practice environment. The study is set within the context of PREP and other changes that are currently affecting midwives and midwifery educational establishments. This study sought to explore the CPE needs of midwives. The main objective of the study was to seek information on a number of issues that would assist with the planning and implementation of continuing education programmes to meet the needs of midwives. The study takes the form of a descriptive survey. Questionnaires were sent to 696 midwives employed by 7 National Health Service Trusts in the South-West of England. A 45% response rate was achieved. Seven midwife managers were also interviewed to gain insight into their perspectives of CPE and to enhance the findings from the questionnaire. Results show that midwives use a variety of strategies to identify their CPE needs. One of the more significant seems to be through interaction with colleagues. ‘Professional issues’ and ‘management topics’ were the categories identified by both midwives and managers alike to be the greatest need. There is a demand for part-time and distance learning. The format and timings that would ensure that midwives find it easy to attend CPE events were identified. Findings illustrate how midwifery managers and educationalists can facilitate midwives with their CPE and career development.

Nursing libraries: a survey of nurses' access to facilities.

Nurses are increasingly in need of access to nursing libraries following changes to nurse education, increasing emphasis on the use of research to support practice, and the UKCC Post-Registration Education and Practice (PREP) requirements. A survey was, therefore, carried out among 255 libraries to determine whether nurses had sufficient access to nursing libraries. Eighty per cent of libraries said nursing were not denied access but only a third of university sites allowed full access and borrowing facilities. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Employers get PREP requirements wrong.

Enrolled nurses are being wrongly informed by their employers that they have to convert to registered nurse status in order to meet the UKCC's post-registration education and practice (PREP) requirements, the Council heard last week.

Specialist nursing practice.

April 1st was an important date for nurses in the UK as, after several years of preparation and planning, the long-awaited standards for postregistration education and practice (PREP) finally became a reality. Formulated by the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (UKCC), these standards define what nurses must do in order to maintain their status on the UKCC register. They also set out the framework of postregistration education and practice required for specialist, community and advanced nursing practice (UKCC, 1994).

A year of triumph.

There have been troubled and triumphant times for nurses in 1991. A year of change, of success and celebration. Nursing has achieved a great deal over the past 12 months. It has increased its academic standing, more Project 2000 courses have come on stream, prescribing powers for community nurses are finally within our grasp and the UK Central Council's proposals for Post-registration Education and Practice (PREP) have come to fruition. Nursing has also received a significant boost with the extra £3.2 million for nursing development units and the concept of the 'named nurse' for every patient incorporated into the Patient's Charter.

Paying for PREP.

From next year personal professional profiles will be dispatched to registered nurses, midwives and health visitors courtesy of the UK Central Council. The Council's decision is welcome. While it may add to the costs of implementing its Post Registration Education and Practice (PREP) reforms, it is right that the UKCC should carry the burden of payment.

UKCC to press ahead with its proposals

The UKCC is to press ahead with its Post-registration Education and Practice (PREP) proposals after receiving overwhelming support from nurses in the public consultation.