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Revalidation portfolio ethos

An image of the revalidation portfolio ethos treeWhat should the ethos of a revalidation portfolio for nurses look like?

This is an interesting and insightful question and something that we have given a great deal of thought to. Similar to how revalidation for nurses is meant to provide the public with confidnece about nurses. How can we as a free nursing revalidation portfolio provider gain the confidence and trust of nurses? What is our ethos ?

There are a few points that are essential:

  1. The revalidaiton e – portfolio provider should be very clear as to who has underlying ownsership of the data.
  2. The portfolio provider should allow access to the data owner at all times.
  3. The security and safety of the data should be guaranteed by the revalidation portfolio provdier.
  4. The data generator’s responsibility should include ownership of the data and any changes made to it.

 

What is the ethos of the UK’s only free revalidation portfolio?

We are proud to say that integrity, honesty and openness are paramount to our ethos pyramid.

The following are the core principles which govern Nurse Tools.

  1. Nurse Tools is a private and independent nursing revalidation portfolio designed to be used only by UK nurses and midwives.
  2. Nurse Tools has no affiliation with any drug company.
  3. The data a user enters on Nurse Tools is the user’s data. Only the user has access to it.
  4. Nurse Tools will never send out uncolicited emails or use any email data that has been entered by the user.
  5. Nurse Tools will never sell a member’s contact information.
  6. It is the user’s responsibility not to store any patient identifiable information on Nurse Tools.
  7. Nurse Tools is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office under the Data Protection Act 1988 Reference number: ZA163547

What does this mean for you?

It means that we are open and honest about the service we provide and you as a user should have no reservations or doubts when using Nurse Tools as your revalidation portfolio. We do not lock you in to any contract and we do not force you to use the revalidation portfolio in a strict regimented manner.

You are essentially free to use our revalidation  portfolio as little or as much as you like to aid you in the process of revalidation.

We are always open to suggestions and your feedback.

Happy revalidating!

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Nurse Tools is now free, forever.

The Only Free Revalidation Toolkit for Nurses

We are super excited to announce that all UK registered Nurses who register with Nurse Tools will have complete and unlimited access to the toolkit for free, forever.  There are absolutely no strings attached and we promise you that we will not ask you for any money down the line. This applies to all existing members and new future members. There is no cut off date for this and this is how Nurse Tools will be operating from now on.

If you’re new to Nurse Tools , you can sign-up to start using the only free nursing revalidation toolkit. If you are already using Nurse Tools read on to learn how these changes will impact you.

Individual Nurses:

You now have nothing to pay at all. You can continue using Nurse Tools as before but now you do not have to worry about an extra ‘cost’ that you have to pay. We will be contacting you and giving you a full refund for any subscription you may have bought.

Organisations:

We will be contacting you shortly to give you a full refund for any subscriptions that you have taken for your nurses. If you wish to speed things up then contact your account manager or julie at nursetools dot org, who is dealing with refunds for corporate accounts.

 

FAQs:

Is Nurse Tools completely free?

Yes, there are no strings attached. Nurse Tools is completely free, forever.

 

Will service and security be affected?

Not at all. To provide you with the best service and security is one of our core objectives and we will never waiver from this.

 

Please bear with us as we remove all references to paid subscription options from the site. But rest assured we are not going back, and Nurse Tools is now free, forever!

 

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Nurse prescribers in the UK

Nurse prescribing in the UK – where did it start?

In the beginning

It sounds unbelieveable, but Nurses could not always precribe. It was in 1998 that they were given access to a limited formulary. It was only due to loobying by Baroness Cumberlege and the RCN that this took place. Presumably Doctor’s groups were unimpressed with this development.

Where are we now?

Nurse prescribing is now well established. According to the NMC there are over 55,000 nurse and midwifery prescribers in the country. Over 13 million items a year are prescribed by Nurse prescribers according to the NHS prescription authority.

What’s the difference?

Nurse Independent Prescribers

They are allowed to prescribe any drugs within their clnical competence. Since the ruling in 2006 they have been able to prescribe any drug within the BNF. This has sometimes caused friction with Doctors ! Since 2012 they have also been able to prescribe controlled drugs.

Community Practitioner Nurse Prescribers

These fall under the NIPs, but are restricted to prescribing only from the Nursing Formulary for Community Practitioners. This group includes health visitors, district and school nurses.

Nurse Supplementary Prescribing

This a form of a voluntary prescribing partnership between a doctor and a nurse where the supplementary nurse prescriber has the ability to prescribe any drug listed in a patient-specific clinical management plan. The patient must have a definite diagnosis given by the doctor.

How can I qualify as a nurse prescriber?

A NMC  accredited  prescribing  course  through  a  UK  university must be done. All nurses who complete the  NMC qualification  can prescribe independently as well as in a supplementary capacity.

 

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How to train or qualify to become a Nurse

nurses_in_resus

How do I train or qualify to be a nurse?

Training to be a nurse requires a pre-registration nursing degree. Once you have this you can register with the NMC. This will then allow you to practice. The great thing is you won’t pay any university fees. As the degree is funded by the NHS.

Choosing your branch of nursing

There are four branches of nursing that the pre-registration nursing degrees are offered in.

  1. Adult
  2. Children (paediatric)
  3. Learning disability
  4. Mental health

You will need to decide which branch you would like to train in. Some universities allow you keep your options open. Others might give allow you to have two specialties under your belt.

The pre-registration degree or course

These are offered by universities. Entry requirements vary depending on the the university you choose. Generally they are quite flexible. However, some top universities require a ABB in A-levels.

The course leads to a BSc (bachelors of Science). It can also be a BN (Bachelor of Nursing). It can be full time, or part time. The full time degree will take three years for a single field. If two branches are chosen then it can take four years. Part time courses will take longer. Degrees generally take a year more in Scotland.

Students will obtain the foundations they need to follow this challenging, responsible and valuable vocation.

Nursing is diverse and has many demands.  Degree courses aim to instil and diffuse all of these skills which include: academic and technical skills. A good sense of humour, being patient and compassionate.

Foundation year

The foundation year or first year of the nursing course is which is common to all who study to be a nurse. Basic knowledge in biochemistry, anatomy and physiology, and communication is imparted. Other subjects in this year include skills to do with nursing and caring.

2nd and 3rd year

In these years, nurse students study the specialisation they have chosen.

Ongoing practical teaching and experience – participatory learning

Nurse placements in clinical settings such as hospitals as well as other settings are plenty during the course of the degree. They are fundamental to providng the basics of Nursing.  Observing the patient journey can provide an insight into the workings of the health service.

Once you graduate as a nurse

Nurse graduates will have to apply to the NMC for registration. Once approved they are given an NMC pin number which will then allow them to work anywhere in the UK.  Obviously, working in the NHS is the first port of call for many. However, private healthcare and working abroad are common.

Don’t forget nurse revalidation and CPD

Being a nurse is very much becoming like being a Doctor. Life long learning and reflection for self improvement. Remember that once you graduate, learning does not stop. Document any courses or CPD you do. Reflect on at least 5 of those in 3 years. Gather feedback about your practice. And every three years apply for revalidation.

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Top tips for nurse revalidation making it easy and simple

Top tips for nurse revalidation. Easy and simple.

Tips for revalidation

Tips for revalidation

Results from the revalidation pilots are filtering through. The overall feedback is positive. There was a bit of apprehension at the start. Discussing reflections with peers turned out to be a great morale boost.

According to Dame Eileen Sills, the chief nurse at Guys and St. Thomas’ Trust. The top tips for revalidation are:

  1. Don’t panic
  2. Give yourself plenty of time  – start 6 months in advance
  3. Collect your CPD
  4. Think about your reflections
  5. Above all look forward to doing it as it is a huge boost to the professionalism of nursing in this country.

Elaborating on this we can come to the following conclusions.

Firstly, there is a great deal of anxiety and worry regarding the whole process of revalidation among Nurses. In our survey, and informal chats with individual Nurses there was an underlying common theme. “This revalidation business looks scary and maybe if I don’t think  about it, it will go away”.The best way to face the supposed monster of revalidation is to stand your ground and look it straight in the eye. You will find that underneath that panic inducing exterior lies something manageable and workable.

Secondly, to succeed at revalidation, Nurses need to start at least six month before. Last minute patch jobs simply will not do. Giving yourself plenty of time allows the sub conscious part of your mind to get ready for reflecting on your CPD activities. You will then have to record these in your revalidation portfolio.

Thirdly, accurate record keeping of all of your CPD is essential. Doing this as you go along, at the time of the activity is essential for success in revalidation.

And finally, revalidation will ultimately make you a better professional. There is no greater satisfaction in our jobs, than knowing that we helped someone today with our improved professionalism.

Watch her eloquently and succinctly state them below:

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Showing the difference between learning

What are participatory CPD hours?

What are participatory CPD hours?

A common question asked by Nurses is what does the NMC mean when they differentiate between CPD hours?

NMC revalidation requirements state that over a course of 3 years, the Nurse should have undertaken a minimum of 15 regular CPD hours and 20 participatory CPD hours.

So, in order to define participatory CPD hours we need to define what the NMC means by regular CPD hours

What are regular CPD hours?

Regular CPD hours according to the NMC website on revalidation is that amount of time spent in passive learning. For example, attending a lecture where you just sat and listened and perhaps took notes. Another example would be attending a drug company sponsored lunch with a representative.

 

Now we know what regular CPD hours are; we can define participatory CPD hours and participatory learning:

Participatory CPD hours according to the NMC document on how to revalidate with the NMC means any learning time in which you personally interacted with other people. It is an activity undertaken with one or more professionals or in a larger group setting. The group does not always need to be in a common physical environment, such as a study tour or conference. It could be a group in a virtual environment (such as an online discussion group). Further more the people you interact with do not have to be healthcare professionals.

Hopefully, this makes sense of it all.  In our next update we will discuss why the NMC sought to emphasise participatory learning and what it means for your development as a professional.

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NURSING SPECIALITIES WITH GOOD SALARIES

Nursing is an extensive and a challenging profession. So nurses are offered a fine amount of salary examining at their specialty and career.

Anesthetist Nurse
The way to become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) will probably take much enough than the average number of nurse’s, but it definitely pays off good. Nurses maintain everything according to the situation. They get ready the individuals for different operations and surgeries by managing anesthesia to patients or aiding anesthesiologists. Nurses work both for public and private sectors, they work in different facilities and hospitals along with that they also work in other health fields like dentist’s or gynecologist’s office. The average annual salary for nurses is about $118,056.

Pain Management Nurse
Pain Management Nurse (PMN) faculty helps the patients in severe and intense pain that can be quite intolerable. After getting them rid of severe pain, they prefer them treatment and care to help to get relief out of it. PMN’s also work in different fields like teaching environment, that how they show and guide the patients to get relief out of severe pain by demonstrating them different medications. The average annual salaries of PNMs is about $96,890.

Geriatric Nurse
Geriatric Nurses are specialized to cure the older patients. These patients are indulged often in diseases and injuries like osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s or Cancer. Commonly this process of work takes place in nursing homes, but in case a patient is extremely serious so it may also take place in patient’s home or hospitals. They are provided a fine amount of salaries up to $92,304 in a year.

Practitioner Nurse
Nurses’ Practitioner (NPs) elevate a thorough way to deal with medicinal services to promote a comprehensive approach to health care of patients. They are very qualified nurses and, therefore, work in all departments of nursing to cure the overall health and wellness of their patients. They are qualified and, can handle the majority of patient’s health care needs and can cure them very well. They work with highly qualified doctors and prove themselves very supportive in any cases. The annual salary provided to them is $92,007 per annum.

Neonatal Nurse
Neonatal Nurses (NN) work for newly born babies (infants) who are very weak or suffer from different health issues by birth. They perform their duties in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of a hospital. They work in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of a hospital. They care for the babies until and unless he or she is not able to discharge from the hospital. They get $89,082 salaries annually.

Nurse Educators
This nursing specialty is what it seems like. Nurse educators are the worker of the academic settings, they work in many nursing schools and teaching hospitals where they educate the nurses. They also train the nurses accordingly to the profession. This department of nursing is quite different once you are a student of this faculty. You must experience it within another nursing specialty.

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NURSING A PROFESSION OF CARE

Nursing is a profession of care, their profession is focused on the care of families and communities so they can not suffer from health issues.
Nurses work with the different professionals of their plan and management. They work with physicians, therapists, surgeons and also with the patient and patient’s family for treating the illness and health issues for very critical conditions.
Nursing is the defense, furtherance, and merger of health issues; avoidance of illness and injury; mitigation of suffering by diagnosis and treatment of human health; and assistance in health care for families, communities, and populations.

The motto of the nursing staff is for its professionals to assure quality care for all, keeping their credentials, code of conduct, standards and competencies in maintenance and continuing their education. A number of educational careers and paths are there for nurses to become a professional nurse worldwide.

Nurses care for people of all ages with different backgrounds who are suffering from illness or other health issues based on the people’s physical, emotional, psychological, social and spiritual demand. They work very technically in accordance to cure different weaknesses of the patient.

Nurses work in a broad range, they work in hospitals to visit people in their homes for their ointment. Nurses pay their duty in various occupational and professional ways, they work in a clinic with physician offices, nurse clinics, long-term care facilities and camps. Sometimes in an emergency they also work on cruise ships and in military service. Nurses are advisers and consultants to the care of health and medications. Nurses also perform their duty in research laboratories, universities, and health-related institutions as a researcher.

Continuity of educational classes and programs train nurses to provide the best possible health to patients, advanced nursing path and keep their touch with the board of nursing requirements. Nurses education dwell in both the theoretical and practical training in order to work as a perfect and professional. The education provided to nursing students is determined and experienced from their other senior medical professionals who have a much experience in educational tasks and are qualified. In past, certain changes in educational tasks have experienced more practically to the nurses. Nurses education is becoming broader and broader and professionals of many faculties work along with nurses so they get a good practical experience from them and they enjoy to work and cooperate with them.

APRN (advanced practice registered nurse) is a nurse with extra empowerments with post graduate education in nursing. APRNs are trained with technical, didactic and clinical education, information, skills, and scope of practice.
APRN gets a level and standard of nursing practice that are very much extended and expanded skills, experienced and practiced. APRN is educationally prepared at postgraduate level and may work as a specialist.

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IMPORTANCE OF NURSE PORTFOLIO

In the past experiences and accomplishments, nursing professional portfolios are moving beyond the traditional listing.
Portfolios are not considered as the domain of artists, architects, photographers and models but they are considered as the professional tool
For the accomplishment and documentation for professional growth. Nursing portfolio has been practiced and documented for several years.
The national council of state boards of Nursing (NCSBN) recommends the professional portfolio development. The portfolio is more than an accumulation of documents and artifacts. The importance of the nursing professional portfolio is very much to the staff nursing in case it provides both educational.
Structure and direction. It provides a mechanism to track both formal competency validation and educational skills and the less formal acknowledgements that exhibit the art of nursing. The portfolio provides a place to maintain an active reference file that provides examples of how nurses meet the complex needs of families and the demands of professional practice. The portfolio is basically designed to train the staff nurse to reflect on fruitful experiments and image them in an example. Watching the physical, psychological, cultural, religious and many needs of people and patients makes insane challenge for nurses. Portfolio is mind blowing tool for capturing the life experience of nurses. The portfolio is designed to provide some important forms for keeping records maintained of different activities such as certifications, honors, awards, and committee participation. The portfolio also access the career by providing the vehicle for path direction and in designing a goal to achieve it.
A theme of the portfolio that indicates the development pathway and the super professional plan. Because of its wide design, the portfolio needs some time and hard work to get compiled.
To make nurses complete the portfolio, the unit leadership teams maintained an hour for training session. These training sessions described a complete and detailed information about portfolio and strategies on how to staff nurse buy-in.
As formerly noted, a review of the literature announced very little evidence about the use of portfolios to boost the professional development of nurses in an acute care hospital. Many examples of portfolio used by other professionals and by nursing students, but those examples were denied to offer a solution based on practice for integration of the tool into the work life of a registered nurse in an acute care hospital setting. Ease of admittance and ease of use are keys to the triumph of the portfolio.
In May of 2005, all recorded nurses in the impatient and perioperative services at Texas Children’s Hospital started using the portfolio as a part of their recital supervision process. Initial feedback specified that filling out the portfolio was irresistible and awe-inspiring for many nurses but most of them could diagnose the long-term welfares of a portfolio.
The recorded nurse provides to eminence health care through enduring earning and professional development of herself/himself and others, exploration data generation, clinical management and development of strategy and clinical practice procedures. The registered nurse advances their specialized rehearsal in accordance with the health requirements of the inhabitants / society and altering patterns of disease and sickness.

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Importance of Nurse Revalidation with New NMC Guidelines

The profession of nursing and midwifery is the secondary professional care support in the healthcare industry and acts as the second most important layer of service to public health in terms of intensive, antenatal, neonatal, postnatal, pre and post-operative care practices. Nurses and midwives worldwide have now become more efficient and are dealing in multifaceted healthcare roles in various areas of practice: direct patient care, management, education, advisory services, policy, research and vice versa to address the advanced challenges looming large over public health. To fulfill all exceeding demands which were made following the competitive nursing practice model, it has now become an obligatory requirement for practitioners to register with their national regulatory body and opt for nurse revalidation and annual appraisal program routines to up keep all essential areas of their service with continued growth and progress.

Importance of nurses in the healthcare environments

Nurses are considered as a major medical support unit aiding the professional doctors, physicians, surgeons and visiting consultants in almost every work settings including: primary care, secondary care, tertiary hospital, public health, care home sector, ambulance service, military, prison, school, charity and welfare health care, policy, education, research, e-health and other domains. It is that reason that their job role in healthcare facility spans over broad range of services from providing hands-on treatment to getting practice-related feedback from patients to reflect upon their practice and strive to further improve their service and skills adds paramount responsibility upon the shoulders of nurses to determine the trend of service delivery towards utmost satisfaction of the public.

Role of NMC in streamlining and upgrading the nursing practice

Since the stakeholders (patients, students, practitioners, service users) involved in the industry started anticipating better reforms and transformation in the nursing and midwifery practice with passage of time, world regulatory bodies including Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) are consistently trying to bring high standards, code of conduct and practice ethics to evolve the general nursing and midwifery practice to next level. In following this mission, NMC had earlier set out the rules and protocols that govern the affairs regarding quality practice, professional development, disciplinary conduct and overall working modules connected with the profession to deliver highly adaptable, conventional and smooth delivery of medical care to patients and service users. The regulator bound every nurse and midwife practicing in United Kingdom to apply for registration with it and strictly declared that those practitioners which were not on its register will not be able to practice as nurse or midwife in any country of kingdom. NMC introduced a well-balanced system in place which started overseeing and managing the matters of registration, nurse revalidation and annual appraisal routines scheduled within specified time frame and certain requirements that features a comprehensive mechanism for the nursing practitioners to follow for registration, practice renewal and annual appraisals.
Nursing and Midwifery Council being the nursing and midwifery regulator for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, it takes the national responsibility to ensure that the practice standards framed by it is met by the nurses and midwives on its register; to protect and safeguard the health and wellbeing of public; to introduce standards of education, training, performance so that practitioners shall maintain their ability and skill to deliver novel healthcare consistently throughout their careers.

NMC guidelines regarding its revised code for nurses and midwives: what practitioners must do?

This year, Nursing and Midwifery Council went through an extensive two-stage consultation on revalidation and the code was used to gather the views of nurses and midwives, employers, patients and the public. This included five stakeholder summits across the UK involving more than 1,000 nurses and midwives, as well as online consultation, events, social media and programme boards involving more than 18,400 practitioners and their organisations (NMC,2014).
NMC stated that all practitioners (nurses and midwives) must comply with sets of standards and behaviour and make them central to their practice, this includes ensuring practice is safe and effective, putting the interests of patients and service users first, and promoting trust through professionalism. The revised code is the key component of NMC’s to several important reports, and will play a crucial role in the regulator’s revalidation process being inaugurated this year. NMC officials privy to the development claim that the revised code is more than a fitness to practice tool but a live document that all nurses and midwives should make central to daily practice.

Anatomy of NMC’s new code – Let’s get familiar with it.

The NMC’s new code states that standards must be upheld by all registrants across all settings and scopes of practice, including by those in leadership, education and research roles, as well as those giving direct care. it can also be used by patients, service users and caters to help them provide feedback, by employers to support staff in upholding the standards, and by educators. The new code will play a pivotal part in the NMC’s roles, including registration, fitness to practice and a revalidation process that is being tested this year as pilot run and is due to be effective from December 31, 2015.
The revised code, after altering and amendments have been laid out in four important themes that envisage all the agenda for improving the framework of standards in nursing and midwifery practice and these are:

1. prioritize People

You put the interests of people using or needing nursing or midwifery services first. You make their care and safety your main concern and make sure that their dignity is preserved and their needs are recognised, assessed and responded to. You make sure that those receiving care are treated with respect, that their rights are upheld and that any discriminatory attitudes and behaviours towards those receiving care are challenged.

2. Practice Effectively

You assess need and deliver or advise on treatment, or give help (including preventative or rehabilitative care) without too much delay and to the best of your abilities, on the basis of the best evidence available and best practice. You communicate effectively, keeping clear and accurate records and sharing skills, knowledge and experience where appropriate. You reflect and act on any feedback you receive to improve your practice.

3. Preserve Safety

You make sure that patient and public safety is protected. You work within the limits of your competence, exercising your professional ‘duty of candour’ and raising concerns immediately whenever you come across situations that put patients or public safety at risk. You take necessary action to deal with any concerns where appropriate.

4. Promote Professionalism and Trust

You uphold the reputation of your profession at all times. You should display a personal commitment to the standards of practice and behaviour set out in the Code. You should be a model of integrity and leadership for others to aspire to. This should lead to trust and confidence in the profession from patients, people receiving care, other healthcare pros and the public.

• Conclusion

With the advent of new code, the nurses and midwives must strictly adhere to its clauses and uphold their duty to provide premium services to patients and service users. Summarizing the code it emphasize all registered practitioners to treat people with great compassion and ensure their physical, social and psychological needs are assessed; exercise candour when errors or harm occur; intervene professionally if an emergency occurs outside workplace; follow detailed new standards if they want to raise concern and last but not the least use social media and all other communications with sheer responsibility and care.

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