You are required to have ONE Reflective Discussion around your FIVE pieces of reflection. These five pieces will have been gathered over the three years of your revalidation cycle. The Reflective Discussion can take place anytime in the year leading up to your revalidation date and must be had with another NMC registrant (must be live on the register at the time of the discussion).

It may be that your Confirmer (normally your line manager in this Trust) if they are a NMC Registrant will be happy to have the Reflective Discussion with you. Early planning will help you clarify this with them. If not then you can approach another registrant to explore your reflective pieces.

The Reflective Discussion is a great opportunity for us as nurses to begin sharing our experiences and  learning with each other and in turn impact in a positive way upon patient care. Good practice and resources will be shared and in turn we will learn for one another; identifying areas of good practice and also where care can be improved and developed. Sharing our experiences in this formal way ensures transparency and confidence in our roles.

The NMC offer clear guidance on the Reflective Discussion, demystifying and supporting us all in the process. This is about us formally sharing our reflection with another registrant, enhancing us personally and also enhancing the profession. Reflecting offers many opportunities to share, debate. justify and explore practice with colleagues. In the past reflection was seen as the domain of academics, or when we were undertaking courses and attending university. What Revalidation has done has enabled us to embed this amazing learning tool into our everyday practice. Giving reflection real meaning.   

If you are not having your Reflective Discussion with your line manager then chose the person wisely. Don't go for the easiest option; someone who won't challenge you. Go for someone who will. A colleague, friend who will explore your accounts with some depth and analysis. This isn't a paper exercise. It is your opportunity to showcase your skills and demonstrate an ability to explore your five accounts with confidence, competence and skill.

Once again the completed templates will help guide you as to how this form should be completed. The Reflective Discussion and the detail within should be stored in safely. As we said before please respect the fact that this form contains personal data about your collegaue, and that you uphold your obligations in relation to confidentiality and data protection. You can familiarise yourself with your obligations in our guidance on non-identifiable information, see page 14 of How to revalidate with the NMC.

This is such a positive opportunity for us as a profession to showcase our work, use it with enthusiasm and your confidence in sharing your reflections will increase and with it raise the profile of the profession.