Guide
NMC revalidation confirmer: who can confirm you
Updated
Confirmation is the one requirement you cannot complete alone, and the one most often left too late. It is also more flexible than people expect.
What a confirmer does
"This is the person who looks at the evidence you have collected and 'confirms' that you have met the revalidation requirements" (nmc.org.uk). In your application you declare that you have demonstrated to an appropriate confirmer that you have met the requirements, and you provide their name, NMC Pin or other professional identification number where relevant, email, professional address and postcode.
Who can be your confirmer
- Where possible, your line manager. The NMC states plainly that your line manager does not have to be an NMC-registered nurse or midwife.
- If you have no line manager, the NMC recommends an NMC-registered nurse, midwife or nursing associate where possible.
- If you have neither, you can seek confirmation from another healthcare professional regulated in the UK.
- Not a family member or close friend. The NMC treats that as a conflict of interest.
When to arrange it
"You should get your confirmation in the final year of your three year renewal period, to ensure that it is as recent as possible." The NMC also asks you to try to meet your confirmer face to face, because you need to talk them through how you met each requirement, and to share the NMC's information for confirmers with them beforehand so they understand what they are being asked to do.
How it relates to the reflective discussion
They are separate requirements that can sometimes be combined. If your confirmer is a nurse, midwife or nursing associate, your reflective discussion can form part of the confirmation discussion. If your confirmer is not NMC-registered, you must have your reflective discussion before the confirmation discussion takes place. Your reflective discussion partner does not have to be the same person as your confirmer, though the NMC notes that it can make the process easier.
The form
The confirmation form is mandatory. You are not asked to submit it to the NMC, but you should keep it safe as part of your records, in paper or electronic form, and it contains personal data about your confirmer that you are responsible for protecting. When you complete your application through MyNMC you enter your confirmer's NMC Pin if they are a nurse, midwife or nursing associate. The NMC notes that entering your own Pin by mistake will stop the application proceeding.
If you work through an agency, across several employers, or on your own, start the conversation about who will confirm you at the beginning of the final year rather than the final month. Face-to-face time with the right person is the scarce resource, not the paperwork.