Revalidation

Revalidation is a mechanism used to "affirm or establish the continuing competence" of health practitioners, whilst strengthening and facilitating ethical and professional "commitment to reducing errors, adhering to best practice and improving quality of care." Medical practitioners, nurses and midwives practicing in the UK are subject to revalidation to prove their skills are up-to-date and they remain fit to practise medicine. It is intended to reassure patients, employers and other professionals, and to contribute to improving patient care and safety. The Medical Board of Australia is currently engaged in a review and trial of revalidation of medical registration in Australia.
Revalidation in the United Kingdom.
In the UK, nurses and midwives will need to revalidate every three years. A doctor will undergo revalidation every five years. A recommendation to revalidate a doctor will go to the UK medical regulator, the General Medical Council, from a local 'Responsible Officer'. The Responsible Officer will usually be a senior doctor in the healthcare organisation which employs the doctor, such as the medical director. The Responsible Officer's recommendation will usually be based on the doctor's history of annual appraisals. Doctors and nurses will need to keep a portfolio of evidence showing how they are meeting relevant standards, which will form the basis for discussion at their annual appraisals. It is not an examination process.
In the UK, Revalidation for Doctors started on 3 December 2012. Revalidation for nurses was approved and finalised on 8 October 2015, the first nurses and midwives to revalidate began to do so in April 2016.
Process of Revalidation.
The Process of revalidation will be planned by the UK Revalidation Programme Board
Appraisal Portfolio.
The portfolio for the appraisal should include the following six types of supporting information that a doctor is expected to discuss with their appraiser at least once within the five year cycle:
More information regarding these may be found from the GMC's publication "Ready for Revalidation" (March 2012).
Responsible Officers.
The Health and Social Care Act 2008 created the role of the Responsible Officer. The role is a designated individual, most likely the medical director of an individuals organisation, who is tasked with making recommendations to the GMC with regards to their staffs revalidation.
Proposed Revalidation in Australia.
A range of potential revalidation models have been considered, with the Medical Board of Australia recently proposing its preferred approach for further consultation and trial. Most notably, the Medical Board of Australia proposes that revalidation integrate a formal method for proactive identification of potential practitioner competency risk.
The Medical Board of Australia proposes to achieve this by bifurcating revalidation into two separate, but related, stages: