Reflection is one of the most useful habits you can build as a nurse, midwife or nursing associate. It is the pause after a busy shift where you ask: what happened, what did I learn, and what will I do differently next time?
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) expects reflection to be part of everyday professional life, not only something you scramble to write before renewal. Revalidation asks you to show that learning through five written reflective accounts and a reflective discussion with another person on the Nursing and Midwifery Council register. The Council's own overview is here: What is revalidation?
Done well, reflection is not self-criticism for its own sake. It is a calm, honest look at real practice so you can keep people safe, grow in confidence, and meet the standards in The Code.
What the Nursing and Midwifery Council expects
For revalidation, the Nursing and Midwifery Council requires:
- Five written reflective accounts on the approved NMC form, each linked to CPD and/or practice-related feedback and/or an event or experience in your practice, and to the Code. See Written reflective accounts.
- A reflective discussion about those accounts with another NMC-registered nurse, midwife or nursing associate. See Reflective discussion.
The Council has also published a short guide on why reflection matters and how to approach it: Reflective practice guidance (PDF). For the full process, keep How to revalidate with the NMC nearby.
You do not need academic essays. The Nursing and Midwifery Council is clear that accounts can be short, as long as they show what you learnt, how practice changed, and how that links to the Code.
A simple way to reflect in practice
Use this as a friendly structure when something sticks with you after a shift:
- Choose a moment. It can be a success, a difficult conversation, a near miss, or a piece of feedback. Positive experiences count too.
- Describe what happened. Stick to the facts. Keep people anonymous. The Nursing and Midwifery Council is clear that reflective accounts must not identify patients, service users or colleagues.
- Notice your thoughts and feelings. What was going through your mind then, and how do you feel looking back? Honesty helps the learning land.
- Work out why it went that way. Think about knowledge, communication, teamwork, workload, equipment, or systems, not only personal blame.
- Name the learning. What would you tell a student or a newer colleague? Which part of the Code does this touch: prioritise people, practise effectively, preserve safety, or promote professionalism and trust?
- Decide what you will do next. Keep actions practical: revise a guideline, practise a communication tool, ask for teaching, or change how you prepare for a task.
- Write it down while it is fresh. Transfer strong reflections onto the NMC reflective accounts form when you are ready for revalidation.
Models that can help (optional)
The Nursing and Midwifery Council does not require one reflective model. If a structure helps you think clearly, use it. Common options include:
- What? So what? Now what? (Rolfe and others): quick and useful after ordinary shifts.
- Gibbs' reflective cycle: helpful when feelings and complexity need more space.
- Kolb's learning cycle: useful when linking experience to CPD planning.
- Johns' structured reflection: helpful for values and ethical questions.
Choose the lightest model that gets you to clear learning. The Council cares more about the quality of your insight and the link to the Code than about naming a theorist.
Keeping accounts safe and anonymous
When you write for revalidation, remove anything that could identify another person, whether they are alive or deceased. That includes names, exact dates and times that pinpoint someone, unusual clinical details, and workplace clues that make a person recognisable. The Nursing and Midwifery Council covers this in How to revalidate with the NMC under non-identifiable information.
If you keep working notes in a portfolio tool, apply the same discipline. Draft freely if you need to, then redact before anything becomes a formal reflective account.
From everyday reflection to revalidation evidence
Many nurses reflect quietly and never capture it. A short note after a meaningful event makes later revalidation much easier. Over three years you only need five written accounts on the NMC form, but having a small bank of reflections to choose from reduces last-minute stress.
When you are ready:
- use the mandatory NMC reflective accounts form;
- discuss your five accounts with another registrant and complete the reflective discussion form;
- look at worked examples in the Council's completed forms and templates (PDF).
How ReflectRN can support you
ReflectRN helps you collect feedback, log CPD and keep practice notes in one place so reflection is easier to do little and often. It is not part of the Nursing and Midwifery Council, and it does not replace MyNMC or the Council's mandatory forms. Use ReflectRN to organise your thinking, then transfer what you need onto official NMC templates when you revalidate.
