NMC Reflective Account Examples for 34 Nursing and Midwifery Roles
Revalidation is easier when you can see what a finished portfolio looks like. Choose the example closest to your role and see how the practice hours, CPD, feedback, reflective accounts and confirmation forms fit together. Each one is a complete revalidation portfolio example completed on the NMC’s own forms and templates.
Read this first
- Every example is fictional. The people, PINs, dates and employers are invented. No real patient, colleague or nurse appears in any of them.
- Your portfolio must be your own. Please don’t copy the reflective accounts. Use them to see the structure, then write about your own practice.
- We are not the NMC. These examples are not approved or endorsed by the NMC. They use the NMC’s own forms so you can see how they are completed. Always check the current requirements at nmc.org.uk/revalidation.
- Some examples touch on sensitive topics such as safeguarding, end-of-life care, mental health and custody. They are written at a general level, with nothing identifiable.
What is in every example
Each example is a Word file of the NMC’s forms, completed for one fictional nurse, midwife or nursing associate:
- The practice hours log, with 450 hours or more (900 or more for dual registrants).
- The CPD log, with 35 hours or more, of which 20 or more are participatory.
- The feedback log, with five anonymised pieces of feedback.
- Five full reflective accounts, each linked to the Code.
- The reflective discussion form and the confirmation form.
How to use these examples
- Find the example closest to your role, or to your situation if your hours or confirmer are unusual.
- Look at how the logs are filled in, and how much detail is enough.
- Read one reflective account all the way through, and compare it with the four questions on the NMC form.
- Close the example and write about your own work, using your own words.
How to write an NMC reflective account
The NMC reflective accounts template asks four questions. The examples answer each one in the same way:
What happened?
Describes one specific learning activity, piece of feedback or event, and why it mattered to you. It isn’t a general description of your job.
What did you learn?
Says something honest, including what you got wrong or assumed. Learning that only praises yourself is less convincing.
What did you change?
Describes what you now do differently, and what happened as a result. This is the part most accounts leave out.
How does it link to the Code?
Chooses the themes that really apply and explains how, instead of listing all four.
For a full worked example, read our NMC reflective account example, explained line by line.
Common mistakes the examples avoid
- Including anything that could identify a patient, service user or colleague, even if they are no longer alive.
- Writing generic accounts that could belong to any nurse.
- Counting solo reading or e-learning as participatory hours.
- Describing what you learned but not what you changed.
- Leaving the reflective discussion form unsigned by either person.
More examples and templates from the NMC
The NMC publishes its own resources, and they are worth reading alongside these examples:
- The NMC’s forms and templates, including the reflective accounts form you must use.
- The NMC’s examples of completed forms and templates (PDF).
- The NMC’s revalidation stories, from people in a range of roles.
More help on this site: our NMC revalidation forms and templates, the reflective practice hub and the revalidation FAQs.
Browse the revalidation portfolio examples by role
Fields of nursing
The four fields of nursing, each at a different stage and setting.
| Role | What you will see | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adult nurse, community | Clear reflective accounts on wound care, teach-back and carer involvement. | Download example |
| Children’s nurse | Listening to parents, involving young people in decisions, safe weight-based dosing, safeguarding. | Download example |
| Mental health nurse, inpatient | Risk assessment as a conversation, de-escalation, trauma-informed care, family involvement. | Download example |
| Learning disabilities nurse, community | Reasonable adjustments, Easy Read, supporting decisions, behaviour as communication. | Download example |
Midwives and nursing associates
Examples using the midwifery domains and the nursing associate platforms.
| Role | What you will see | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Midwife | Escalation, informed choice, telephone triage, perinatal mental health, supporting students. | Download example |
| Nursing associate | Recognising deterioration, working within competence, basic care, speaking up in the team. | Download example |
Registration and work-pattern situations
Where practice hours, evidence or the route to confirmation look different.
| Role | What you will see | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Dual registrant (nurse and midwife) | 900 practice hours recorded separately for each registration, with CPD and reflections covering both roles. | Download example |
| Internationally educated nurse, first revalidation | Hours counted from joining the UK register, applying the Code in a new context, raising concerns. | Download example |
| Nurse returned to practice, first revalidation | Hours since returning, digital systems, working within competence after a break. | Download example |
| Agency and bank nurse | Practice hours across three employers, induction to new settings, unfamiliar systems. | Download example |
Community and primary care
| Role | What you will see | Example |
|---|---|---|
| District nurse | End-of-life symptom management, carers, welfare concerns, frailty and falls, clear referrals. | Download example |
| GP practice nurse | Vaccine conversations, supporting behaviour change, acting on symptoms mentioned in a routine check. | Download example |
| Health visitor (SCPHN) | Perinatal mental health, feeding without judgement, professional curiosity, community-level project. | Download example |
| School nurse (SCPHN) | Confidentiality with young people, healthcare plans, sexual health conversations. | Download example |
| Community mental health nurse | Co-produced care plans, brief interventions, a missed visit, physical health monitoring. | Download example |
| Occupational health nurse | Confidentiality with managers, return to work, useful reports, reasonable adjustments. | Download example |
| Telephone triage nurse | Listening for cues, a disconnected call, distressed callers, recording safety-netting. | Download example |
Hospital and specialist roles
| Role | What you will see | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency nurse | Triage and sepsis, re-checking waiting patients, supporting families after sudden death. | Download example |
| Critical care nurse | Delirium prevention, involving families, alarm response, patient diaries. | Download example |
| Theatre nurse | Safety checklist and human factors, a count discrepancy, anaphylaxis simulation. | Download example |
| Neonatal nurse | Newborn life support, parents as partners, a milk-check near miss, bereavement care. | Download example |
| Diabetes specialist nurse | Diabetes technology, the language we use, inpatient insulin safety, emotional wellbeing. | Download example |
| Tissue viability nurse | Skin assessment across all skin tones, device-related injury, Doppler assessment, dressing pain. | Download example |
| Cancer clinical nurse specialist | Difficult conversations, end of treatment, family wishes about information, immunotherapy side effects. | Download example |
| Hospice nurse | Spiritual and cultural care, after-death care, family disagreement, compassion fatigue. | Download example |
Care homes, custody and independent practice
| Role | What you will see | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Care home nurse | Soft signs of deterioration, residents’ daily choices, acting as the only nurse on a night shift. | Download example |
| Prison nurse | Non-judgemental withdrawal care, dignity and privacy, urgent access, trauma-informed practice. | Download example |
| Cosmetic and aesthetic nurse | Preparing for complications, time to decide, declining treatment, honest advertising. | Download example |
Advanced practice, leadership, education and expert roles
Examples where the evidence looks different from direct patient care.
| Role | What you will see | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Nurse independent prescriber | Antimicrobial stewardship, explaining decisions not to prescribe, allergy checks, deprescribing. | Download example |
| Advanced clinical practitioner | Diagnostic reasoning, safe discharge decisions, frailty assessment, communicating uncertainty. | Download example |
| Nurse manager or matron | Hours recorded as management; enabling leadership, staffing concerns, difficult conversations. | Download example |
| Nurse educator (non-clinical) | Hours recorded as education; feedback from students and peers, keeping clinical knowledge current. | Download example |
| Nurse expert witness | Clinical shifts alongside medico-legal work, duties to the court, working within expertise. | Download example |
| Clinical research nurse | Consent as a process, reporting a protocol deviation, inclusive recruitment, source records. | Download example |
Questions people ask
Are these real nurses’ portfolios?
No. Every example is fictional. The names, NMC PINs, dates, employers and signatures are invented, and each file is marked as a sample. They show what a complete, well-organised portfolio can look like. They are not templates to copy.
Can I copy a reflective account into my own portfolio?
Please don’t. Your reflective accounts must describe your own practice, your own learning and the changes you made. Your confirmer and your reflective discussion partner will expect your accounts to sound like you, and the NMC can ask for further information about your application. Use the examples to understand the structure, then write about what really happened in your work.
Do I have to use the NMC’s forms?
You must record your evidence on the NMC’s forms, and the examples use the NMC’s templates so you can see how each form is completed. Download the current forms from the NMC’s revalidation pages. You then submit your application through MyNMC, which replaced NMC Online in February 2026. The application opens 60 days before your revalidation application date.
What do I need to revalidate?
Eight things: 450 practice hours (900 if you revalidate as both a nurse and a midwife, or as a nurse and a nursing associate); 35 hours of CPD, of which 20 are participatory; five pieces of practice-related feedback; five written reflective accounts; a reflective discussion with another NMC registrant; a health and character declaration; professional indemnity arrangements; and confirmation. The NMC’s revalidation pages have the full detail.
What counts as participatory learning?
Learning that involves interaction with other people, such as a course, a workshop, a study day, a webinar with discussion or a peer discussion group. Reading on your own or completing an e-learning module by yourself counts towards your 35 hours, but not towards the 20 participatory hours.
I don’t work directly with patients. Can my hours count?
Hours count where you use your skills, knowledge and experience as a registered nurse, midwife or nursing associate. The NMC’s practice hours guidance lists direct care, managing teams and teaching as examples. The educator, matron, researcher and expert witness examples show how this can look. If you are unsure whether your role counts, ask the NMC before your revalidation date.
I’m registered as a nurse and a midwife. Do I need double everything?
No. Only the practice hours double, with 450 for each registration. You still need one set of 35 CPD hours, five pieces of feedback and five reflective accounts, though your CPD should be relevant to the scope of your practice across both roles. Example K shows how to record this.
How do I keep patients and colleagues anonymous?
Don’t include names, dates of birth, addresses, unusual details or anything else that could identify a person, whether they are living or have died. Describe what happened in general terms. The examples show how you can write about a real situation without identifying anyone.
Who can be my confirmer, and what if I don’t have a line manager?
The NMC recommends that your confirmer is your line manager where possible, and they do not need to be on the NMC register. If you don’t have a line manager, the NMC recommends choosing an NMC-registered nurse, midwife or nursing associate where you can. If you can’t, another regulated healthcare professional can confirm. If you have no line manager and no access to another registrant or professional, speak to the NMC. Family members and close friends can’t act as your confirmer. Your confirmer reviews your evidence and confirms that you have met the requirements. They do not assess your clinical performance. If your confirmer is not an NMC registrant, have your reflective discussion first.
How long should a reflective account be?
The NMC doesn’t set a word count. The form is laid out for about a page per account, so a concise, specific account is better than a long one. Each example here fits on one page.
Do I send my reflective accounts to the NMC?
No. You don’t submit your reflective accounts with your application. Keep them safe, because the NMC may ask for more information to verify your application.
Would you like a second pair of eyes on your portfolio?
Reflect & Revalidate supports UK nurses, midwives and nursing associates through NMC revalidation.
- Confirmer Service (£52): for people whose reflective discussion is already done and signed. We check your portfolio is complete, verify your five reflective accounts, hold your confirmer discussion and sign your Confirmer Statement.
- Full Support Package (£99): start to finish, with a full portfolio review, a reflective discussion by video call, and both NMC signatures (the Reflective Discussion Form and the Confirmer Statement).
Your confirmer reviews your evidence against the NMC’s requirements. They do not judge your clinical performance, and the NMC makes the final decision on your application.
NMC, MyNMC and the revalidation forms belong to the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Reflect & Revalidate is not part of, or endorsed by, the NMC. This page is general information and not professional or legal advice. The NMC is reviewing its Code and revalidation, so check the current requirements before you submit. Last reviewed October 2026.