Mapping Your CPD to the NMC Code Sections

The NMC doesn’t formally require CPD-to-Code mapping in your revalidation submission. The fields ask for CPD hours and a brief description; they don’t ask which Code section each hour relates to.

But there are two reasons to map anyway. First, your reflective accounts each name a Code section, and the audit reads the reflective accounts alongside the CPD log. Coherent mapping between them strengthens the submission. Second, the mapping exercise surfaces gaps where you’ve been learning in one area for two years and neglecting others.

This chapter is the practical mapping framework.

The four pillars overview

The 25 Code sections sit in four pillars. A balanced CPD record touches all four.

Pillar 1, Prioritise People (Sections 1–5): dignity, listening, assessment of the whole person, best interests, confidentiality.

Pillar 2, Practise Effectively (Sections 6–12): evidence-based practice, communication, MDT working, sharing knowledge, records, delegation, indemnity.

Pillar 3, Preserve Safety (Sections 13–19): scope of competence, candour, emergencies, raising concerns, safeguarding, medicines, harm reduction.

Pillar 4, Promote Professionalism (Sections 20–25): reputation, integrity, registration requirements, investigations, complaints, leadership.

Most clinical nurses end up CPD-heavy in Pillar 3 (safety topics dominate mandatory training) and lighter in Pillar 4 (professionalism topics are less commonly mandated). A balanced portfolio includes something from each pillar.

CPD activities and their typical Code sections

Pillar 1 mappings:

• Equality and diversity training: Section 1.
• Dignity in care workshops: Section 1.
• Active listening or shared decision-making: Section 2.
• Mental Capacity Act: Section 2 and Section 4.
• End-of-life care training: Section 3.
• NEWS2 and deterioration recognition: Section 3.
• Information governance or GDPR: Section 5.

Pillar 2 mappings:

• Critical appraisal or evidence-based practice: Section 6.
• SBAR and handover training: Section 7.
• BSL or sensory communication training: Section 7.
• MDT training: Section 8.
• Mentor training (SSSA): Section 9.
• Record keeping refresher: Section 10.
• Delegation training: Section 11.
• Indemnity awareness: Section 12.

Pillar 3 mappings:

• New clinical skill training (cannulation, ECG): Section 13.
• Duty of candour training: Section 14.
• BLS, ILS or ALS: Section 15.
• Freedom to Speak Up training: Section 16.
• Safeguarding Level 2/3: Section 17.
• Medicines management or drug calculation refreshers: Section 18.
• IPC training: Section 19.
• Falls prevention: Section 19.
• Pressure ulcer prevention: Section 19.

Pillar 4 mappings:

• Social media for healthcare: Section 20.
• Professional boundaries: Section 20.
• Anti-fraud and bribery: Section 21.
• Conflicts of interest: Section 21.
• Leadership development: Section 25.
• Quality improvement training: Section 25.

A worked CPD mapping example

A community nurse’s three-year CPD record, mapped:

• IPC Level 2 refresher (Section 19): 6 hours.
• Safeguarding Adults Level 2 (Section 17): 4 hours.
• BLS refresher (Section 15): 3 hours.
• Wound care master class (Section 6): 4 hours.
• SSSA mentor update (Section 9): 4 hours.
• Mental Capacity Act update (Section 4): 3 hours.
• Five reflective writing sessions (Section 6 throughout): 5 hours.
• Quality improvement project participation (Section 25): 4 hours.
• End-of-life care study day (Section 3): 6 hours.
• IPC link nurse meetings (Section 19): 6 quarterly × 1 hour = 6 hours.

Total: 45 hours across 9 different Code sections, all four pillars represented.

The portfolio looks balanced. The audit reads it as a nurse engaging with the full breadth of the Code, not just one or two areas.

Where mapping reveals gaps

A different community nurse over the same period:

• IPC Level 2 × 3 years (Section 19): 18 hours.
• BLS refreshers × 3 (Section 15): 9 hours.
• Safeguarding Level 2 (Section 17): 4 hours.
• Generic mandatory training in fire and H&S (no Code section relevance): 6 hours.

Total: 37 hours but only 3 Code sections engaged, all in Pillar 3. No CPD addressing Pillar 1 (dignity, listening, full-person assessment), Pillar 2 (communication, evidence-based practice, mentoring), or Pillar 4 (professionalism).

The audit would likely query this. The fix is to add CPD activity addressing the missing pillars. Even one or two hours of reading in each surfaces enough breadth.

How to do the mapping in practice

Add one column to your CPD log: “Code section(s)”. For each entry, name the dominant section number. Mid-cycle, review the log for coverage:

• Have you got at least one entry in each pillar?
• Are any single sections over-represented (more than four entries to the same section)?
• Have any sections that matter to your role gone untouched?

Address gaps with targeted CPD in the next year of the cycle.

The next chapter covers the 20-hour participatory CPD minimum in detail. This requirement often trips up nurses who’ve done lots of e-learning but limited group learning.