title: Nicely conceived, but poorly- timed.
abstract: The term 'mandatory periodic refreshment' has been bandied around in nursing for some years now. It has been widely misinterpreted by nurses and created a climate of fear that professional updating will be rigidly enforced from the top. A cloud of uncertainty about when and how mandatory refreshment would be implemented has added to feelings of uneasiness. While many recognise that the issue needs to be addressed, few have found comfort in the idea that they might be 'mandated' to do so.