Paper
Sunday, November 4, 2007
118
Measuring Clinical Competency
Kathryn Moore, RN, MSN, CCRN, CEN, ACNP, Clinical Care Services, Air Evac Lifeteam, Nashville, TN, USA
| Learning Objective #1: The learner will be able to list methods to identify elements of clincal competency |
| Learning Objective #2: The learner will be able to describe metehods for developing a clinical competency measurement program |
Measuring clinical competency is a worldwide nursing issue with a universal solution. First, the skills, knowledge base and critical thinking elements necessary to perform the job must be identified. The skills can be divided into two categories: high risk-high volume and high risk-low volume. Once the relationship between the potential risk of performing the skill and the frequency with which the skill is performed the skills necessary for clinical competency can be determined. The same is true of the knowledge base necessary for the practice of a specific area of specialty nursing and the critical thinking elements necessary to perform in that area. Clinical skill competency can be measured in a simulated lab environment. Knowledge base can be assessed with written examinations and critical thinking elements can be assessed with exemplars. An important issue to be addressed by those performing the measurement is inter-rater reliability. The assessments must be subjective in all they measure. Once a baseline score is determined for initial clinical competence, a robust quality assurance program will monitor the maintenance of competency. Sustainment can be accomplished by quarterly training on skills that have a high risk-low volume ratio in the simulator lab.