Simulation in Annual Competency Validation

Nursing education programs increasingly use high fidelity patient simulation; however, it is uncommon for nursing programs and hospitals to share a regional simulation center. This section of the seminar will discuss the relationship between the hospital, the nursing programs, and the Regional Simulation Center, highlighting the use of the RSC for competency validation for the hospital clinical staff. Prior to institution of the RSC, United Regional Health Care System had used annual “table top” competency fairs as a means of documenting staff competency required by Joint Commission. This section of the seminar will discuss how lessons learned from developing scenario-based simulations for nursing students were integrated into development of scenarios designed for practicing clinicians. The structures, processes, and outcomes of providing and documenting the annual competency validation for approximately 900 staff will be discussed and the way in which the hospital nurse educators and the RSC lab mentors worked together will be explored.