Skill and lifelong learning: The link for quality nursing

Concern, Aug 1999

Continuing Competence for Registered Nurses

Recently, nursing and other regulated professions, both nationally and internationally, have been examining the regulatory role with respect to continuing competence. In 1997 counterparts from nursing associations across Canada began examining the feasibility of developing a nationally coordinated approach to assuring continuing competence for registered nurses.

The National Working Group on Continuing Competence for Registered Nurses was formed in October 1998. The Working Group's goal is to reach consensus on recommendations for a framework and principles to guide jurisdictional development of continuing competence programs for registered nurses. Objectives of this Working Group include identifying key assumptions and describing specific principles. Draft four of the Working Group's Beliefs & Guiding Principles are provided for your information.

Beliefs & Guiding Principles

Continuing Competence

1. The nursing profession as a whole, through its professional and regulatory organizations, promotes the advancement of nursing practice, identifies standards of practice, and promotes professional development.

2. Registered nurses are competent, self-regulating professionals and are committed to lifelong learning.

3. Continuing competence is essential to professional nursing practice. It promotes good nursing practice, assists to prevent poor practice, and contributes to the quality of nursing practice and best possible client outcomes.

4. Continuing competence is maintained and enhanced through reflective practice, lifelong learning, and integration of learning into nursing practice.

5. The individual registered nurse has the professional obligation and the primary responsibility for maintaining continuing competence.

6. The responsibility for taking appropriate action to develop and maintain competence is shared with others, including colleagues, employers, professional and regulatory nursing organizations, and government.

7. An individual's ability to maintain, enhance, or demonstrate competence is influenced by the practice setting. Continuing competence can be facilitated or hindered by the environment in which individuals practice.

8. Nursing colleagues, through their moral commitment to their profession and to one another, support each other in demonstrating, developing, and maintaining competence.

Continuing Competence Programs

1. The public has the right to expect that registered nurses demonstrate continuing competence throughout their careers. The role of regulatory bodies is to establish mechanisms that promote the delivery of safe, ethical and competent care by registered nurses throughout their careers.

2. A continuing competence program is an essential support to registered nurses in their professional practice whether or not it is required by legislation.

3. The Standards of Nursing Practice and the Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses provide the foundation for continuing competence programs.

4. Continuing competence programs should be:

administratively feasible, publicly credible, professionally supported, economically feasible, transparent and effective (have benefits that are apparent)

(Adapted from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing Inc., 1997)

5. A continuing competence program must be flexible, applicable to practice in a variety of settings, provide members with a choice of options for demonstration of continuing competence, and be clearly communicated to all stakeholders.

6. The confidentiality of information gathered for continuing competence purposes will be safeguarded, except if public safety is in jeopardy.

7. Continuing competence programs will be developed in a manner to promote the mobility of registered nurses.

The SRNA Competence Assurance Committee will be reviewing these beliefs and guiding principles within their mandate to develop a competence assurance program for registered nurses. Comments may be directed to Joyce Butler via E-mail: jbutler@srna.org, by telephone: (306) 359-4235 or 1-800-667-9945 ext. 235 or in writing.

Bibliography

Alberta Association of Registered Nurses. (1998,April). Final report: Project leading to a model for the monitoring of continued competence. Edmonton, AB: F. Picherack & Associates.

Canadian nurse registration/licensure endorsement document (Abridged Version). (1998, June). Ottawa, ON: Canadian Nurses Association.

Citizen Advocacy Center. (1997, December 16-17). Continuing professional competence: Can we assure it? Proceedings of a Citizen Advocacy

Center Conference (pp. 16-17). Washington, DC: Author.

College of Nurses of Ontario. (1998). Growing quality in nursing: A guide to the quality assurance program. Toronto, ON: Author.

Fish, D. (1991). But can you prove it? Quality assurance and the reflective practitioner. Assessment and Evaluation inHigherEducation, 16(1),22-36.

Hodkinson, P. (1992). Alternative models of competence in vocational education and training. JFHE,16(2),30-39.

Inions, Noela J. (1990). Privilege and quality assurance: The issues for Canadian hospitals(pp.185-194). Ottawa: Canadian Hospital Association Press.