J Contin Educ Nurs
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Competency assessment is critical for a myriad of disciplines, including medicine, law, education, and nursing. Many nurse managers and educators are responsible for nursing competency assessment, and assessment results are often used for annual reviews, promotions, and satisfying accrediting agencies' requirements. Credentialing bodies continually seek methods to measure and document the continuing competence of licensees or certificants. ⋯ This article illustrates how portfolios can be used to assess competence. One specialty nursing certification board's process of creating an evidence-based portfolio for recertification or reactivation of a credential is used as an example. The theoretical background, development process, implementation, and future implications may serve as a template for other organizations in developing their own portfolio models.
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Nurses in the hospital setting must be knowledgeable about resuscitation procedures and proficient in the delivery of care during an emergency. They must be ready to implement their knowledge and skills at a moment's notice. ⋯ Therefore, how do nurses remain competent and confident in their implementation of emergency skills while having limited exposure to the equipment and minimal experience in emergency situations? A team of nurse educators at a regional medical center in Washington State applied adult learning theory and accelerated learning techniques to develop and present a series of learning activities to enhance the staff's familiarity with emergency equipment and procedures. The series began with a carnival venue that provided hands-on practice and review of emergency skills and was reinforced with subsequent random unannounced code drills led by both educators and charge nurses.
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Surviving cardiac arrest requires high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation, advanced life support interventions, and optimal post-cardiac arrest care. After return of spontaneous circulation and stabilization of airway, breathing, and circulation, the focus shifts to the treatment of post-cardiac arrest syndrome. Research indicates this unique and complex syndrome requires specific treatment strategies.
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Effective teamwork and communication is critical to the delivery of safe and reliable patient care. Communication breakdowns account for the overwhelming majority of sentinel events. Effective teamwork and communication can help prevent mistakes and decrease patient risk. The implementation of simple tools and behaviors can greatly enhance patient safety and improve perceptions of teamwork.
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In this article, the authors retrace their journey during the past 10 years as faculty members engaged in the implementation of a new bachelor of nursing (collaborative) program. They outline the major personal challenges related to increasing credentials and portfolio development for teachers within a university environment. ⋯ Specifically, they discuss the methods that facilitated meaningful reflection on their new roles and responsibilities; nurtured their professional growth and afforded opportunities for refueling and reenergizing along the way; and provided a vision for reframing their practice as nurse educators in light of previous experiences. With reference to Boyer's model of scholarship, the authors also explore possible implications for further analysis of the faculty development process within the broader context of nursing scholarship.