Technology Monitors Nursing Performance

Previously, it was a challenge to simply show how many certified nurses were on staff at a given time. Now, a nurse manager just has to look at a given nurse's portfolio to see whether they have been CPR recertified, for example. Is the nurse a certified medical interpreter? That is in the portfolio as well.

Nursing levels

Midland Memorial Hospital uses "levels" to describe each nurse's skills and training: beginner, novice, and expert.

At orientation they are given the on hire checklist. Evaluations are done six months to a year out, allowing time to acclimate and grow into the culture of the facility. By the end of the first year, nurses begin their competency-based assessment.

After reaching the expert level, nurses start getting into individualized growth plans. They enter preceptor roles, take on mentoring tasks, and help train skilled nurses in areas where there is a knowledge gap.

But before reaching that level, there is quite a climb—and that climb is ever changing. Expert level nurses cannot stagnate—there are always new things to learn. If, for example, 10 new requirements arise for experta, they must become proficient in all of those requirements before being considered an expert/level 3 nurse again.

In fact, most of the time, nurses are considered advanced beginners. Nurses are paired in training with the appropriate trainer—a beginner is not handed over to an expert to shadow at first, but instead are paired up with a novice/level 2 nurse who can bring them up to their level of training first.

________________________________________________________________________
This article was adapted from one that originally appeared in the November 2010 issue of HCPro's Advisor to the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program®, an HCPro, Inc. publication.

View All Comments Make a Comment

Comments are moderated. Please be patient.