Tag: nursing education

Creating Competency Statements

Creating Competency Statements for Your Nursing  Program: Models, Tips and Tools
Creating Competency Statements for Your Nursing Program
Susan Sportsman, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN

At some point, nearly every nurse educator has written a reference letter describing a student as “competent”. Likewise, when discussing students who are struggling, we might say “She hasn’t yet reached the expected level of competence.”  While we usually know what we mean by “competent”, it’s not always clear to others. This lack of clarity, along with the complexity of the current health care system, is driving the shift toward Competency-Based Education (CBE) in nursing programs.

Although some nursing programs—like other health professions —have incorporated competency-based approaches for many years, it has become more common. One catalyst was the AACN’s 2021 publication: The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education. (https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/0/PDFs/Publications/Essentials-2021.pdf). Other nursing/accreditation organizations are also encouraging the use of competencies to prepare and evaluate nursing students. For example, NLN has published a Competency -Based Education Toolkit to support nursing faculty in implementing this approach. (https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/0/PDFs/Publications/Essentials-2021.pdf).

Competency-Based Education (CBE)

As promised in our February 2025 Collaborative Momentum Consulting blog, we’re diving deeper into CBE- starting with a discussion of competency statements. Traditionally, nursing programs have used program goals, or student learning outcomes, to define the knowledge, skills and attitudes students should demonstrate by graduation. However, these outcomes are frequently too broad or abstract to support reliable measurement. In addition, course objectives are often not aligned with program goals, making it difficult to accurately assess learners’ competency.

Clear, measurable exit competency statements help faculty develop desired competencies which articulate behaviors necessary for successful practice post-graduation. Once these exit competencies are established, more specific competence statements (often referred to as sub-competencies) can suggest assessment measures to evaluate learners’ abilities as they move through the course of study. This backward design of the curriculum provides a roadmap to guide learners and faculty in assessing the knowledge and behaviors necessary for practice.

How to Develop Effective Competency Statements in Nursing Education

Creating effective competency statements requires three essential actions: Continue reading “Creating Competency Statements”

Congratulations to Nurse Educators–and Next Steps for 2024 Success

Celebrating nurse educators on the outstanding results of NCLEX pass rates and success in nursing education.
by Susan Sportsman, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN

NGN NCLEX Success! Initial Next Generation NCLEX (NGN) scores for April-June and July-September 2023 have been published and the results are positive when compared to the 2022 and 2023 scores BEFORE the NGN exam was introduced across all RN and PN test takers. Continue reading “Congratulations to Nurse Educators–and Next Steps for 2024 Success”

Developing Clinical Judgment in an Online Environment

By Susan Sportsman, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN

Perhaps the most critical challenge we face is to ensure that our graduates are competent when making clinical judgements appropriate for novice nurses. Developing this competence has always been important—after all, effective clinical judgment is what keeps the clients we serve safe. However, the implementation of the Next Generation NCLEX (NGN) by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) in 2023 has brought this need into prominence. At the same time, the pandemic has created the need to deliver more instruction for nursing students in an online format. Let’s look at four principles to help us achieve the outcomes of developing novice nurses who make effective clinical judgment the core of their nursing practice, all of which can be implemented in an online setting. Continue reading “Developing Clinical Judgment in an Online Environment”

Addressing Cheating in Online Testing

By Susan Sportsman, PhD, RN ANEF, FAAN

The Coronavirus pandemic has forced most nursing schools to increase their use of online testing, as we reported recently. As I talk to faculty around the country, I continue to hear concerns about the security and validity of online testing. How valid is this concern, and what can we do to mitigate it? Continue reading “Addressing Cheating in Online Testing”

Online Learning: Creating a Caring Environment that Encourages Critical Thinking

By Susan Sportsman, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN

The impact of the coronavirus is being felt everywhere.  As I write this, schools, colleges, and universities across the country are temporarily closed and planning to move classes to online instruction when they reopen. For faculty in nursing programs, this directive is manageable, as many face-to-face courses involve some level of interaction online. However, as I talk to faculty from across the country, I hear concerns regarding the loss of a caring learning environment among students and faculty in courses delivered only online. I also hear concerns that implementing teaching-learning strategies to stimulate critical thinking is more difficult in an online environment that in face-to-face instruction. Perhaps during this national emergency it would be helpful for all of us to think about “best practices” for online instruction, particularly those that involve creating a caring environment that encourages critical thinking. Continue reading “Online Learning: Creating a Caring Environment that Encourages Critical Thinking”