Charge Nurse Competency Paper

In the early 1980’s, several boards of nursing began exploring the competency issues for the graduating nurses in their states. The various states developed important competencies for the nursing graduates (Tilley, 2008). The competencies were a guideline for the various educational programs to ensure the students were prepared after graduation. Many of the programs identified various skills, professional values, knowledge, and judgement as standards upon graduation. In the 1990’s the topic became even more frequent in discussions by nurses in various nursing organizations and advocacy groups to ensure the safety of patients with the rapid changes that were happening in health care (Tilley, 2008). Over the years the role of competency has become the standard that fills the gap between education and profession. The Institute of Medicine put forth core competencies for health care professionals that called for working in

On one of my clinical days at San Ramon Regional Medical Center, my classmates and I all had the opportunity to be a student charge on the Med-Surg unit. As I have observed from my work place as well as at our clinical sites, charge nurses are the ones in charge of dividing bed assignments, solving conflicting issues among the staff, helping or coordinating with admissions, and keeping nursing care adequately delivered to patients. Charge nurses also do a lot more including signing doctor’s orders, resource or advisor for others, answering phones and call lights, rounding with doctors, and dealing with family members. I always viewed the role of charge nurse to help other nurses and make their loads easier. As I continue to be exposed to what their role truly is, my views changes through time and experience.

Transitioning from nursing school to working in a hospital setting can be a challenging time for a new graduate. Due to the nursing shortage, new graduate nurses are being hired with little to no experience. This is overwhelming for new nurses, especially when they are not getting adequate support or training from the hospital. The amount of stress, pressure, and lack of training is leading to a high turnover rate for new graduate nurses. With patient acuity on the rise, new graduate nurses that are filling these vacancies in the hospitals, need to be competent nurses to provide proper and safe care to the patients.

The knowledge of and experience of and Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) can be of value when examining core competencies. This paper will discuss the nine core competencies stated by The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF). To gain a more complete understanding of how the core competencies integrate into practice an interview of an APRN was conducted. Additionally, an analysis of selected NONPF core competencies will be discussed and how they apply to the roles of the APRN. The paper will end with a conclusion of key points and benefits from interviewing an APRN.

Advance practice nurses (APNs) are at the forefront of today’s healthcare system. To keep up with the aging population and the demands of complex healthcare needs of this society, APNs need to perform at the highest quality to provide efficient, effective, holistic and improve patient outcome and satisfaction while reducing cost. To provide such care, APNs need to implement the six core competencies as outlined by Hamric. These six core competencies are: direct clinical practice, expert coaching and advice, consultation, research skills, clinical and professional leadership, collaboration, and ethical decision-making. This paper will explore how APNs can implement each of the six core competencies to support the effective improvement of outcomes such as patient satisfaction, readmissions, cost, health status, and complications. In addition, each of the six core competencies of the APN’s role identified by Hamric will be outlined and applied using a fictitious patient case study.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has recognized five key core competencies (CCs) that all healthcare professionals should be aware of during practice. The initial competency described concentrates on patient-centered care. Throughout history, the nursing community has continued to evolve, both in the practicing aspect and in level of caring for patients. During this evolution of nursing care, nurses providing hands on care to patients must refer to the Institute of Medicine, peer reviews and/or evidenced-based research to guide them properly as it applies to the core concepts of nursing. The first core competency according to the IOM is patient-centered care.

The Scope and Standards of Public Health Nursing includes population-focused standards of care in the areas of assessment, diagnosis, outcome identification, planning, assurance, evaluations and standards for professional performance in quality of care, performance appraisal, education, collegiality, ethics, collaboration, research, and resource utilization (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2012). The Quad Council Competencies outline different skill levels divided into three tiers: Tier 1 competencies apply to generalist or staff nurses who carry out day-to-day functions in public health organizations. For example, these nurses hold non-managerial positions such as home visiting, carrying out health promotion programs, basic data collection, fieldwork, and outreach activities. Tiers 2 and 3 apply to the nurse at the specialist level. Tier 2 competencies apply to nurses in supervisory or management positions. They may oversee personnel; develop programs and budgets, or present recommendations on policy issues. Tier 3 competencies apply to senior managers and/or leaders in public health organizations who are responsible for oversight and administration of programs or the operation of an organization (achne.org,

The American Nurse Credentialing Center (ANCC) defines “certification as a tool in the form of an exam utilized to assessment minimal clinical knowledge and skills in entry-level nurse practitioners. Individuals must meet certain eligibility requirements before considering certification” (ANCC, 2014). For example, NP students must attend an accredited degree program that incorporates core courses outlined by the certifying body. Another requirement, applicant must have a current and active nursing license. On the other hand, credentialing is awarded once clinical competency has been assessed and successfully achieved. For example, ANCC award nurse practitioners as FNP-BC for board certified (ANCC,

Competencies are a combination of observable and measurable skill sets, abilities, and knowledge that is needed to practice efficiently within the advanced practice role. Hamric created a conceptual definition model for advanced practice nursing (APN) with defining characteristics that identify several core competencies, Guidance and coaching,Consultation,Evidence-based practice, Leadership, Collaboration,Ethical decision making.Hamric 's (APN) core competencies are an umbrella for the additional role-specific and educational competencies for a nurse practitioner (NP) and nursing informatics (NI).

The responsibilities of a charge nurse must first be defined in order to completely understand how they utilize mission command to complete their tasks. A charge nurse’s primary responsibility is to manage the specific ward or floor in a hospital to which they are assigned and the many staff also assigned to that floor. There

As the healthcare industry changes, challenges arise for the healthcare administrators of acute-care organizations. One of these challenges includes the need to ensure that every member of the nursing staff is competent within this continuously changing environment. Competence is not an achievement; it is a habit of lifelong learning. The Joint Commission defines competencies as the knowledge, skills, aptitude and behaviors that an individual possesses in order to perform tasks correctly and skillfully.

In the evolving health care environment, a guiding policy and personnel planning is required with respect to the numbers, types and mix of professionals. To overcome the challenges of the existing health care system and practice environment, “nurses need to be well educated, team oriented, adaptable and able to apply competencies relevant to leadership” (The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, 2011, p. 270). Health care system is complex and has conflicting interests. Nurse helps the patient and family to connect to their social support systems and help to coordinate care and improve patient outcomes. Evidence shows that high quality nursing care can reduce cost

Although, I have not experienced a Charge Nurse position as a RN, only LVN, by obtaining my BSN I hope to pursue management one day. The experience and knowledge that I have gained as a staff nurse and through education will guide me into a strong leader. I remember being a new graduate nurse and not feeling the comfort of being able to ask anything to or express my concerns with my manager or my preceptor. It was not a good feeling at all and I keep that in mind and try to always remember how I felt when I come into the presence of any new nurse. There are key components such as compassion and support that could have been expressed not only to patients but to co-workers as well. Constructive criticism along with resources from other nurses

Though Associate and Bachelor trained nurse learn the same skills, the Bachelor trained nurse has a deeper knowledge of quality improvement concepts, patient safety goals, and the leadership skills to assert critical decision-making. (Kearney-Nunnery, 2015, pp. 216-17) As a result, research shows that when hospitals employ a larger percentage of bachelor prepared nurses, patient outcomes improve. (Altmann, 2011) Bachelors prepared nurses have a great deal of experience in research of evidence-based practice, which plays a major role in quality and safe patient care. Nursing staff is consistently working to prevent falls, pressure ulcers, and IV infiltration, which are preventable and have the potential to lead to more serious problems. (Kearney-Nunnery, 2015) Overall, a bachelor’s degree better prepares nurses for the ever-increasing acuities of patients, many of whom have multiple health issues and comorbidities

Brand will need to continue to work consistently with Charge Nurse more closely to identify performance gaps that relate to “Nurse-