What is Competency and How do You Assess It?

This very practical morning kicks off with a session that looks at the value of competencies and clarifies their purpose in today’s busy healthcare system. Talking in a down-to-earth manner, Donna sheds new light on traditional methods of health facility education and training, starting with:

• What does “being competent’ actually mean?
• How does competency relate to mandatory training?
• What about regulations and standards?
• How do you assess if a person is competent?
• What is the difference between a competent person and a competent action, and why does this matter?

Selecting the Right Education – Avoiding “Spray and Pray”

Spraying training across an organisation has questionable value. Not all problems in health care are solved by education and training. This short session looks at how to determine when education or training is simply not the solution to your organisation’s problem. It includes:

• When is education not the answer?
• When can education have a negative effect?
• Does the standardisation of training get everyone to the same level of competence?

Wright’s Competency Assessment Model

This session commences with some stories of how the Wright competency model has been used in other parts of the world, as well as the outcomes that have resulted. Find out about the competency continuum and where the best place to start competency assessment may be in your organisation. We will learn:

• How to plan the competency cycle
• How to get everyone on board
• How to make sure accountability is properly determined

Now Bring Your New Competency Model to Life

In this final session of the morning, you will hear how to make your new competency assessment model work. It includes:

• What are the stages of change?
• Who needs to be involved?
• How can you validate your success?

Professional Development Associate - Supporting Nursing Professional Development Practitioners

Administrative and program development support in an education or professional development environment is essential. The Association for Nursing Professional Development has formalised a competency-based role in nursing professional development practice areas, which contributes significantly to the overall functioning of an education department. This brief session provides insight into how utilising a professional development associate can improve the outcomes of an education department. Topics include:

• How does a professional development associate contribute to an educational/professional development environment?
• How is their role measured?
• How can you develop this role in your workplace?

Important Legal Considerations for Nurse Educators

This session looks at the responsibility of the nurse educator. It discusses:

• Should you report the actual or potential diminished performance of staff?
• Teaching people skills beyond their scope of practice – who is accountable?
• Can a nurse educator be liable for teaching incorrect, outdated, or unevidenced practices, which lead to harm for a patient?
• Can a nurse educator be liable for “missed nursing education”?

Emerging Ethical Considerations for Nurse Educators

In the current health workplace and with the increase in the use of artificial intelligence, it is inevitable that ethical situations will emerge. This interactive session looks at some of the issues that may challenge nurse educators. It includes:

• What role does a nurse educator have in supporting staff to manage situations where a patient’s best interests are not being considered?
• Should nurse educators be a member of the organisation’s ethics committee?
• What is the best way to teach ethical behaviours, and should it be mandatory?

Trends in Healthcare Education/Training – Results of a Survey

This session will report on a survey of education/training departments in Australian healthcare organisations conducted by Ausmed Education. It will discuss a snapshot of responses to questions, such as:

• What is your education/training budget?
• Do you classify all of your mandatory training/education as CPD?
• What are the five main topics of mandatory education/training you are providing?
• How do you determine that mandatory education/training has a positive impact on patient care?

Content Integrity and Conflict of Interest

A vital aspect of all education and training activities is the integrity of the content, including that no conflict of interest exists. Content should not contain any outside influence or bias. However, it is not always easy to ascertain if bias or conflict of interest is present. This session will explain what these two terms mean and give examples of how they can be inadvertently overlooked.

Shaping the Future – CPD Education & Training

What is happening with education and training in your facility? Is your job changing and do you have concerns about the future of what you do? There is much uncertainty in the constantly changing healthcare system. The purpose of this session is to challenge you to decide how education and training will evolve with your input over the next five years. You will gain insights and strategies to take more control over the value and purpose of your work and department. It includes:

• What is it that you actually do?
• Is there anything you do not do that you think you should?
• How would your health system look like if it was controlled by you – the nurse educator?
• What do you have to do to have more voice in your organisation?
• How can you shift yourself from the liability side of the balance sheet to the asset side?

Advancing Relationship-Based Care – The Role of the Nurse Educator

In many of our fast-paced workplaces, it is almost impossible to allocate the time necessary for the development of healing relationships between caregiver and patient. This session gives an overview of relationship-based care and includes:

• What is relational competence, and how is it measured?
• Where does relationship-based teaming fit in?
• How can nurse educators support, implement, and nourish relationship-based care?

Relation-Based Competence – Why it Matters!

How staff relate to patients as well as each other has a direct relationship with quality and safety. However, this area of organisational performance – relational proficiency – is often neglected and seldom seen as a competency. In this session, we will look at what is meant by relation-based competence and why it matters to patient care. Discussion includes:

• What are the types of education and training that promote relational proficiency?
• What happens to a healthcare facility that encourages this type of competency?