Multidisciplinary Efforts in Redesigning the Ongoing Competency Process of a Health System

Purpose statement: This quality improvement project was conducted to redesign the ongoing competency process to improve clinical educator satisfaction and increase leader involvement.

Background: The Donna Wright methodology of competency development and management has been a staple in our clinical education department since 2013. In 2019, clinical educators voiced concerns over the amount of time ongoing competency creation and validation was taking, without the support or understanding from the clinical leaders.

Practice change and implementation strategies: With a thorough analysis and environmental scanning, the competency process was reviewed and redesigned. A multidisciplinary workgroup used design thinking principles to focus on the processes for the clinical educator, and the importance of garnering buy-in and support from the end users and their clinical leaders. New processes included educational videos for clinical leaders highlighting steps in the competency process, standardized competency and validation statements, customizable rubrics, pre- and post-surveys, and workflow efficiencies in the use of the competency management system.

Evaluation: Outcomes of the competency process redesign were positive. 95% of clinical educators stated these new processes resulted in 1-50 hours of time saved and 89% evaluated the timeline as positive. 80% of clinical educators felt their opinions were heard. The perception of leader understanding of the competency process increased from 48% to 60%. Overall, the competency process was rated at a 4.45/5.

Conclusions and implications for practice: There are opportunities to continue to involve clinical leaders, streamline the sharing of materials between clinical educators, and document competency statements for entry into the competency management system. This project improved a process that had not been changed since implementation.

Outcome statement: The learner will utilize modern learning techniques to improve the quality of competency processes.

References
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