The added value of clinical faculty in building effective academic-practice partnerships

Competency-based evaluation: Collaboration and consistency from academia to practice

ABSTRACT

Competency-based evaluation is not a new concept in nursing education. The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education (AACN Essentials), published in 2021, and the NONPF Nurse practitioner Role Core Competencies (2022) have provided us with the most recent roadmap for curriculum development and student evaluation. Using these two national guidelines and the Standards for Quality Nurse practitioner Education (2022), we examined ways to unify curriculum and competency in clinical practice. Through a review of the available literature, the lack of standardization in evaluating competency in clinical practice was evident. A framework for evaluation was developed including concepts from other health care discipline competency models. This article presents the resulting evaluation of a tool across academia and practice. Clinical preceptors are an extension of the faculty and play a significant role in developing practice competencies in advanced practice nursing students. Providing preceptors with a comprehensive framework we derived from the already existing PRIME model, and which we use with simulated patients, allows for the evaluation of clinical competencies in a variety of clinical settings. Consistency of evaluation across settings assures the attainment of the competencies necessary to perform safely and effectively in the practice environment.

Promoting health equity with HBCUs: Breaking away from structural racism

BACKGROUND

The United States continues to be plagued with pervasive health disparities. Leading health and professional organizations acknowledge structural racism as a contributing factor for the lack of a racially diverse nursing workforce particularly those serving in leadership roles which could help to mitigate health disparities among historically stigmatized populations.

PURPOSE

Purpose Lack of funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and lack of meaningful partnerships, stymie efforts that can be made by nursing programs at HBCUs.

DISCUSSION

Discussion This position paper examines collaborative actions that can address upstream factors that perpetuate healthcare disparities through deep engagement between the policymakers, professional associations, industry, and educational institutions.

METHODS

Faculty representing HBCU's and predominately White institutions, professional organizations, and staff met via videoconference to refine the focus of the paper, determine topic areas for writing teams, and refine details which occurred during weekly meetings.

CONCLUSION

To disengage from structural racism, three critical recommendations are amplified with associated examples.