How to Write a Nursing Competency Statement
What Is Competency Statement in Nursing?
A competency statement is a self-assessment education process tool used in study programs and hospitals to help nursing students and entry-level nurses analyze their performance and guide them to better at their jobs. Such a statement looks like an answer to a question or a short story demonstrating the nurse’s competency and staff development. Check the bottom of this page for good samples.
Now that you know the answer to ‘What are competency statements for healthcare workers?’, let’s look at how to craft them.
What Are Nursing Competencies?
Nursing competency is a skill or ability necessary to discharge a nurse’s duties. Considering the broad definition of the term, the competencies usually take on the form of vague statements that can be interpreted in many ways, thus complicating assessment and creating problems for nurses writing competency statements.
While the importance of competence in nursing cannot be overestimated, the universal list of competencies does not exist. Federal, state, and even hospital-wide requirements can differ significantly and create unnecessary confusion. Still, most competency lists include entries such as:
- Patient-centered care
- Responsibility and support
- Professionalism and continued learning
- Communication skills
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Empathy and ethics
- Evidence-based practice
- Legal issues knowledge
- Leadership skills
Whether you’re required to complete a competency statement in school, at university, or work, you will likely receive a list of nursing competencies to address. In most cases, you won’t have to cover them all; instead, focus on a select number specified in your assignment.
Assessing Healthcare Competency
Professors and supervisors usually require nursing students and entry-level nurses to conduct self-assessments by writing competency statements that are later reviewed and analyzed to evaluate proficiency. In most cases, nursing proficiency is a qualitative parameter without distinct measurable deliverables, as you cannot grade a nurse’s empathy or communication skills.
However, if you face a professional assessment board, its members may have to evaluate and measure specific proficiencies and grade your performance using a subjective scale. Still, assessors are also required to provide their views and comments to explain their evaluations so that even if you receive low points, you will know how to improve your performance before the next assessment.
Tips for Writing a Nursing Competency Statement
Find the Action Word
Read the competency and find the verb at the beginning, such as demonstrates, utilizes, provides, possesses, or evaluates. That’s that action that will be the focus of your competency statement, a skill you should prove you have.
Choose Your Format
Unless instructed otherwise, you can craft your statement as a narrative or a bullet list. The former provides more details and paints a vivid picture, though writing a narration takes more time. Bullet lists are short and on point but may seem a bit dry and disjointed, lacking crucial details.
Pick a Single Instance
All you need is one example where your professional conduct demonstrates competency. You don’t have to write a novel on how good an educator you are. Instead, focus on a single patient you helped learn to use crutches or measure blood sugar.
Focus on Evidence
Include all pertinent details to demonstrate you are a competent nurse. You can include a patient’s test results, comments, doctor’s orders, etc., to prove you possess the specified skills and abilities. At the same time, keep your statement concise and laser-focused without drawing it out.
Include an Outcome
Your competency statement should always conclude with a resolution of a problem. Explain how you helped a patient, established contact with a colleague, and what good it was. Your outcome can be as simple as improved oxygen saturation or an order from a doctor, but the competency statement will remain incomplete without it.
Most Common Mistakes in Competency Statement Writing
Don’t Paraphrase the Competency
Sample:
“I maximize the individual’s participation in the development of his/her plan of care.”
Restating the competency proves nothing but your paraphrasing skills, and most professors and supervisors expect more from you. Instead, describe how you provide patients with alternative care plan options and let them choose the most comfortable for their circumstances, adding specific details.
Don’t State the Obvious
Sample:
“Competent nurses provide good care. I am a competent nurse, so I provide good care.”
If you want to prove your dedication to evidence-based practice, use research results and demonstrate how you apply them in caring for particular patients or performing other duties. This will highlight your professional development and ability to apply theoretical knowledge in real cases.
Don’t Fabricate a Success
Sample:
“I always successfully communicate with my patients.”
You don’t have to demonstrate complete success. Instead, you can explain a complete or partial failure. The important thing is to add your realization of the mistakes made and your plans to prevent the same issues from reoccurring in the future. This approach highlights your self-awareness and an ability to improve care quality, which will gain you points with the assessor.
Nursing Competency Statement Examples
Samples:
I keep physical restraint methods to a minimum in patient behavior management. I reduced the light, turned off the TV, and observed a marked improvement in the patient’s behavior after eliminating outside irritants.
Before discharge, I provided the patient with information on local self-help groups and gave her a referral to an experienced therapist.
I research group therapy, cognitive therapy, and crisis intervention approaches through the latest publications on psychotherapeutic interventions and applies the successful techniques in daily care.
Conclusion
You can be an experienced professional and specialist with all the nursing core competencies but have no idea how to write a competency statement. If you’re struggling with this routine nursing paper writing task, let our website's writing experts take over. They will turn your self-assessment into a thing of beauty that professors and supervisors will appreciate. Reach out now, and we’ll deliver your competency statement asap.