title: A practical approach to competency assessment.
abstract: Assessing clinical performance is difficult. Members of the Nursing Service Clinical Practice Committee at the Carl T. Hayden Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Phoenix developed a comprehensive program of competency assessment based on performance measures. This article describes the committee's process of developing and implementing the program and includes a blueprint for competency assessment and selected performance measures for all nursing staff who provide patient care. The approach to competency assessment includes performance measures specific to patients' ages.
authors.affiliation: Carl T. Hayden Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Claflin
mesh_terms: D001130:Arizona; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards*; D004496:Education, Continuing; D004650:Employee Performance Appraisal; D006787:Hospitals, Veterans / Q000592:standards; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007587:Job Description; D007591:Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009731:Nursing Audit / Q000379:methods*; D009738:Nursing Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D014481:United States