In many organizations, to be "competent" means you can accurately follow steps 1-8 in performing a particular task that is part of your job. I don't think that really bodes well in health care because there are too many variables. Critical thinking needs to play such a big part in everything we do as we perform patient care activities.
At St. Joseph Hospital we thought long and hard about our definition of "competent", especially for the clinical staff. We think of "competent" in a more global sense. It is more than just following a few steps correctly. Here is a synopsis of what we finally decided.
- Work performed must be within an employee's role and/or professional license, registration, and/or certification
- Applicable nationally recognized standards of care are followed
- Work is performed in compliance with the organization's policies and procedures
- Required education and training is completed on time
- Work is completed on time and predominately free from error
