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The introduction of the Act requires the Council to ensure the continuing competence of practitioners to protect public safety. The Council has developed the Continuing Competence Framework to monitor the continuing competence of nurses on application for a practising certificate, and through a recertification programme (audit). This framework incorporates and updates the requirements previously outlined in the Guidelines for Competence-based Practising Certificates for Registered Nurses (2000) and applies to all nurses who are currently practising in New Zealand: nurse practitioners, registered nurses, nurse assistants and enrolled nurses.
Definition of practising Competence is the combination of skills, knowledge, attitudes, values and abilities that underpin effective performance as a nurse. It is a professional responsibility for all practising nurses to maintain their competence to practise. Nurses applying for a practising certificate under the Act will be asked to declare that they have met the required standard of competence. The Council recognises that many nurses are already demonstrating continuing competence through professional development and recognition programmes. The Council supports these programmes to ensure individual competence and has developed standards for programme approval. For a list of approved professional development and recognition programmes, click here. There are three aspects to meeting the competence requirements:
Nurses applying for a practising certificate will be asked to declare that they have completed 60 days (or 450 hours) of practice and 60 hours of professional development in the last three years. The Council has an expectation that all nurses will continue to learn and maintain their competence. You are responsible for seeking opportunities to learn and maintain your competence in the interests of client care. You need to choose activities to meet your needs in the context of your practice. These activities may be within your work environment or within an educational context. Your professional development must be relevant to your practice as a nurse. Your professional development may be taken as whole days or hours and/or you can undertake a variety of different learning activities such as degree papers, short courses, seminars, conferences, or in-service education. Journal reading may be considered a professional development activity if it takes place within a formal framework e.g. a journal club, a presentation to colleagues or to inform an education or quality improvement process. Evidence of what has been learnt from this activity must be supplied. Meetings may be considered a professional development activity if they have an educational focus and appropriate documentation is supplied. What will happen if you have not met the practice hours? If you have not completed 60 days or 450 hours of practice in the last three years, or last practised between three and five years ago, your application for an annual practising certificate will be individually considered and you may be issued with an interim practising certificate with a condition that you complete one of the following within six months: practice hours, a competency assessment, supervised practice or an orientation programme. What will happen if you have not met the professional development hours? If you have not completed 60 hours in the last three years, your application for a practising certificate will be individually considered and you may be issued with an interim practising certificate with a condition that you must complete the 60 hours professional development within six months. What will happen if you have not met the Council's competencies for my scope of practice? If you have not met the competencies, your application will be individually considered and you will either be given a practising certificate, or you may be issued with an interim practising certificate with a condition that you complete a competence assessment within six months. If there is an indication that there is a risk of harm to the public, you may be required to complete a competence review. If you have not been practising as a nurse within the last five years, either in New Zealand or overseas, you will be required to complete a competence assessment programme before being issued an annual practising certificate. Click here for the standards for competence assessment programmes. What will happen if you change my area of practice? If you move to a new area of practice e.g. from surgical nursing to medical nursing or from nursing management to direct patient care, you are expected to take professional responsibility for completing an orientation and for ensuring you are competent before performing any activities in your area of practice. Recertification audit requirements Up to 5% of individual practitioners will be randomly selected for the recertification programme (audit) each year. Nurses on approved professional development and recognition programmes will be excluded from the audit. If you are selected the Council will require you to submit: The following three types of evidence must be supplied to satisfy audit requirements. 1.Evidence of your practice hours (a minimum of 450 hours in the last three years) verified by your employer. The evidence could be a letter from your employer, or a certificate of service or a pay slip that must show the actual hours you have worked in the past year. Evidence of practice hours is to be signed by your employer and the name, designation, address and telephone number of the person providing the verification included. 2. Evidence of professional development hours (a minimum of 60 hours in the last three years) verified by your employer or nurse educator. This must include a summary of the actual hours, signed by your employer or educator to confirm your participation. This person is to include his or her name, designation, address and phone number. It must include an explanation of what you have learnt from these activities. Your statement of learning must explain what you did, what you learned and how each activity affirmed or influenced your practice. The Council expects you to provide an overall statement of your learning, including three key activities you attended within the last three years. You may submit the record of your professional development hours. on the template that may be downloaded from here. Professional development activities may be within your work environment or within an educational context. Your professional development may be taken as whole days or hours, and may include a variety of learning activities, such as degree papers, short courses, seminars, conferences or in-service education. Your professional development should be relevant to your practice as a nurse. Journal reading may be considered a professional activity if it takes place within a formal framework e.g. a journal club, a presentation to colleagues or to inform an education or quality improvement process. Evidence of what has been learnt from this activity must be supplied. Meetings may be considered a professional development activity if they have an educational focus and appropriate documentation is supplied. 3. Evidence of assessment of competence Two of the following three methods of assessment of your practice against all the competencies for your scope of practice. Please refer to the new competencies for your scope of practice. These competencies have been used for assessment of continuing competence from August 2006. If you are a nurse involved in managemment, education, policy or research, please refer to the information sheet enclosed with your audit documents. 3.1 Self assessment This must be against all of the Nursing Council’s competencies. We suggest you use the competence assessment form on our website, or a work-based form if it includes all the competencies. The assessment is to be dated and signed by you. The assessment must provide comment for each competency. It must be signed by a nurse. That nurse is to provide an address and phone number. 3.2 Assessment by a senior nurse* This must be against all of the Nursing Council’s competencies. The assessment must provide comment for each competency. The assessment is to be dated. It is to be completed by a senior nurse (not a medical practitioner or other health practitioner). That nurse must describe his or her position and provide an address and phone number. *This could be a performance appraisal if it covers all of the new Nursing Council competencies for your scope of practice. A senior nurse is a nurse in a designated senior position, e.g. charge nurse, nurse manager or nurse educator. 3.3 Peer assessment or peer review This must be against all of the Nursing Council’s competencies. The assessment must provide comment for each competency. The assessment is to be dated. It is to be completed by a nurse (not a medical practitioner or other health practitioner). That nurse must describe his or her position and provide an address and phone number. What is peer review? Peer review has been included as an option for nurses who practise in isolation. Nurses are expected to participate in regular peer review activities and may submit evidence of their competence from more than one source (i.e. more than one peer) as one method of assessment. Peer review is an activity that occurs with one or more peers, who review aspects of a nurse’s practice. It could include a review of documentation, observation of practice or discussion about a practice issue. It must provide a full description of the type of activity, the number of hours involved and the other practitioners involved. The assessment must include examples of how you performed and include the feedback you were given. This review must be detailed enough to demonstrate that you are competent in your area of practice. Each of the Nursing Council’s competencies for your scope of practice must be assessed. The review must be dated. It must be signed by the nurse(s) who carried out the review, who must provide contact details. Click here for the competence assessment form for the registered nurse scope of practice. Click here for the competence assessment form for the nurse assistant and enrolled nurse scopes of practice . The evidence supplied must be no more than three years old. Do not send your complete portfolio to the Council, only the relevant documents. Do not send original documents, as documents sent to the Council as part of the audit will not be returned. Please note: If you are required to complete the recertification programme (audit) your application for a practising certificate will not be processed until you have completed these requirements. What are the requirements for nurse assistants and enrolled nurses? Enrolled nurses and nurse assistants have the same requirements to demonstrate competence as registered nurses. Nurse involved in management, education, policy and research The competencies also reflect the scope statement that some registered nurses use their nursing expertise to manage, teach, evaluate and research nursing practice. Registered nurses, who are not practising in direct client care, are exempt from those competencies in domain two (management of nursing care) and domain three (interpersonal relationships) that apply only to clinical practice. There are specific competencies in these domains for nurses working in management, education, policy and/or research. Nurses who are assessed against these specific competencies are required to demonstrate how they contribute to practice. Those practising in direct client care and in management, education, policy and/or research must meet both sets of competencies. Do I have to comply with the Council’s request? Yes, under section 41 of the Act, the Council may set a recertification programme for nurses. If you do not provide the information required, you may have conditions placed on your practice or be suspended from practice under section 43. What if I intend to retire or stop practising? Please write to us and inform us of your intentions. If you do not wish to renew your practising certificate you will not be required to complete the audit requirements. If you do reapply for a practising certificate in the future you will be required to complete the audit at that time. What if I am on leave or have had a period of leave during the previous three years? If you are on leave you are still required to complete the audit. The audit is based on the previous three years so evidence collected before your leave began can be submitted. If you do not meet all the practice or professional development hour requirements because of an extended period of leave, please declare this and send the evidence of the hours you have completed. What if I am practising overseas? If you are practising overseas you may choose not to apply for a practising certificate but when you return to practice in New Zealand you will be required to complete the audit. Overseas evidence is accepted. It must be verified by an overseas nurse and address and phone number supplied. Your practice must be assessed against the competencies for New Zealand nurses. Please note that if you are practising overseas you are also required to submit a certificate of good standing from your overseas regulatory body. What if I can’t supply the information required, or am unable to meet the continuing competence requirements? If the evidence supplied does not provide sufficient and appropriate information, the Council will contact you and give you the opportunity to supply further information. If you are unable to supply this information, or it does not meet the continuing competence requirements, you may be issued with an interim practising certificate with a requirement to complete an orientation programme, a competence assessment, professional development hours or a period of supervised practice. If there are concerns about your competence, you may be required to complete a competence review. What if I don’t agree with the Council’s decision? You may apply for further consideration of the information and offered the opportunity to make a written and/or oral submission to the Council. Click here for competencies for the registered nurse scopes of practice Click here for the competencies for the nurse assistant and enrolled nurse scopes of practice Click here for the comptencies for the nurse practitioner scopes of practice
Registration - Annual Practising Certificates |