Pre-licensure Competencies

Practices person-centered care⁴ that is grounded in an understanding of nursing process, theory, and system dynamics. Practice is holistic, honors autonomy, and respects the values and cultural norms of the individual/family and community. Care is understood in the context of Nursing’s Social Policy Statement (ANA, 2010). Nurses provide care across the lifespan and continuum of care in these four areas of practice (AACN Vision statement, 2018): Prevention/Promotion of health and well-being, Chronic disease care, Regenerative or restorative care, Hospice/palliative/supportive care.

Uses written, oral, and emerging technology methods to communicate effectively with diverse populations in the context of professional nursing practice. Communication includes the ability to listen, clarify, and engage with the person/population/healthcare team throughout the continuum of care to provide safe, person-centered, evidence-based nursing care.

Influences health care improvement for patients, families and populations. Participates within nursing and inter-professional teams to improve quality patient outcomes and safety.

Function effectively within nursing and inter-professional teams, fostering open communication, mutual respect, and shared decision-making to achieve quality person-centered care.

Plans care activities and facilitates information exchange across sites, resources, and care teams in collaboration with individuals and families to maximize healthcare service delivery, dignified care, independence, and quality of life.

Make practice decisions with the best available evidence from multiple sources of knowledge such as research evidence, standards of care, community perspectives, and practical wisdom gained from professional experience coupled with a deep understanding of individual/family/community/population experience, values, and preferences.

Critiques healthcare research and values the development of new nursing knowledge to support evidence-based practice. Communicates research findings and recommendations to professional audiences using a scholarly approach verbally and through writing.

Uses data to monitor the outcomes of care processes and improvement methods to design and test changes to continuously improve the quality and safety of health care systems.

Actively contributes to an environment that promotes health, minimizes risk and ensures safe standards of practice at the individual, family, community/population and system levels of nursing in collaboration with an interprofessional team. Attention to the well-being of self and others is the foundation of safe nursing practice.

Uses data, information and knowledge to create, implement and evaluate interventions with potential to improve the quality and safety of care and to lead to optimal health outcomes.

Practices nursing within legal and ethical parameters, considering role expectations, professional limits and boundaries, public safety, patient rights, cultural values, ethical frameworks, and conflicting moral imperatives of care.

Uses actions, behaviors, and thinking strategies associated with: 1) assessment, 2) diagnosis, 3) outcome identification, 4) planning, 5) implementation, and 6) evaluation in providing person-centered care. Clinical reasoning requires reflection in-and-on action and supports clinical decision-making and clinical judgment.