World Health Organisation: Nurse Educator Core Competencies

Aim

“to provide a clear outline of Nurse Educator Core Competencies and performance expectations, which can form the basis for developing a competence-based curriculum encompassing the cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills and behaviours expected of nurse teachers” (pg. 7).

The Process

1. Literature review.
2. Global Delphi survey.
3. Initial validation of the nurse educator core competencies.
4. Integration.

Nurse Educator Core Competencies and Domains of Learning and Teaching

Table 1 of the document (pg. 11-16) provide the minimum competencies that a qualified nurse educator should possess with core competencies and related domains of learning and teaching.

“Monitoring and evaluation can provide information concerning the inputs, process of implementation and programme outcomes. This can help to ascertain the relevance of the educational programme/curriculum and the different roles and responsibilities of a nurse educator, including theoretical and clinical teaching, leadership and research.

Nursing educator core competencies could be assessed at three levels:

1. Educator self-evaluation – to assess own performance in teaching and professional growth.
2. Training institution – to address education and professional development needs of the faculty or for research purposes.
3. National evaluation in nursing education – to ensure educational quality assessment and performance of educators in meeting the required standards and inform planning for appropriate interventions” (pg. 18).

Summary

“Globally there is an urgent requirement for more skilled nurses. Equally, there is a need to provide a system to educate teachers. Interventions in nursing education need to be carefully assessed and strategically planned and coordinated. Improving and maintaining the qualities and competencies of nurse educators requires keeping pace with shifting health-care expectations, evolving practice requirements, new information technologies, and rapidly expanding evidence-based health services. These challenges call for reformed approaches on the part of health professionals and educators alike. The development of nurse educators can facilitate the transference of competencies to new nursing generations and contribute to maintaining and enhancing the quality of health services” (pg. 19).

Reference