Orientation, Competencies, Skills Fairs: Sorting It All Out

Qualifications for new hires, orientation, ongoing staff training, assessment of competence, and performance evaluations, as well asongoing skills and competency development are states that an initial orientation must be completed.

Abstract

MANY QUESTIONS are posted on the ASPAN Clinical Practice Network asking about orientation, competencies and skills check-offs. These questions cover a variety of content, including the length of orientation, orientation of a new graduate or someone with no perianesthesia experience, appropriate competencies for specific units, and the meaning of annual competencies. Barbara Godden, MHS, RN, CPAN, CAPA, is a PACU Clinical Nurse Coordinator, Sky Ridge Medical Center, Lone Tree, CO