Competency Checklist Research Articles

Checklist for Assessing Graduate Student Competencies in Voice Disorders

Low-incidence clinical disorders such as voice, nasal resonance, and fluency present challenging areas for graduate-level speech-language pathology training programs to help students acquire necessary knowledge and skills. A checklist of competencies for fluency disorders exists in the literature. The authors are presently collecting pretest/posttest data on the fluency disorders checklist over several cohorts of graduate students to determine student level of proficiency and confidence regarding these competencies. Preliminary data analysis suggests significant student perception of growth as a result of completing course requirements. These data have been useful to the second author, who teaches a course in fluency disorders and utilizes the checklist for purposes of course design and case-based project development to help students gain competence. The authors observed that a similar checklist of competencies for voice disorders would be useful for training programs as well as for other reasons described throughout this paper. Consequently, the authors compiled a checklist for assessing graduate student competencies for voice disorders. This checklist provides academic and clinical faculty with a comprehensive tool to guide the education of graduate clinicians and assist in the assurance of educational quality for speech-language pathologists.

Preparing the Next Generation of Front‐Line Nursing Leaders: The Development of an Evidence‐Based Charge Nurse Curriculum

<h2>Paper Presentation</h2><h3>Purpose for the Program</h3> In January 2011, the Maternal–Child Health Division of Nursing at our hospital began preparations to move to a larger, more state‐of‐the‐art facility. Assessment of nursing knowledge and nursing satisfaction was part of this preparation. It became clear from the results of a self‐assessment of skills questionnaire that the nurses who were serving in the permanent charge role felt unsupported and unprepared to take on the added responsibilities that the move to the new hospital would demand. Knowing that prior methods of charge nurse education were not sufficient to meet the knowledge and competency expectations of the charge nurses, a search was performed to find evidence‐based practices that supported leadership development. <h3>Proposed Change</h3> The charge nurses determined the learning method and setting. A year‐long charge nurse workshop was developed and classes were presented on a monthly basis. All charge nurses were expected to complete all components of the new charge nurse curriculum and were given tools to facilitate the process. <h3>Implementation, Outcomes, and Evaluation</h3> The development of the topics for the curriculum came from the evidence that supports the core responsibilities for the charge nurse role. The 24 charge nurses were divided into four groups: (a) clinical/technical skills; (b) critical thinking skills; (c) organizational skills; and (d) human relations skills. Each group developed an extensive list of component skills for their assigned category and shared their information at a summary phase during the initial meeting, which allowed for additions to the list and prioritization of the topics. This information was used to develop a charge nurse core competency checklist. The leadership team took the information provided by the charge nurses and developed the monthly educational programs, which were collaboratively presented by the experts of each topic, and built a resource guide for ongoing reference. In January 2012, after the program was completed, the charge nurses were asked to complete the self‐assessment of skills questionnaire a second time. A significant improvement was reported in all categories. <h3>Implications for Nursing Practice</h3> The successful implementation of this process has provided our institution with the basis for charge nurse education for all nursing divisions. Our nursing satisfaction results have improved among charge nurses. The results indicate that the nurses feel prepared to complete assigned duties, feel supported by nursing leadership, and have a sense of accomplishment regarding the last shift worked. This process can easily be implemented in any healthcare institution as a method of continuing education for the development of nursing leaders.

From Competency Checklist to a Professional Practice Paradigm: A New Vision for Annual Practice Evaluation

From Competency Checklist to a Professional Practice Paradigm: A New Vision for Annual Practice Evaluation

Online Learning of Safe Patient Transfers in Occupational Therapy Education

Online higher education is steadily increasing. For programs in allied health to be offered effectively in an e-learning format, clinical psychomotor skills need to be addressed. The aim of this research was to design, implement, and evaluate an online safe patient transfers module for occupational therapy assistant (OTA) students. The efficacy of teaching safe patient transfers in an e-learning environment was appraised using both quantitative and qualitative analysis. The applied research project was completed at a Tennessee community college. A convenience sample of eighteen students participated in the pilot study. Twenty-five students participated in the subsequent study. The instructional design of the course was based on Mager’s Criterion Referenced Instruction model. Streaming video was used as the delivery method for course material. A pretest/posttest evaluated the students’ cognitive knowledge of safe patient transfers. A behavioral transfers competency checklist was used to rate videotapes of students’ performance of assisted stand pivot and dependent sliding board transfers. Research findings indicated students were able to learn this psychomotor clinical skill online with beginning proficiency. A paired t-test showed marked improvement of cognitive knowledge. A student learning survey revealed the majority of students preferred at least one hands-on classroom session where instructor feedback and interaction with classmates confirmed safe and effective clinical technique.

Training New Instructors to Implement Discrete Trial Teaching Strategies With Children With Autism in a Community-Based Intervention Program

The effects of training and supervision on instructor knowledge and performance of discrete trial teaching (DTT) within three domains (DTT Technical Skills; Work Session Preparation/Conclusion; and Student Engagement/Management) were examined in this study. Eight undergraduate student instructors received an 8-hr training in DTT and support skills accompanied by a pre- and post-test of knowledge. The instructors then taught a variety of skills to six students with autism in a community-based preschool, where instructor competence was tracked and performance feedback provided using the Discrete Trial Teaching Competency Checklist for Instructors. Competence in all three domains improved over time with performance feedback. However, significant variability was observed within and between instructors, and performance in some areas remained below optimal levels even with regular supervision and performance feedback. Implications for training and supervising instructors to implement DTT with children with autism in community-based settings are discussed.

An Internationalization Competency Checklist for American Counseling Training Programs

Through a mixed method design the researchers sought to develop an internationalization competency checklist that U.S. counseling training programs could use as a pragmatic guide in their efforts to internationalize their curriculum and training environments. Based on a six-domain framework and using content analytic method, 70 potential internationalization competency items were generated. The items were further validated by 66 counseling professionals in the field who were knowledgeable about counseling training and have experience with international activities, resulting in 43 items with 60% or more positive endorsement. These 43 items were selected to form an International Competency Checklist. Practice and research implications of the study’s findings are discussed.

Female Intimate Partner Violence Survivors' Experiences With Accessing Resources

This phenomenological study investigates the types of personal and community resources that female intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors used when leaving an abusive male partner. Three African American and 2 European American IPV survivors, ages 24 to 38 years, described positive and negative experiences with social support, personal validation, self‐care, connection, IPV assessment, community validation, protection, and community support. On the basis of their experiences, a checklist of IPV competencies for counselors is presented.

Enhancing an Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience at free medical clinics

The aim of the study was to assess and improve first-year student pharmacists' satisfaction and learning experience in a Student-Run Free Medical Clinic Project (SFMCP) providing medical care to an underserved population. Two consecutive classes of first-year student pharmacists at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences participated in an Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE) at the UCSD SFMCP. This IPPE involved two inter-professional evening free clinics which provide medical care to an underserved population and opportunities for healthcare professional training and service. Year 1 students completed a self-assessment survey instrument and year 2 students completed the survey instrument plus a new competency checklist tool. Average scores from the self-assessment survey instrument were compared between years 1 and 2. Initial survey results showed that students felt the SFMCP was worthwhile; however, they did not experience enough involvement in the patient assistance programme or non-pharmacy-related clinic activities. After the competency checklist tool implementation, overall student pharmacist satisfaction of the SFMCP IPPE remained high (88%), participation in identified weak areas improved and students agreed that the tool helped focus their clinic experience. Areas of improvement were identified with the survey instrument and the competency checklist tool increased achievement of learning objectives. Overall, student pharmacists felt the SFMCP IPPE was a good learning experience. Practising pharmacists can employ these or similar tools in specific practice settings, to evaluate and help ensure that student pharmacists or interns are achieving applicable learning objectives.

Developing a Tool for Assessing Competency in Root Cause Analysis

Root cause analysis (RCA) is a tool for identifying the key cause(s) contributing to a sentinel event or near miss. Although training in RCA is gaining popularity in medical education, there is no published literature on valid or reliable methods for assessing competency in the same. A tool for assessing competency in RCA was pilot tested as part of an eight-station Objective Structured Clinical Examination that was conducted at the completion of a three-week quality improvement (QI) curriculum for the Mayo Clinic Preventive Medicine and Endocrinology fellowship programs. As part of the curriculum, fellows completed a QI project to enhance physician communication of the diagnosis and treatment plan at the end of a patient visit. They had a didactic session on RCA, followed by process mapping of the information flow at the project clinic, after which fellows conducted an actual RCA using the Ishikawa fishbone diagram. For the RCA competency assessment, fellows performed an RCA regarding a scenario describing an adverse medication event and provided possible solutions to prevent such errors in the future. All faculty strongly agreed or agreed that they were able to accurately assess competency in RCA using the tool. Interrater reliability for the global competency rating and checklist scoring were 0.96 and 0.85, respectively. Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) was 0.76. Six of eight of the fellows found the difficulty level of the test to be optimal. Assessment methods must accompany education programs to ensure that graduates are competent in QI methodologies and are able to apply them effectively in the workplace. The RCA assessment tool was found to be a valid, reliable, feasible, and acceptable method for assessing competency in RCA. Further research is needed to examine its predictive validity and generalizability.

Reliability and validity of the revised Triple C: Checklist of Communicative Competencies for adults with severe and multiple disabilities

Few tools are available to assess the communication skills of adults with severe and multiple disabilities functioning at unintentional to early symbolic levels. An exception is the Triple C: Checklist of Communicative Competencies. In this study, aspects of support worker and clinician agreement, internal consistency and construct validity of a revised version of the Triple C were explored. Triple C checklists were completed for 72 adults with severe intellectual disabilities (ID) by 118 support workers and stages were assigned by the researchers. Two support workers completed checklists for each of 68 adults with ID. Three researchers also conducted direct observations of 20 adults with ID. The average support worker agreement for items across the five stages of the Triple C ranged from 81% to 87%; agreement for stage assignment based on first and second support worker checklists was moderate to high (k = 0.63). Internal consistency was high (KR20 = 0.97); the stages were found to tap one factor (accounting for approximately 74% of variance), interpreted to be unintentional to early symbolic communication. Agreements between stages based on researcher observations and support worker-completed checklists were 35% and 71% across first and second support workers. The revised Triple C provides a reliable means of gathering data on which to determine the communication skills of adults with severe and multiple disabilities. The results support a collaborative use of the Triple C, such that a speech-language pathologist or other communication specialist works with a support worker to ensure understanding of the skills observed and development of appropriate intervention strategies.

Social competence of children and adolescents with epilepsy

This study compared children and adolescents with epilepsy with their healthy peers on measures of social competence. Children and adolescents with epilepsy (70 subjects aged 11-18 years; 47.1% girls) and their healthy peers in control group (95 subjects aged 11-18 years; 50.9% girls) were compared on measures of social competence from the Child Competence Checklist (part of Child Behavior Check List). The questionnaires were completed by the parents. All participants were of normal intelligence. The difference of means of total T scores for subscales of sociabilitiy and activities in the epilepsy group and in the control group were statistically significant (p<0.05). The results showed that 5.7% of children and adolescents with epilepsy were in the clinical range compared to 2.1% of subjects in control group. The girls with epilepsy demonstrated greater problems with social competence (45.8+/-8.27) than boys with epilepsy (48.1+/-8.27) and this difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). Multiple analysis of variance of T scores for social competence subscales related to neurobiological variables in the group of participants with epilepsy demonstrated a statistically significant association of reduced sociability with multiple generalized seizure types (F=4,405; d.f.=2; p<0.05). The study clearly shows that epilepsy is a limiting factor for social competence of children and adolescents.

Reliability of a Core Competency Checklist Assessment in the Emergency Department: The Standardized Direct Observation Assessment Tool

A Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors task force developed the Standardized Direct Observation Assessment Tool (SDOT), a 26-item checklist assessment tool to evaluate Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education resident core competencies by direct observation. Each of the checklist items is assigned to one or more of five core competencies. The objective of this study was to test the interrater measurement properties of the SDOT instrument. Two videos of simulated patient-resident-attending physician encounters were produced. Academic emergency medicine faculty members not involved in the development of the form viewed the two encounters and completed the SDOT for each. Faculty demographic data were collected. Data were collected from 82 faculty members at 16 emergency medicine residency programs. The checklist items were used to generate a composite score for each core competency of patient care, medical knowledge, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, and systems-based practice. Univariate analysis demonstrated a high degree of agreement between evaluators in evaluating residents for both videos. Multivariate analysis found no differences in rating by faculty when examined by experience, academic title, site, or previous use of the SDOT. Faculty from 16 emergency medicine residency programs had a high interrater agreement when using the SDOT to evaluate resident core competency performance. This study did not test the validity of the tool. This data analysis is mainly descriptive, and scripted video scenarios may not approximate direct observation in the emergency department.

Reliability of a Core Competency Checklist Assessment in the Emergency Department: The Standardized Direct Observation Assessment Tool

Objectives: A Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors task force developed the Standardized Direct Observation Assessment Tool (SDOT), a 26-item checklist assessment tool to evaluate Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education resident core competencies by direct observation. Each of the checklist items is assigned to one or more of five core competencies. The objective of this study was to test the interrater measurement properties of the SDOT instrument. Methods: Two videos of simulated patient–resident–attending physician encounters were produced. Academic emergency medicine faculty members not involved in the development of the form viewed the two encounters and completed the SDOT for each. Faculty demographic data were collected. Data were collected from 82 faculty members at 16 emergency medicine residency programs. The checklist items were used to generate a composite score for each core competency of patient care, medical knowledge, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, and systems-based practice. Results: Univariate analysis demonstrated a high degree of agreement between evaluators in evaluating residents for both videos. Multivariate analysis found no differences in rating by faculty when examined by experience, academic title, site, or previous use of the SDOT. Conclusions: Faculty from 16 emergency medicine residency programs had a high interrater agreement when using the SDOT to evaluate resident core competency performance. This study did not test the validity of the tool. This data analysis is mainly descriptive, and scripted video scenarios may not approximate direct observation in the emergency department.

A preliminary investigation into the internal consistency and construct validity of the Triple C: Checklist of Communicative Competencies

Background The Triple C was designed to assess the communication skills of people with severe disabilities and to sensitise support workers to their communicative behaviours. The study aim was to investigate the Triple C's internal consistency and construct validity.Method Deidentified data from the completed checklists of 172 adults with severe disabilities were collected.Results Overall internal consistency was found to be high. Internal consistency was found to be high also for Stages 2 to 6, and acceptable for Stage 1. A measure of association between item and stage totals indicated a hierarchy of skills. Although the factor analysis revealed two underlying factors, most stages loaded highly onto only one factor, interpreted to be early intentional‐presymbolic communication.Conclusions The results indicated good internal consistency, and promising construct validity. They also pointed to a need to modify the Triple C for both clinical and research purposes.

The science of disinfection in ARTS (assisted reproductive technology services)

ISSUE: Vaginal probes are used in our assisted reproductive technology services (ARTS) during transvaginal sonagraphy. Disposable single-use condom probe covers are used to cover the transvaginal ultrasound transducer head to reduce transmission of bloodborne pathogens. After each use, the probe requires cleaning and high-level disinfection to avoid pathogenic spread from one patient to another. The use of disinfectant wipes and alcohol pads are not adequate to provide high-level disinfection. Because of concerns regarding the potentially harmful effects of the disinfectant used on developing embryos, we began a search for a safer high-level disinfectant. PROJECT: The infection control staff worked closely with the ARTS staff and the probe manufacturer to review available disinfectant products to ensure high-level disinfection for transvaginal probes that was safe for embryos. RESULTS: We found a disinfectant that provided adequate high-level disinfection and was embryo safe for use in ARTS. LESSONS LEARNED: Using a multidisciplinary team approach, close scrutiny, and meticulous examination of our current disinfection process revealed opportunities to improve embryo safety in our choice of disinfectant. We identified a disinfectant that provided embryo-safe high-level disinfection. Working with the probe manufacturer, we received their written permission to use the selected disinfectant on the probe. This was necessary because the disinfectant chosen was not on the list of disinfectants approved for use by the manufacturer for high-level probe disinfection. The use of a disinfectant that has not been approved by the probe manufacturer can void the probe warranty. The identified improvements also included updating policies and procedures, designing a staff competency checklist, and creating quality-control forms for recording the testing of new boxes of test vials and for solution use. We improved our high-level disinfection of transvaginal probes using an embryo safe high-level disinfectant that was approved for use by the probe manufacturer and improved patient safety and quality of care.

Development of a Military Competency Checklist for Case Management

This presentation will discuss the design, implementation, and evaluation of a competency-based checklist in military nursing network. The checklist was initiated to help assess case manager competency where background and preparation for the case manager role were quite diverse. The checklist assisted initially with the assessment of learning needs; later, it served as a self-assessment for case managers to determine their areas for improvement. Finally, the assessment was used not only to verify competency by the case management supervisor, but also to establish systemwide quality in case management.

Process and Product: Development of Competency-Based Measures for Psychiatry Residency

The authors describe a group effort to devise objective and measurable standards for assessing competency of psychiatric residents in a number of domains, using techniques of brainstorming, affinity grouping, and priority matrices. Results from each step were used to refine the next step. A checklist of minimum skill competencies was successfully devised and implemented. Skills were allocated to five domains: Assessment and Presentation, Diagnosis, Somatic Treatment, Side-Effect Management, Consultation-Liaison and Medical Psychiatry, and Psychotherapy. They concluded that competency-based measures can be formulated for psychiatric residency training. Although the set of competencies derived for the authors’ institution may be particular to local goals and values, the general structure and the process of development are transferable.

Cultural competence in three human service agencies.

This paper summarizes findings from applications of the Agency Cultural Competence Checklist in three human service agencies. This checklist was developed on the basis of published literature and culture-specific agencies were chosen to document checklist findings in settings known to be culturally competent. As anticipated, all three agencies were culturally competent in attitudes, although the range of services differed. This paper provides some baseline data for using the checklist in mainstream agencies in which predominantly Euro-American providers serve minority populations.

The identification of children with developmental coordination disorder by class and physical education teachers.

Children diagnosed with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) have difficulty performing coordinated movements. In addition, these children have been found to have long-term social, emotional, behavioural and academic problems. Early identification is therefore important, and teachers may be very useful in this identification process. In the present study, the ability of physical education and class teachers to identify children with coordination problems using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children checklist was assessed. A total of 171 children was initially assessed. From this sample, 32 children found to have coordination problems were compared with 32 control children, matched on age, sex and Verbal IQ. Motor coordination difficulty was identified in children aged between 9 and 11 years using the performance test of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC; Henderson & Sugden, 1992). These scores were then compared with the scores on the MABC checklist which was given to the child's class and physical education teachers. Class teachers were only able to identify 25 per cent of the children with DCD, whereas physical education teachers were able to identify 49 per cent of the DCD children. These differences were discussed in relation to the contextual settings in which the children were tested, based on the theory described by Sugden & Sugden (1991) in the development of their Motor Competence Checklist (MCC).

Students' Perceptions of Multicultural Training in Counseling Psychology Programs

The Multicultural Competency Checklist (Ponterotto, Alexander, &amp; Grieger, 1995) was used to assess counseling psychology students' perceptions of multicultural training in their programs. Results revealed that most students perceived their programs to (a) have a required multicultural counseling course, (b) employ diverse teaching strategies and procedures, (c) use varied methods of evaluating performance, and (d) have faculty members whose primary research interest was in multicultural issues. Alternatively, many students reported that their programs did not (a) have appropriate representation of bilingual individuals on the faculty, (b) demonstrate adequate leadership and support with regard to multicultural issues, (c) use assessment instruments in evaluating their level of multicultural competency, and (d) make available a “multicultural resource center” for their use. The importance of integrating multicultural issues throughout academic programs is also discussed.