I am deeeeelighted to share that the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Alberta has launched the 2015 updated Competency Profile for Licensed Practical Nurses!
And most exciting for me is the section on Palliative Care!
Have a look at the new Competency Profile for Licensed Practical Nurses, in particular (document) pages 142- 146 for the Palliative Care Profile. I was honoured to be asked to provide input in the development of these competencies, and am thrilled with the outcome of this document. These are the most specific palliative care competencies for LPN/RPN practice that I know of.
Why are palliative care competencies for Licensed Practical Nurses important?
When I started writing our new text for Practical Nurses (to be published in 2016), I looked for any competencies for Practical Nurses. I looked at the CASN competencies for Registered Nurses. I looked at the National education standards for “Unregulated Care Providers”, the “Ontario Personal Support Workers Vocational Learning Outcomes”, the European Interprofessional Competencies… but did not have a set of competencies that focused on the role of the Practical Nurse.
It is important to have competencies to use when developing and offering education. It is helpful to have competencies to standardize education within a province and across the country. As an individual, it is helpful to have competencies to help identify areas to learn and grown.
If I have missed competencies, and if you know of other competencies for Practical Nurses, or Vocational Nurses (as they are sometimes referred to in the USA), please leave a comment below, and/or email me.
