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Assuring the competence of nurses
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The Council is responsible for approving
the programmes to ensure they meet
Council and legislative requirements.
In the 2012-2013 year, two new
programmes were approved and eight
programmes were reapproved. A total
of 30 programmes have been approved
since the Act came into force in
September 2004.
Some programmes are currently
working towards amalgamating with
other programmes and are planning to
seek approval in the coming year.
Recertifcation audits
Recertifcation audits are an important
means of assuring the integrity of the
continuing competence system. The
Council randomly selects around 1,000
individual nurses to audit for evidence
that they are meeting the continuing
competence requirements.
In the 2012-2013 year 941 nurses
were selected for audit. Nurses from
Christchurch were again included in
the audit after being exempt following
the earthquake. Enrolled nurses were
exempt from audit if they had completed
the transition process to their new
scopeof practice. 78% of nurses
who completed audits by the end of
the fnancial year met requirements
immediately.
Nurses who do not initially meet the
audit requirements are usually issued
with practising certifcates with
conditions to meet requirements within
six to twelve months. Most nurses
meet the requirements within the
timeframe. Nurses who do not meet
requirements enter the competence
review process, which is explained
on the following pages.
The defnition of competence:
Competence is the combination of
skills, knowledge, attitudes, values
and abilities that underpin effective
peformance as a nurse.