What do we mean by Competency in Calculation

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What do we mean by Competency in Calculation?

• B. Meriel Hutton

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Competency
The end point of an experience which begins as
participating in practice, continues as the lived
experience and becomes an intuitive guide for
action in other situations.
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Who are we ?

• Higher Education Institutions
• Regulators
• Employers
• Service Users

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Higher Education Institutions view of Competency

• Fitness for
• Award

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Fitness for award
Quality Assurance Agency for Higher
Education Higher Education Qualifications
Framework
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Fitness for award
Subject Benchmark for Nursing Numeracy Understan
d and carry out drug calculation .
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Fitness for award
Subject Benchmark for Midwifery Demonstrate
numeracy in relation to prescription and
administration of drugs .
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Fitness for award
Subject Benchmark for Healthcare Subjects
Numeracy Ability in understanding, interpreting
and presenting numerical data
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• Fitness for award
• Nursing and Midwifery have explicit requirements
  for competence in calculation.
• Other healthcare subject benchmarks have an
  explicit requirement for numeracy.

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Regulators view of Competency

• Fitness for
• Practice

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Fitness for Practice

• The NMC requirements ensurethat entrants to
  pre-registration programmes have a foundation of
  literacy and numeracy from which to develop
  proficiency in .drug calculations.

NURSING MIDWIFERY COUNCIL

• Standards of
• proficiency
• for pre-registration
• midwifery education
• Protecting the public through professional
  standards

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Fitness for Practice

• Care Management
• Accurately interpret numerical data and their
  significance for the safe delivery of care

NURSING MIDWIFERY COUNCIL

• Standards of proficiency
• for pre-registration
• nursing education
• Protecting the public through professional
  standards

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Fitness for Practice

• Surveillance and assessment of the populations
  health and well-being
• Analyse, interpret and communicate data

NURSING MIDWIFERY COUNCIL

• Standards of proficiency
• for specialist community
• public health nurses
• Protecting the public through professional
  standards

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Fitness for Practice
To practise competently, you must possess the
knowledge, skills and abilities required for
lawful, safe and effective practice without
direct supervision.

NURSING MIDWIFERY COUNCIL

• Code of
• Professional
• conduct
• Protecting the public through professional
  standards

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Fitness for Practice

• Standards of Proficiency
• .. be able to gather appropriate information
• .. be able to analyse and evaluate the
  information collected

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• Fitness for practice
• Nursing and Midwifery have explicit
  requirements for competency in calculation.
• For Specialist Community Health Nursing the
  requirement is for data handling.
• The Health Professions Council requires its
  registrants to be competent in handling data.

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Employers view of Competency

• Fitness for
• Purpose

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Knowledge and Skills Framework

• To inform Agenda for Change - various sections
  refer to
• Information collection and analysis
• Evidence based decision making/practice

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National Occupational Standards

• Eg Childrens National Workforce Competence
  Framework
• Prepare and administer drugs to patients as
  prescribed or directed by a physician

Better Skills Better Jobs Better Health
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National Standards for Health
Underpinning criteria for standards are currently
being developed
Healthcare Commission
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National Prescribing Centre

• Competencies for Nurse Prescribers
• Checks doses and calculations to ensure accuracy
  and safety
• Knows about common types of medication errors
  and how to prevent them

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Fitness for purpose
Competency in calculations for Adult
Nursing Whole number addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division Understanding of
fractions,decimals, percentage, ratio and
proportion Appreciation of graphs
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Fitness for purpose
Competency in calculations for Childrens Nursing
and Midwifery Whole number addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division Understanding of
fractions,decimals, percentage, ratio and
proportion Appreciation of graphs Conversion
between units
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Fitness for purpose
Competency in calculations for Mental Health
Nursing Whole number addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division Understanding of
fractions,decimals, percentage, ratio and
proportion Appreciation of graphs
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Fitness for purpose
Competency in calculations for Learning
Disabilities Nursing Book-keeping and basic
accounting
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• Fitness for purpose
• Competency in calculation explicit within some
  National Service Frameworks and National
  occupational Standards but different areas
  require different competencies.
• Implicit requirement within risk management for
  individual Trusts to have workforce fit for
  purpose - which would include competence in
  calculation

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Service users view of Competency

• Safety in the hands of the healthcare
  practitioner

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Nursing and midwifery

• Measurement and its recording
• Medication administration
• IV therapy
• Data interpretation and evaluation

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Other health professions

• Prescribing
• Measuring
• Data collection
• Data analysis
• Data evaluation

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Conclusion

• In healthcare, competency in calculation is in
  the eye of the recipient of evidence of that
  competence, be it
• Higher Education Institutions
• Regulators
• Employers
• Service Users

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To hear is to forgetTo see is to rememberTo
do is to understandConfucius 402BC
Acquiring Competence