By Tom Maliszewski AAS, CCEMT-P, Platinum Educational Group

Competencies in healthcare encompass various elements such as knowledge, traits, skills, and abilities. These competencies play a significant role in developing quality care and shaping the workplace culture within healthcare organizations. This article aims to explore how competencies impact work culture in healthcare and emphasize their role in fostering better patient outcomes, evidence-based medicine, collaboration, continuous improvement, innovation, and ethical conduct.

The increasing complexities of healthcare delivery and changing market conditions have forced healthcare policymakers to promote the assessment of the initial competency of students and new graduates and the continuing competence of experienced and certified practitioners (Lenburg, 1999) as cited in (Kak et al., 2021). Healthcare reform has greatly emphasized the importance of employee competencies in the provider setting. It is essential to establish a foundation for attributes that motivate students and employees to become lifelong learners, starting in the lab and clinical settings.

Clinical competencies are crucial in healthcare as they reflect the ability to apply knowledge, skills, and behaviors effectively in the clinical setting to achieve desired outcomes. It is important that individual and organizational performance be assessed periodically to determine the proficiency of the services they provide (Kak et al., 2021). Organizations cannot simply track competencies, but they must be able to show that the methods used are validated when tracking competencies. This means that the competency being evaluated met the required skill being performed. When organizations prioritize competencies, they are essentially emphasizing accountability and empowering employees to perform at their best. In his book The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right (2010), surgeon and writer Atul Gawande, MD says: “Good checklists…are precise. They are efficient, to the point, and easy to use even in the most difficult situations; they provide reminders of only the most critical and important steps—the ones that even the highly skilled professional using them could miss.” (Understanding the importance of healthcare competency assessment programs, 2021). This approach benefits not only the employees and the healthcare team but also the patients. Organizations and individuals must meet these standards to obtain accreditation, certification, and licensure. Lastly, research shows that the more an individual’s competencies align with job requirements, the more effective they are in their performance. It is crucial for healthcare providers to ensure that their employees possess the necessary knowledge and abilities to provide optimal care to patients.

Effective communication and interpersonal competencies are crucial for fostering a positive work culture in a healthcare team. An effective team must consist of the patient and all involved healthcare providers. For example, in the case of a diabetic patient, the team would consist of a nurse to coordinate care, a diabetes educator for general education regarding the disease, a dietician for nutritional education, a pharmacist for medication review and education, a physician for primary care, a podiatrist for foot care, and perhaps a psychologist to address anxiety or other mental health issues. ("Core Competencies Needed for Health Care Professionals," 2003). Healthcare workers who can communicate well with each other can share critical information, support decision-making, and establish trust with patients and other members of the team. Active listening skills, empathy toward patients' concerns, and mutual respect for team members are essential components of effective communication. These competencies contribute to improved quality of care and better patient outcomes.

Communication also plays a role when addressing a patient-centered approach to healthcare. The healthcare provider must be able to identify, respect, and care about patients’ differences, values, preferences, and expressed needs; relieve pain and suffering; coordinate continuous care; listen to, clearly inform, communicate with, and educate patients; share decision making and management; and continuously advocate disease prevention, wellness, and promotion of healthy lifestyles, including a focus on population health. ("Core Competencies Needed for Health Care Professionals," 2003) Studies now show that there is a need for healthcare workers to engage in additional competencies by taking implicit bias training to help recognize unknown prejudices within healthcare that leave some patients underserved.

In addition to communication, evidence-based medicine competencies also play a vital role in promoting best practices when applied to patient care. It is vital that individuals stay current on what is the most recent “best practice” when performing skills and procedures on patients. An organization should track all the continued training that an individual might complete throughout their employment. This means being able to integrate the best research with clinical expertise and patient values for optimum care and participating in learning and research activities to the extent feasible. ("Core Competencies Needed for Health Care Professionals," 2003)

In conclusion, by prioritizing and tracking competencies, healthcare organizations, and educational institutions can ensure that their employees or students possess the necessary attributes to deliver quality care and meet the needs of patients. Technical skills, effective communication, and various other competencies contribute to better patient outcomes, evidence-based medicine, collaboration, continuous improvement, innovation, and ethical conduct. By nurturing, emphasizing, and tracking these competencies, healthcare organizations and educational institutions can create a positive work culture and improve the overall quality of healthcare services.

References

The Core Competencies Needed for Health Care Professionals. (2003). In A. C. Greiner & E. Knebel (Eds.), Health professions education: A bridge to quality. National Academies Press. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK221519/#__NBK221519_dtls__

Kak, N., Burkhalter, B., & Cooper, M. (2021, July). Measuring the Competence of Healthcare Providers. https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/pnacm829.pdf.

Understanding the importance of healthcare competency assessment programs. (2021, 4). Default. https://www.healthstream.com/resource/blog/understanding-the-importance-of-healthcare-competency-assessment-programs#:~:text=What%20Is%20Competency%20for%20Healthcare,or%20completing%20a%20technical%20checklist

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