Inside Looking Out: Updated Competency Model for Professional Rehabilitation Nursing Practice.

BACKGROUND: The original Association of Rehabilitation Nurses (ARN) Competency Model for Professional Rehabilitation Nursing published in 2016, and updated in 2020, provides a framework for rehabilitation nursing practice. AIM: This companion, but stand-alone, article to a 2022 publication further explicates and informs the updated Competency Model from inside looking out toward an increasing application for evidence-based practice (EBP). APPROACH: An eight-member 2020 ARN Task Force used an iterative process to review the original four domains and related competencies and came to consensus for the updated model. OUTCOME: This model provides revised competency role descriptors or behaviors that guide nurses practicing at different proficiency levels in various settings. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The Competency Model for Professional Rehabilitation Nursing is a premier resource that can advance professional rehabilitation nursing and guide EBP, including evaluation, quality improvement, and research. The model describes the nurse's role on the intra/interprofessional team and fosters collaboration with other healthcare professionals to enhance the quality of life for those affected by disability and chronic illness. CONCLUSION: The domains and associated competencies of this model clarify nursing roles at different proficiency levels, and role descriptors reflect current practice, supporting advancement of the specialty practice of rehabilitation nursing well into the 21st century.

Updated Competency Model for Professional Rehabilitation Nursing: Practice Applications.

BACKGROUND: The Competency Model for Professional Rehabilitation Nursing is a lens through which nurses can view their practice; the four domains provide a template that guides that practice. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to describe a task force's review procedures and share the updated model. APPRAISAL PROCESS: A rehabilitation nursing task force appraised the model over the course of 1 year. REVISION OUTCOMES: The original four domains remain, with wording changes for content and clarity throughout. Notable changes include (1) new competency for Domain 1 that focuses on the understanding of the worldview of individuals who are culturally different and (2) case stories for each domain related to nurses' proficiency (beginner, intermediate, and expert). CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This updated model can be used to explicate the rehabilitation nurses' role on intra/interprofessional teams, as well as provide a framework for education and staff orientation/performance evaluation. CONCLUSION: This competency model reflects the current practice and advances of the specialty practice of rehabilitation nursing.

Meanings of Falls and Prevention of Falls According to Rehabilitation Nurses: A Qualitative Descriptive Study.

PURPOSE: Guided by Friedemann's theoretical framework, this survey explored the meaning of a fall of an institutionalized older adult or fall prevention to rehabilitation registered nurses and whether the experience changed the nurse's practice. DESIGN: Qualitative, descriptive survey. METHODS: A convenience sample of 742 rehabilitation nurses was asked to describe these experiences and the impact on their practice. FINDINGS: Themes discovered related to the meaning of a fall include negative feelings (incongruence) and positive feelings (congruence). Themes related to the meaning of preventing a fall include positive feelings (congruence). Practice change themes emerged from both the experience of a fall and fall prevention. Practice change themes were drawn to Friedemann's (1995) process dimensions. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Nurses' experiences and meanings of falls uncovered negative and positive feelings about these falls. New findings of this study were the positive feelings expressed by nurses, when there was no injury or when a fall was prevented.