Use of competencies in training fertility nurses in clinical practice

In this article, the value of clinical competencies in the role development of fertility nurses is discussed using the example of the Oxford Fertility Programme. Clinical competencies are incorporated into the training programme within the Oxford Fertility Unit to enable new staff to demonstrate their clinical ability and undergo assessment while learning new and expanded skills. New staff are required to explore both the theoretical and practical foundations that underpin clinical practice. Competencies are used in a structured programme in which staff have to provide evidence of the appropriate knowledge to perform new and expanded procedures. New staff work with a senior nurse, who is their lecturer and who assesses both their clinical and theoretical development. The new staff are also assigned a preceptor with whom they work on a daily basis to consolidate the practice explored with the lecturer. The Scope of Professional Practice produced by the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (UKCC, 1992) places the emphasis on professional development for individual practitioners. Within the Oxford Fertility Unit, the nurses work collectively and as autonomous practitioners, which enables them to provide a specialized and personal service to their patients. Professional profiles are an integral element of an individual's professional development and are used in the training programme. They provide an accurate record of a nurse's abilities and knowledge and how he or she relates them to practice.