Competency assessment starts on first day
When new employees are hired at Daniel Freeman Hospital Inc. in Inglewood, CA, they fill out a self-administered competency assessment that measures whether they can fulfill their job descriptions. That initial assessment forms the framework for a competency assessment system that follows them throughout their careers at the hospital.
The system, developed by a team of rehabilitation staff, starts with core competencies that must be achieved during the first 90 days of employment and builds each year to include individual goals outlined in the employee's annual performance review. It went into effect in the rehabilitation department in spring 1997 and is now being implemented throughout the hospital, says Ellie LeVine, PT, discipline coordinator for physical therapy.
New employees have 90 days to complete the core competencies for their disciplines. Then they meet with their supervisor to set goals for the rest of the year. Employees who were already on board when the competency assessment began also had to complete the core competencies and set goals for the year.
Making reviews mean something
The new system makes annual performance reviews more succinct, meaningful, and interesting for both employee and supervisor by eliminating duplication and focusing on new goals. "With this system, once you have met the basic core competencies, we don't go back and address them again unless a need is shown," LeVine says.
The new system also makes staff responsible for meeting the goals they set during the year because their performance evaluation hinges on them. "Now [staff] are accountable. They have to demonstrate that they have met their goals during their performance evaluations," she says.
The discipline coordinators and education coordinators in speech, occupational therapy, and physical therapy have looked at the goals of all staff to determine areas of interest so they can set up inservice training to meet staff needs.
Supervisors check off core competency skills when they observe employees performing them. More advanced competency skills may be completed through research papers, classes, or self-study courses. The hospital is working on more advance competencies to define the skills needed to treat specific populations such as patients with stroke or brain injury.
Employees are responsible for setting their own goals, with input from their supervisors. The rehab team compiled a list of people who can validate competencies within their areas of expertise. Some of those designees are in areas other than rehabilitation.
[Ellie Levine can be reached at (310) 674-7050, ext. 3345.]
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