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Discussion

CCP for CARNA

I recently received an e-mail from CARNA asking that I completed a basic audit for the continuing competence program. This will be my first completed year of practice and I'm nervous about being audited. I admit that I haven't done much towards keeping track of documenting my CCP activities. When I first started working I was very overwhelmed working on a busy medical unit and even though I picked my indicators. I never completed a learning plan. Now that I've been working I realize the indicators that I chose are not very applicable to the unit where I work and they are difficult to document activities for (I chose 3 indicators). Is it too late to change my indicators/remove 1 or 2 of them? I just want to make sure that I don't loose my ability to practice and I've heard some serious horror stories. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.:nurse:

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    • Experts

    CARNA audits aren't really that bad. The biggest mistake most people make is to think it'll never happen to them... I've helped a few people fill out their audit forms so I know how that goes! It only takes a couple of minutes to create a learning plan in the late summer when you're renewing your registration. Then updating your activities takes even less time. It can all be done in the online forms and it's a good habit to get into. You can also change your indicators whenever you need to. In your case, you started a new job, so you've got tons of stuff you can include. Select the indicators that will fit your learning, draft a learning plan retroactively and go with that. You can explain in your audit form that the indicators you selected were not applicable and that you've actually done a lot to keep up your learning, then expand with your list of new things you've learned. There are plenty of examples of how to document everything on the CARNA website. Good luck!

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    • Author

    Thanks so much for the reply.

    It's good to know that I can change my indicators even so late in the year. I was worried it would look bad and be a flag for me to fully audited. I have done a lot of activities towards my continuing competency by they just don't apply to those indicators.

    I will take your advice and adjust my indicators, draft a retroactive learning plan, and document my activities. From now on, now that I know what I'm doing I will do this every summer!

    Thanks again!

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    • Experts

    It truly is easier to just keep it current than it is to try and recreate it all later! I joke with my coworkers that if I was ever audited they'd need a wheelbarrow for all my documentation. Oh, I just bought a new computer... I guess I should check and make sure I've moved those docs onto the new one. I'd cry if I lost them. Phew, there they are!!

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    I know this post is a little old but I wanted to ask about the same topic. I've already posted on here before because I want to move to Alberta. I'm planning to try to apply for an Alberta RN license now so that it will look better when I apply as well as be easier for me if I do get a job because I'll already have the license.

    Our nursing standards are different in Ontario and also when I went to school, for each single indicator and there was probably like 75 of them or more, we had to describe a situation in which we achieved that indicator. So what I'm wondering is, for the application when you apply for an Alberta license on assessing your practice compared to the nursing standards are you suppose to describe situations that prove you have achieved that indicator? Or are you just suppose to put notes if they are pertinent and check off if you need to focus on that indicator for the year?

    Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am also afraid of asking my employer for a referral letter for the application not because of my work but because I think she'll be upset that I'm planning to try to move to Alberta especially when I dont think i'll end up applying until the spring. I'm still saving up money for a cross country move :)

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    • Experts

    I'm not entirely sure how CARNA wants new applicants to document their CCP. Their website is about as clear as mud: College Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta - CARNA

    and College Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta - CARNA

    It would seem that they want new applicants to follow the same murky path that we RNs here are following. To whit... "engage in reflective practice" (Assessing My Practice, Collecting Feedback and Reflecting on My Practice Worksheets), "identify learning priorities" and "reporting NPS indicators" (Learning Plan and Tracking Other Learning Worksheets). But it's all pretty subjective, totally self-reported and airy-fairy. Take a look at the worksheets and they'll give you an idea of how we're being instructed to document things. See if you can make what you've done for Ontario fit into their boxes. Be aware that the whole process is under review and may change dramatically once the review is complete. They've discovered through their audit process that most people don't understand what is expected or how to document it all. You're not expected to actually prove anything unless you're selected "randomly" for an audit. Then by darn, you better take it all very seriously!

    Right now, there are still impediments to finding employment here. I've applied for a number of positions in areas other than the one where I currently work; I've got a ton of seniority, a ton of very valuable experience and not a single interview. Later on I came to learn that they hadn't filled the positions. So although it looks like Alberta is open for business again, it's a bit of an illusion.

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    I completed the basic audit last year...it wasn't too bad, but yes it was airy-fairy and quite subjective. But yes you had better have documentation or it can be really bad for you. Always dot the i's and cross the t's.

    As jan said above, there are still impediments to positions here, budgetary from what I can gather. Two of our positions have gone unfilled from sept and nov of last year. One isn't even posted. And we are chronically working short....

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