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Continuing Competence Program

Continuing Competence Program: General Information

Continuing Competence Requirements

The Continuing Competence Program (CCP) is a regulatory requirement and serves to support nurses to determine their learning needs and examine their accountability as self-regulated professionals. The CCP focuses on promoting the maintenance and enhancement of RN and NP competencies while supporting professional development and patient safety.

The CCP requires registered nurses and nurse practitioners to reflect on their nursing practice through self-assessment against their standards of practice, the development and implementation of a learning plan, and then evaluation of the impact of the learning activities on nursing practice. It is an approach through which each registered nurse and nurse practitioner reflects in a formalized manner on their practice at least once annually. The CCP also includes the mandatory completion of a learning module. The purpose of the learning module is to ensure nurses are aware of the legislation, regulations, standards and guidelines that affect nursing practice.

CCP Annual Planning Guide

There are four steps to meeting the CCP requirements:

1. Self-Assessment:
Assessing your practice to determine your learning needs.

2. Learning Plan:
Developing, implementing and evaluating your learning plan.

3. Learning Module: 
Completion of NANB’s mandatory learning module. To access log into your “My Profile”.

4. Record of Learning Activities (optional):
Record of your participation in learning activities throughout the year.

All RNs and NPs must complete the CCP annually as part of their registration renewal requirements. The CCP is meant to be an ongoing process throughout the year. You may need to revisit your CCP in the event of a change in your practice setting or nursing responsibilities. Your CCP  can be accessed online through “My Profile”.

For guidance on accessing your CCP, refer to the Guide to the  Continuous Competency Program (CCP) via ‘My Profile’

For more information about CCP, click here to read the CCP FAQs.

CCP Compliance Monitoring

Completing the CCP is a requirement for any active practice nurse or nurse practitioner who wishes to renew their registration with NANB. NANB’s by-laws (article 1.03G), require that the CCP program must also include an audit process to ensure that members are compliant with the requirements of the CCP.

Each year registered nurses and nurse practitioners are randomly selected for review of their CCP submission from the previous year. NANB staff reviews the CCP learning plan submitted by the member for the practice year that has recently ended.

The audit process verifies:

  • if all required CCP components were completed (self-assessment; learning plan; implementation and evaluation of  learning plan and mandatory learning module)
  • if the learning plan is related to the nurse’s self-assessment
  • if the evaluation of the learning plan included how the learning activities informed and influenced the nurse’s professional practice.

For more information contact Registration Services.

Step 1: Self-Assessment

Self-assessment is a systematic process of reviewing your nursing practice against NANB’s standards of practice. Registered nurses assess their practice based on the NANB Standards of Practice for Registered Nurses and nurse practitioners assess their practice based on the Standards of Practice for Nurse Practitioners.

The standards of practice are statements that describe the level of performance expected of all nurses in their practice, regardless of their role and practice setting. With each standard of practice is a list of corresponding indicators which demonstrate how a standard is applied. It is expected that all nurses are able to explain how the indicators apply to their practice. Not all of the standards of practice indicators will apply to all nurses, at all times, in all situations.

  • Self-Assessment

    Your CCP  can be accessed online through your “My Profile”. For guidance on accessing your CCP, refer to the Guide to the Continuous Competency Program (CCP) via ‘My Profile’

    To Complete the self-assessment :

    Every year, you must conduct and document an assessment of your individual competence based on the Standards of Practice. The self-assessment tool is meant to stimulate personal and thoughtful reflection of individual nursing practice.

    Review the standards of practice and corresponding indicators. Reflect on your practice and consider how each indicator relates to your practice and practice setting.

    Rate your level of consistency in meeting this practice indicator on a scale of 1 to 4 by selecting the appropriate number.

    • 1 = Not at all;  2 = Sometimes;  3 = Most of the time;  4 = Always;  n/a = Not Applicable
    • If you select “not applicable” to the indicators on your self-assessment, please get in touch with NANB as your practice may not be RN/NP practice.

    Once you have identified which indicator(s) you may not be meeting consistently or on which you would like to focus, prioritize at least one indicator to focus on.

    The indicator(s) selected will be imported in your CCP Learning Plan.  Then proceed to step 2 to develop your learning plan.

  • Self-Assessment Tips

    Adapted with permission from The College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba.

    When you start your self-assessment consider the following questions:

    What is the purpose of a self-assessment?

    Practice expectations are outlined in the Standards of Practice for Registered Nurses and the Standards of Practice for Nurse Practitioners. The self-assessment allows you to reflect on and evaluate your practice in relation to these expectations. Remember, there are no right or wrong answers but evaluating yourself honestly will help you identify your strengths and any areas where you can improve.

    It’s your responsibility to understand and apply the standards of practice in any role or health-care setting. Taking the time to reflect on how you meet these expectations helps you maintain your practice by giving you the opportunity to:

    • review the public expectations regardless of your practice setting, domain and/or role;
    • review the legal reference that describes reasonable and prudent nursing practice;
    • self-reflect on your practice and take action to improve.

    Who is your client?

    Identify who your client is before you complete your self-assessment. Remember, your client is the beneficiary of care and may be an individual, family, group, community or population. In some clinical settings, client may be referred to as a patient or a resident. Depending on your  domain of nursing,  the client may also refer to a nursing student, research subject/participant or another RN or NP.

    RNs and NPs apply the nursing process in their practice, planning the needs of clients through assessment, diagnosis or determination, planning, implementation and evaluation. The principles of client-centred practice in a clinical practice setting also apply in other domains such as administration, education and research.

    What else do you need to know?

    • You need to complete the self-assessment in order to renew your registration;
    • If you select “not applicable” to the indicators on your self-assessment, please get in touch with us as your practice may not be RN or NP practice;
    • We recommend comparing your scores from one year to the next to evaluate if you are maintaining or improving your practice;
    • Looking for more tips on how to reflect on your practice? Try this self-reflection exercise.

Step 2: Learning Plan

Based on your self-assessment and the indicator(s) you have chosen to focus on from Step 1,  develop your learning plan.

See 5 Steps to a Great Learning Plan for quick advise on creating a great learning plan.

To document your learning plan access your CCP online through your “My Profile”. For guidance on accessing your CCP learning plan, refer to the Guide to the Continuous Competency Program (CCP) via ‘My Profile’

 

  • 1. Create your Learning Plan
    • Create a learning plan for the standard of practice indicator(s) that you prioritized in Step 1 by following these steps for each indicator selected. The indicators will automatically appear in the learning plan after you save the self-assessment.
    • Set a Learning Goal for the indicator that you have selected. NANB recommends that your goals be SMART. SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely. Here are tips to develop SMART goals.
    • Think about what you need to learn to enhance your practice.
    • Identify the specific learning activities that will help you meet that learning goal. The learning activities should be related to the practice of nursing, be relevant to your practice and demonstrate scientific rigor (i.e. based on research and best practices).Visit NANB’s professional development section for resources as well as additional examples of  Learning Activities.
  • 2. Implement your Learning Plan
    • Throughout the following practice year, proceed with completing the learning activities that you have identified in your plan.
    • Document the completion of each learning activity. Remember to enter dates of completion as you complete each learning activity.
    • As you implement your plan, you may identify other learning activities that assist you in meeting your established learning goal(s). Record these learning activities on your learning plan.
  • 3. Evaluate the Impact of your Learning Plan

    The final step to the learning plan is evaluation of the impact on your practice. Now that you have completed your learning activities, it is time to consider if you have benefited from these activities. It is important to identify what impact your learning goals and activities had on your nursing practice. Document the impact of your learning.

    Evaluation of impact on my practice

    Adapted with permission from The College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba.

    The evaluation is important because it outlines how you apply your learning to your nursing practice.

    Think about some ways in which your learning impacted your practice. Ask yourself:

    • What new information did I learn?
    • Did I meet my learning goal?
    • How am I integrating what I learned into my practice?
    • How has the nursing care that I provide changed?
    • What impact could this change have on client outcomes?
    • Did I share what I learned with others?

     

Step 3: Learning Module

The purpose of the learning module is to ensure that you are aware of the standards which guide your nursing practice.

This learning module has three parts.

  1. Review the document.
  2. Watch the webinar.
  3. Complete the  quiz and achieve a minimum of 80%.

To access the learning module, log into your “My Profile“. 

The required reading, webinar and exam can be found in section STEP 3:LEARNING MODULE of your CCP learning plan.

Completion of all three parts should take about 40 minutes and completion of the learning module is  mandatory to renew your registration.

Once you have completed all three components of the mandatory learning module, your status will be updated in the My Exams section on the homepage of your ‘’My Profile’’  account.

Step 4: Record of Learning Activities

NANB doesn’t require additional proof that you’ve completed your learning activities. We do encourage you to keep record of your completed learning activities, related to your learning plan or any other learning activities that you have completed. You can record any learning activities, formal or informal in section STEP 4: RECORD OF LEARNING ACTIVITIES in your CCP learning plan, in your ‘’My Profile’’ account.