ANMC competency standards for registered nurses – a cancer control application
Registered nurses must meet the ANMC national competency standards for entry to practice. These competency standards are aligned with education programs which prepare nurses for entry to practice and establish an overall framework, regardless of setting. EdCaN applied these national competency standards for all registered nurses specifically to the care of people affected by cancer.
Each of the four core domains of practice of the registered nurse provide an organising framework for applying the competency standards to cancer control, thus enabling easier mapping and integration with the existing curriculum frameworks for courses preparing these nurses for entry to practice. This application is relevant to nurses who work in non-specialist cancer settings, such as primary care settings, medical/surgical units, or other practice settings where the people receiving services may have a diagnosis or be at risk of cancer.
The 'many' nurses group in cancer control will demonstrate the competencies at a more advanced level in the particular cancer control context in which they practise, because they participate more frequently or for short intensive periods in the care of people affected by cancer (for example, stomal therapy nurses or nurses in rural or remote settings).
Resources have been developed to support registered nurse practice in cancer care:
- Capabilities for registered nurses working in cancer care
- Professional development portfolio for registered nurses working in cancer care
- EdCaN learning resources – registered nurses in the ALL and MANY groups can access the resources and adapt as required