Beyond Manitoba
Academic credentials are often automatically included in job requirements because they are seen as minimum standards for skills and knowledge.
But current practice in Europe is placing increasing emphasis on recognizing learning in the workplace because that is where the rubber hits the road in terms of effectiveness.
John Konrad has been tracking these issues for several years as a vocational instructor and an internationally recognized researcher.
NOR-MAN Nurse Recruitment Project
Overview of Project
The project focused on providing research to investigate the feasibility of an innovative recruitment and retention strategy for health care workers in Manitoba’s North. The project specifically examined the possibility of establishing and delivering an Advanced Practice Licensed Practical Nurse credential in Psychiatry/Mental Health to assist in meeting labour market demands.
The project researched Recognizing Prior Learning (RPL) as a means to create a transparent, credible process to identify, document, assess and recognize skills, knowledge and experiences that may be transferable between the region’s Licensed Practical Nurses and competencies required to practice psychiatry/mental health nursing services as part of a collaborative team.
Needs/Opportunities
The impetus for the project was the ongoing and at times critical shortage of nursing staff to provide the continuum of facility and community-based mental health services in the NOR-Man health region.
Applying RPL
RPL was used to look at the scope of practice amongst the nursing designations, and to map skills, knowledge and abilities commonly shared by the nursing designations.
The project applied RPL in developing a potential model for identifying required competencies, gaps, training solutions and options to have prior learning recognized.
Impact
The project identified that LPNs have the foundations to develop the specialized knowledge and skills required to be practice at an entry level in a collaborative Psychiatry/Mental Health team. The findings generated interest from a number of stakeholders who identified critical issues to address in moving and documented potential barriers with the credentialing bodies.
This work has led to a further development of Post-Basic Psychiatric/Mental Health Education for Licensed Practical Nurses in northern Manitoba.
Lessons Learned
The project learned that the principles and practices of RPL can be applied to innovative solutions to labour market challenges. Although faced with barriers particularly in regards to credentialing among the differing nurse designations, the review of learning and competencies identified that LPNS do have the foundation skills required to successfully participate in further training that could qualify for them to practice in a collaborative Psychiatry/Mental Health practice.