CCAP 1 Year Later: Challenges and Accomplishments

University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) implemented the Clinical Competency and Advancement Program (CCAP) in January 2011. The program, built upon American Nurse Association (ANA) standards,1 is a professional development tool for competency assessment, performance evaluation, and career advancement for nurse clinicians from levels Nurse Clinician (NC) I to NC V. UTMB requires each nurse clinician to complete and submit CCAP program documents annually to the manager. In CCAP, nurse clinicians have required and elective (self-selected) criteria that must be demonstrated through performance, activity, or documentation. Nurses earn points, weighted by complexity, for accomplishments. Eligibility criteria and point requirements are progressively higher for each NC level, I to V. Elective criteria include a wide range of professional activities from which the nurse clinician may select, whereas required criteria reflect the expected nursing practice and performance for every nurse. Implementing CCAP meets the definition of “innovation” as a core group of nurse clinicians and leaders constructed, created, and implemented a totally new visionary process. CCAP reflects a stronger UTMB culture of professional practice and personal accountability, with an overarching outcome of higher levels of professional performance in patient care delivery. CCAP changes the way nurses view their practice. In June of 2012, UTMB submitted an initial CCAP article that was published in AONE's Nurse Leader.2