An overview of the ways nurses understand and utilise the existing Australian Competency Standards for Registered Nurses

The paper concludes by recommending that: (1) an urgent review of the Standards be undertaken, (2) the need for critical debate and research to identify the modes of teaching and learning activities that promote competence in terms of knowledge, understanding and skills that are consistently understood and applied by nurses, (3) given the lack of existing evidence regarding how nurses use the Standards and make decisions regarding another nurses or their own competence further research is recommended that focuses on the mechanisms that impact on assessment, and (4) effective mechanisms be established for gaining feedback from nurses regarding the assessment framework adopted.