This toolkit is designed as a starting point for establishing staff competencies. Your staff competency requirements should be based on the facilities’ current Facility Assessment.

According to the final rule, the facility must have sufficient nursing staff with the appropriate competencies and skills sets to provide nursing and related services to assure resident safety and attain or maintain the highest practicable physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being of each resident, as determined by resident assessments and individual plans of care and considering the number, acuity and diagnoses of the facility’s resident population in accordance with the facility assessment required at § 483.70(e). 42 CFR § 483.35

Competency based training requires staff to demonstrate that they have the knowledge to execute a task, either on their own or as part of a team. Training can include online training, in-person training and return demonstration. A return demonstration does not guarantee a competency.

In this toolkit, we have provided a listing of popular Electronic Learning Systems as well as links to CMS developed tools and other helpful information. Remember to ensure competencies of others, such as therapists and any outsourced provider or service through their organization or your own.

A special thanks to our committee members who generously shared their work products and other information and their own “competencies”.