“The nursing profession is engaged in robust national dialogue on how to implement competency-based education. This dialogue often conflates the concept of “competency-based education” with nursing “competence” or “practice readiness.” Our aim is to discuss the potential harms of conflating “competency-based education” with “competence” or “practice readiness.” This commentary explores the possible risks of issue conflation. Risks include (a) suggesting that nurses who have successfully obtained licensure are not “competent” or “ready to practice,” and (b) de-emphasizing the importance of safe and sustainable work environments for new graduate nurses. We discuss the need to separate conversations about “competency-based education” and “practice readiness”; the need to increase the clarity and specificity of discourse surrounding competency-based education; and the need for strategic alignment across academia and practice.”

“As described in the Kavanagh and Sharpnack paper, there are sweeping changes unfolding in health care delivery today. Innovative technologies and care models have not only prompted a need for new approaches to nursing education, but for enhanced transitions to practice as well. However, our professional focus on the “practice readiness myth” is generating robust dialogue about whether licensed nurses are “practice-ready” or “competent”—instead of dialogue on how to best position early-career nurses for long-term success. The nursing profession will require a strategic, cross-sector shift to implement competency-based education”

Swan, B. A., Jones, K. D., Hayes, R., Kaligotla, L., McDermott, C., Rodriguez, J., & McCauley, L. (2024). Reject the “Practice Readiness Myth”: Ask if systems are ready for nursing graduates instead. Nursing outlook, 72(5), 102181.