Waived competencies

We do the same at our health system.  I would not change anything.  We have regulations that must meet and our education process meets those regs.

We do something very similar, an on-line educational module with quiz, and a hands-on skills check performing QC.

We do the same thing for our waived testing. We feel like you do that an Educator may not be able to explain all the issues we see.

We do like to make slight changes in the online learning module (with quiz) that address the issues that we've seen during the previous year, so that we can emphasize them. Most users already know how to use the device, they really need more information and education on things like pre-analytical issues.

Same. I am not going to just limit my training to just "how to use the meter". That doesn't help anyone. They need to know how to collect and handle a sample, the issues that pre-analytic errors can cause, how to trouble shoot. Anyone can be trained to run a device  - that doesn't mean they will get good results. 
Like Kathleen, in the past I have tried to keep metrics and really focus on current issues. I've just had to fall away from those frequent changes due to staffing limitations on my end and in the Learning development department. 

HA!  I saw this post in my email and had to stop what I was doing to respond.  I see that many other have mirrored my thoughts.  Yes, as the others have already posted we also do the same.  Do NOT let your RN educators talk you down from this training, its a struggle to impress upon the users on the floors the need to complete these test by their specific procedure.  Lippincott generalized guidelines are my bane.

I had providers ask my CLIA Medical Director if  I could shorten my POCT waived testing initial competency assessment training sessions.  Below was my response.  My competency assessment sessions may seem like overkill to some, but I feel that these are team members who do not understand how laboratory testing works, they need to know what can go wrong that could affect patient care even with waived testing, and correct testing knowledge can only help our patients.

Initial POCT training is a three hour session which covers a short background of laboratory regulation, the POCT Intranet webpage (sources for QC logs, policies/procedures and job aids) and the basic 5 waived point of care tests – urinalyisis and Clinitek operation, urine pregnancy, fecal occult blood and rapid strep.  Most primary care and walk in LPN’s and clinical assistants need to have a competency assessment on all 5 tests.  Some employees at specialty offices where there is only POCT urinalysis or POCT urinalysis and pregnancy, for instance, are done sooner.  Each module has a short quiz at the end that is done as a group.  Although this is CLIA waived testing, in my experience this initial POCT training format is necessary to ensure the nursing team understands how the tests work, how when things go wrong it will impact patient care and where their online resources are to refer to.  I relate in training the laboratory testing procedures to their nursing practice to connect the dots.

Your initial training program for waived testing is fantastic!  

Monkey see,  monkey do is not the best way to train. We do not hire monkeys where I work. 
Tests are  initially done through Healthstream. They have to complete all the modules and pass the  on-line test,  before they can come and check off with me or the Nurse Educator.  They have to pass the Test  100%. They have to repeat the test if they did not get 100%. The Nurse Educator has been doing the glucose training for our new hires. They are very thorough and train new hires just like I would. On top of Healthstream we use the Brain Shark training by NOVA so all the important things about the meter  are learned by everyone. 
Our Healthstream  has Power Point Presentation and exam  that I created myself. I emphasize things they need to remember which I ask them  again when we do the hands-on testing. I let them know that inspectors will ask them the same questions when they show up. 
So far no one asked me to "dumb down " our training. I tried to get the training done in 1- hour. Most of the time they already know how to do the tests because they have done them in another hospital or clinic. I can gauge their level of knowledge about the testing when we do our check-offs. I try not to insult their intelligence.  They are smart people too.  

I agree with all that has been said 100%.