Implementing the COPA Model Nursing Education and Practice Settings: Promoting Competence, Quality Care, And Patient Safety (Nursing EDUCATION Research) (Competency Outcomes and Performance Ssessment Model)

Four concepts are fundamental to the Lenburg Competency Outcomes and Performance Assessment Model (COPA), a coordinated curriculum framework that promotes competence for practice as described most recently by Lenburg, Klein, AbdurRahman, Spencer, & Boyer (2009). These concepts are: specification of essential core practice competencies; end-result outcomes; practice-driven, interactive learning strategies; and objective competency performance examinations in all courses. The integration of these concepts facilitates comprehensive, cohesive curriculum revision; changes in faculty and student roles; and methods to validate achievement of competence to promote patient safety. Using the COPA model, faculty must identify the essential competencies required for practice (Table 1), the most effective outcome statements to integrate those competencies, and the most effective interactive learning strategies to promote their achievement. Then it is essential to identify effective performance assessment methods to validate competence and the achievement of stated outcomes and practice skills.