1. Population-Specific Staff
Competence

2. Objectives
To provide excellent care through maintenance of competent staff and a systematic approach to population-specific care.
To ensure staff compliance with regulatory standards when providing care based on patient’s population-specific needs.

3. Why is Population-Specific Staff Competence Important
The Joint Commission requires hospitals to provide effective care, treatment and services to an increasingly diverse population with complex needs.
The Joint Commission also requires hospitals to develop population-specific staff competence to help better serve the community that they treat.

4. What does Population-Specific Staff Competence means
Population-specific staff competence means considering the populations served by the hospital when assessing and validating the knowledge, skills and ability of staff members to fulfill their duties.
Population-specific staff competence focuses on the specific needs of a particular population and the influence of these needs on the care, treatment and services provided

5. What is Population-Specific Staff Competence
Population-specific staff competence involves the ability to meet the needs of diverse groups of people, such as pediatric or cognitively impaired patients, by using assessment strategies that help patients tell providers what they believe is wrong, what they need to resolve the problem and what outcomes they desire.

6. Achieving population specific staff competence does not mean knowing all there is to know about all population groups RATHER It requires knowledge of the questions to ask and observations to make to help patient meet their health care needs

7. Who are the Groups Served
Population-specific staff competence includes providing effective care, treatment and services to several groups, according to the following :
Age – ranging from neonates to elderly
Particular disease or condition
Point on wellness from urgent, acute or chronic
Level of physical and mental ability
Availability of family and social support

8. How Can I Make A Difference
When providing care, treatment or services to patient, families or visitors, keep in mind some key questions like:
When I am doing my job, do I have to change or modify the care, treatment or services IF the patient is a child or adult or geriatric?
Will the outcomes of my care, treatment or services be different IF I do not take into consideration the age, medical condition or disease of the patient?

9. Examples of Population-specific Staff Competent
Nurses – provides care, treatment and services according to age group, particular disease or condition or level of physical or mental ability.
Admitting clerks – when interviewing patients and families, they should make sure that their questions are understood and recorded the responses correctly.

10. Examples of Population-specific Staff Competent
Unit clerks – must be able to communicate patient and family messages to nurses and other staff members, physician and possible to family members too.
Security personnel – might assist patients or families with security-related issues or who might intervene when control of a situation is needed,

11. In conclusion…
Population–specific staff competence can improve health within the community.
Patients who receive care, treatment and services from population-specific staff competent staff members are better prepared to manage their own health and to seek assistance as appropriate