Inside the tech transforming Lurie Children’s nurse training

Competency tracking is an important part of nursing professional development, used to ensure new hires and experienced staff are meeting skills requirements tied to orientation, annual education and regulatory standards.

At Chicago-based Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, tracking nurse competencies once meant navigating a cumbersome paper trail that could leave managers in the dark about staff progress. Leaders lacked real-time visibility, and new hires often struggled to keep up with checklists that were not designed to follow them across roles.

“We knew we did not want to stay on paper,” Lisa Tieman, MSN, RN, a nursing professional development specialist who oversees competency management at Lurie, told Becker’s. “With paper, everything just lived with the orientees, stuffed in a locker, forgotten at home or lost, and you never really knew where someone was in their progression.”

The hospital’s first attempt at digitization used a Microsoft platform, but when that program was discontinued, Lurie began searching for a better option. After vetting several companies, Ms. Tieman and her colleagues selected a new digital platform. What began as a replacement for paper became a redefinition of how competencies were structured.

“We used to have seven different versions of patient assessment,” she said. “The platform allowed us to consolidate into a single robust framework that could be tailored for specific roles.”

Consolidation meant nurses transferring between units no longer had to repeat skills they had already demonstrated, while managers could be confident assessments were consistent across departments.

The hospital also introduced templates to standardize competencies and shifted away from what Ms. Tieman described as “reminders for preceptors,” instead centering on knowledge, skills and behaviors tied to policies and protocols.

The rollout began in August 2020 with two pilot units and expanded in July 2021, but the timing proved suboptimal.

“We underestimated what it takes to roll out a whole new digital platform,” Ms. Tieman said. “Looking back, we didn’t do enough with our leaders. If you have that top-down buy-in, it makes everything easier.”

Without strong leadership involvement, staff adoption lagged, and the platform struggled to gain traction in its early months. However, the hospital has since worked to close this gap, and now onboarding for new managers includes training on the platform, and leaders are expected to reinforce its use with their teams.

The system also has expanded beyond nursing, tracking competencies for respiratory therapy, advanced practice providers, facilities staff and other departments. Leaders can view their employees’ progress in real time, while staff can use the system to document growth across a range of requirements.

The move prompted the hospital to create governance around its competency program. Ms. Tieman’s role was established to maintain the system and provide oversight, ensuring consistency across departments.

Lurie has also started to measure outcome data tied to the platform. One program tracks nursing assistants transitioning into registered nurse roles.

“Those nursing assistants who participated in the program and met all the requirements have a decreased time to competence as compared to their peers,” Ms. Tieman said. “Those who participated in the program came off orientation two weeks sooner than those who did not participate.

“It has really evolved over the last three years, and we are getting much better at adoption. It has really provided this currency and insight into your own professional growth you can’t do with paper.”

Nurses, too, have adapted. Although some were initially hesitant, many now rely on the platform to document achievements, particularly as the data feeds into the hospital’s clinical ladder program.

“It is a switch. They’re getting used to it. They know that’s where things are being tracked,” Ms. Tieman said. “It’s really about putting ownership of professional practice back to the employee.”

The hospital plans to keep adding features and users. Specialized roles such as charge nurses and IV champions are next, as well as integrations with a dedicated clinical ladder tool. Ms. Tieman said she expects the system will eventually highlight professional development across departments.

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