Question

what do you need to know about supervising UCP's ? Give an example of something you would need to supervise a UCP for and explain what the CNO expects from you as the nurse doing the supervising for that example ?

Answer 1

Supervising
Supervising involves the monitoring and directing
of specific activities of UCPs. It does not include
ongoing managerial responsibilities. Often, the
person who assigns a task also supervises the
performance of that task. Supervision can be direct
or indirect, depending on the circumstances. For
direct supervision, the supervisor is physically
present during the provision of care. For indirect
supervision, the supervisor is not physically present
but monitors activities by having the UCP report
regularly to the supervisor, or by periodically
observing the UCP’s activities.

Expectations for nurses who work with
UCPs
A nurse who teaches, assigns duties to or supervises
UCPs must:
■ know the UCP is competent to perform the
particular procedure or activity safely for the
client in the given circumstances. When teaching
a UCP, a nurse is expected to have first-hand
knowledge of the UCP’s competence. A nurse
who assigns or supervises is expected to verify
that the UCP’s competence has been determined.
■ ensure that the UCP:
◗ understands the extent of her or his
responsibilities in performing the procedure(s)
◗ knows when and who to ask for assistance, and
◗ knows when, how and to whom to report the
outcome of the procedure.

■ ensure that there is an ongoing assessment of
the client’s health care needs, develop a plan of
care, evaluate the client’s condition and judge the
ongoing effectiveness of the UCP’s interventions.
UCPs perform a variety of tasks based on their
employment setting and on the role or employment
description the employer provides

CNO expectations

A. ENSURE THAT THE NURSE MUST BE AWARE OF HER RIGHTS AS WELL AS HER ACCOUNTABILITIES
TO THE PROFESSION

B. ENSURE POLICES ARE CREATED AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH CNO STANDARDS AND PRACTICES
Policies for nurses working with UCPs MUST include the following elements:
• A documented process to ensure that UCPs have the necessary training and ability to demonstrate
competency of a procedure or activity safely for the client in the given circumstances.
• Directive to Charge Nurse: must provide first-hand knowledge of the UCP’s competence. This includes
the verification that the UCP:
• Understands the extent of her or his responsibilities in performing the procedure(s)

Knows when and who to ask for assistance
• Knows when, how, and to whom to report the outcome of the procedure.
• When Nurses are unable to verify the competency of the UCP through first-hand knowledge, the nurse
can refuse to delegate controlled acts based on the UCP’s lack of clinical judgement.
• Only a charge nurse who meets the CNO’s six requirements for teaching may teach a controlled act
procedure to a UCP.
• Policies and practices regarding nurses working with UCPs must reflect and abide by the expectations
outlined in the CNO practice guidelines; Working with UCPs and Authorizing Mechanisms.
• Directive to Charge Nurse: must ensure that there is an ongoing assessment of the client’s health care
needs, develop a plan of care, evaluate the client’s condition, and judge the ongoing effectiveness of the
UCP’s interventions.