Measuring competency progression across the advanced practice nursing curriculum: A framework for continuous improvement

As competency-based education (CBE) becomes a defining expectation in graduate nursing education, many programs face the challenge of systematically evaluating how and where competencies are taught, reinforced, and assessed across the curriculum. This article describes a structured, replicable process used by one graduate nursing program to measure competency progression across five advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) specialties. Using adapted national frameworks, including the 2021 American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education and the 2024 National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) Competency Implementation Guide, the faculty developed faculty-friendly tools to map course assessments to sub-competencies, performance expectations, and developmental frameworks such as Miller's Pyramid and Benner's Novice to Expert Model. A staged implementation approach included custom-designed Google Forms™ and Sheets™ that allowed for real-time visualization, pattern recognition, and faculty reflection. This method promoted a shared understanding of CBE principles, revealed gaps and redundancies in assessment design, and informed curricular refinement. Lessons learned offer practical guidance for other programs seeking to move from traditional objective-based education to a competency-driven model that prepares APRNs for complex and evolving healthcare environments.