BOSTON, MA, Oct. 21, 2026 - StaffGarden by Ascend Learning, the comprehensive frontline development solution for hospitals, today announced the launch of more than 300 evidence-based RN competencies and criteria across foundational, multispecialty, and specialty practices. Built on decades of Versant Health Competency Solutions research and testing, the competencies will help organizations move beyond procedure-based skills checklists to validating what practice readiness actually requires: clinical judgment, decision-making, and observable behaviors alongside technical skill.

By adding these competencies to StaffGarden's existing digital competency management platform, health systems now have a comprehensive offering that allows them to combine evidence-based domains and criteria with tools to manage and track clinician progress, including role-based profiles that let competencies a nurse has already demonstrated carry forward. That portability helps nurses move across units, roles, and sites within a health system more quickly and seamlessly, without re-validating what they have already proven, and gives organizations more flexibility to place staff where they are needed most.

For nurse professional development teams, updating competencies can be a daunting, months-long process, particularly when they are starting from scratch. StaffGarden's new competencies provide them with a content foundation so they can eliminate the immense time it takes to build something new and be more efficient by implementing an existing best-practice framework configured to their specialties, sites, and policies with support from StaffGarden's clinical specialists.

"The requirements of modern competency management have evolved, and assessing factors like clinical judgment and decision-making are now essential," said Larissa Africa, former founder of Versant Healthcare Competency Solutions and current vice president of Healthcare Workforce Solutions at StaffGarden by Ascend Learning. "A checklist can confirm a nurse completed a task, but it can't tell you whether that nurse is ready to practice. These 300+ research-backed competencies, built on decades of Versant research, give organizations observable criteria for judgment and behavior, and because they live in the same platform as clinical ladders and workforce planning, readiness becomes something leaders can see and act on across their system."

The launch comes as nursing leaders look to raise the bar for readiness. In an Ascend Learning survey of nursing leaders attending the 2025 American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) conference, 91% said an overhaul of RN competencies would improve consistent, quality care.

The newly announced competencies were developed by combining Versant research with two new projects that incorporate AI-enabled analysis and board-certified nursing professional development expert-reviewed technology to refine, consolidate, and align and organize the competency content with established nursing competency models and a mix of practice, accreditation, regulatory, and quality standards.

Already, StaffGarden's new competency content and digital competency management platform are being put into practice. OhioHealth, a nationally recognized not-for-profit health system, has begun a pilot of the new competency content alongside the same StaffGarden professional development ecosystem it's already using for digital clinical ladders, bringing competency validation and career advancement together in one frontline development ecosystem.

"We worked with StaffGarden to create a more efficient professional development program on one platform. We're eager to bring competency management into that same ecosystem as we move beyond binders and unit-specific checklists," said Matt Baker, system manager - nursing professional development at OhioHealth. "Even in the planning and mapping stage, starting from research-backed content rather than building from scratch, saves time and allows us to align on one shared definition of competency across units. As we begin validating in our pilot units, we anticipate moving that validation to the bedside, closing gaps during orientation rather than at the end, and having readiness data we can act on."

Interested parties can learn more about StaffGarden's RN competency management offering by visiting this webpage, and can read more about the work that informs the new RN competencies offering from StaffGarden here.

About StaffGarden by Ascend Learning

StaffGarden is a digital clinical ecosystem dedicated to empowering healthcare systems, uplifting clinical professionals, and improving patient care. Its centralized approach to workforce intelligence streamlines tracking, management, and enhancement of clinical excellence at scale, supporting structured professional advancement, competency tracking, peer reviews, and more.

About Ascend Learning
Ascend Learning is a leading healthcare and learning technology company. With products that span the learning continuum, Ascend focuses on high-growth careers in a range of industries, with a special focus on healthcare and other licensure-driven occupations. Ascend Learning products, from testing to certification, are used by physicians, emergency medical professionals, nurses, allied health professionals, certified personal trainers, financial advisors, skilled trades professionals and insurance brokers.

Media contacts:
[email protected]