Get the appHelpLog inTalk to us
ProductCompetenciesProgrammesRequirementsCapabilities In developmentPreceptorshipFeatures
Who it's forHospitals and other providersNational passportsClinicians
ResourcesKnowledge baseHelp centreHow we get you startedSystem status
What's new
Talk to usGet the appLog in
Features / Renewal and expiry
Competencies

Keep competencies in date with renewals that fit

Clinical skills have to be kept up as well as achieved. Compassly tracks when every competency is due and when it expires, gives staff and their supervisors clear notice, and lets each renewal match the skill and the person, from a short declaration to a full reassessment.

Arrange a demoExplore more features

Every competency has a lifespan

Some skills need checking every year, others once in a career. Competency authors set how long each competency stays valid, such as one, two or three years, or no expiry at all, and Compassly works out the expiry date from the day the work was done, so every date is accurate without anyone having to calculate it.

Staff can see how long a competency will last before they start it, so they can plan for renewal from the outset. Medicines administration might need renewing every year, while a corporate induction never expires.

Spot what needs attention early

Every competency shows clearly whether it is due soon, late, expiring soon or expired, and lists can be filtered to bring the most urgent to the top. Staff and their supervisors are reminded as work falls due and as competencies come up for expiry, so renewal becomes planned work, done in good time ahead of appraisals or an inspection.

People can still finish work after its completion due date, so the focus stays on supporting them to get it done. Our page on notifications and reminders explains who is reminded and when.

Notifications and reminders

Renewal that fits the person

Renewal can take the form each skill needs. A competency can offer several routes to renew, such as a simple declaration that practice has been maintained, a short theory assessment, a practical reassessment, or theory and practical together, with guidance from competency authors on when to use each.

The supervisor chooses the most appropriate route for the person, either once the competency has expired or earlier as planned assurance that the skill is maintained. That keeps full reassessment for where it matters and gives busy teams time back on routine renewals, and the route taken stays on record so anyone looking later knows how the competency was renewed.

Built around working life

Renewal has to work around rotas, leave and busy teams, so Compassly gives organisations practical ways to keep it in step.

Renew a whole set. Supervisors can renew several of a person's competencies together and change their dates in one go, which helps when someone returns from long-term leave or renews a set of competencies on the same cycle.

Lighter renewals where they fit. Your organisation can choose to let renewals complete without a separate sign-off, while the first award of a competency still needs one. That saves supervisors a step on routine renewals and keeps full sign-off where it matters most.

Dates that reflect reality. When earlier achievements are signed off, Compassly records the date the work was actually done, so the next renewal falls due at the right time.

Every cycle on record

Each completed renewal starts a fresh expiry period, and the earlier record stays in the competency's history, so every cycle is there for audit. When a completion due date or expiry date changes, Compassly records who changed it and when.

Your organisation decides who can change completion due dates, nobody can change their own, and competency authors can lock a date where it needs to stay fixed, so every date on record can be trusted at audit.

When practice changes

Sometimes a competency needs to be done again, or to stop counting for a while, and Compassly keeps the full story on record when it does.

Starting again. After a switch to new equipment, or when someone wants to rebuild confidence in a skill, a Manager can reset a competency so it is completed afresh, with the earlier record kept in its history.

Lapsed during long leave. When someone is away from practice for a long time, such as parental leave or a career break, a Manager can deactivate the competencies they are no longer maintaining, so they stop counting as valid and stop showing as late. When the person returns, they complete the steps set for coming back, such as a return to practice route.

Invalidating with a reason. If a competency needs to stop counting as valid while concerns about practice are looked at, a Manager can invalidate it with a reason, and it shows as invalidated everywhere, including on its certificate. Your organisation decides what revalidation involves, from repeating the original assessment to a supervised period of practice.

Because every reason is recorded, the supervisor who picks up a deactivated or invalidated competency can see why, who recorded it and when.

When roles change

A person's competencies also change when their role changes, or when your organisation publishes a new version of a competency: our pages on job descriptions and packages and on building and managing your library explain how progress carries over and every version stays on record.

Job descriptions and packages
Building and managing your library

Always improving

We're always releasing improvements to Compassly. These release notes cover the features on this page:

All release notes
v2.0Competency deadlines, expiry and certificates
completion due dates, expiry periods and statusesv2.2Practice attempts, stage order and prerequisites
resetting a competency in the appv2.4Invalidate, deactivate and retry competencies
invalidating and deactivatingv2.6Supervisor-chosen stages and question pools
changing an expiry datev2.8Completion due dates and people without job descriptions
changing a completion due datev3.0Notifications that keep everyone up to date
due date and expiry remindersv3.4Joining codes, optional packages and filters
filtering competencies by statusv3.6Batch actions, Observers and flexible reporting
renewing a whole set and changing dates in one gov3.7Supervisor controls, registration numbers and competency tags
past renewals kept on recordv4.0Programmes for preceptorship and more
renewal guidance notesv4.1Programme leads, completion dates and CSV export
the real completion date, renewals without a separate sign-off, and how long a competency lasts

See renewals in action

Arrange a demo