Tiered Skills Acquisition Model (TSAM®) Nursing Orientation Workshop
Feb. 26, 2026
Creative Health Care Insight (CHCI) invites nursing education specialists, nursing leadership, preceptor development coordinators, and health care professionals to the second session of the groundbreaking Tiered Skills Acquisition Model (TSAM®) Nursing Orientation Workshop. This highly interactive, in-person event takes place May 14th, 2026, in Nashville, TN, led by Dr. Ellen Joswiak, DNP, RN, NPD-BC, co-innovator of TSAM® and CHCI’s Chief Clinical Education Consultant.
This isn’t just another nursing education conference. This is your opportunity to learn directly from the co-innovator of the clinical orientation framework that is transforming how health care organizations develop capable nurses. Whether you’re struggling with your current orientation model, seeking practical strategies to support individualized learning, or ready to implement a robust orientation process backed by evidence and proven results, this workshop delivers the foundational principles, preceptor tools, and change management strategies you need for a successful implementation.
Secure your spot today for this pivotal nursing orientation workshop that will revolutionize how your organization approaches nursing professional development.
What You’ll Learn: Comprehensive TSAM® Implementation Guidance
The Tiered Skills Acquisition Model (TSAM®) Nursing Orientation Workshop provides dedicated development time focused entirely on mastering this evidence-based framework. Attendees will receive practical strategies, tools, and resources applicable immediately in their own organizations.
Foundational Stages and Theoretical Frameworks
The workshop begins with deep exploration of the Tiered Skills Acquisition Model’s foundational stages and the theoretical frameworks supporting this revolutionary approach to clinical orientation. Understanding these foundations enables nursing education specialists to articulate the “why” behind TSAM® when discussing common implementation challenges with stakeholders and promoting preceptor success.
Learning objectives describe how participants will analyze the distinct advantages of competency-based progression over time-based orientation, examine how the model aligns with nursing practice standards and regulatory requirements, and evaluate implementation readiness within diverse clinical settings.
The Three Essential Pillars of TSAM®
Dr. Joswiak will guide participants through the three essential pillars of TSAM® that support a robust orientation process.
These essential pillars represent a fundamental shift from traditional orientation models. Rather than assuming all new nurses progress identically, TSAM® recognizes individual differences in prior experience, learning pace, and competence development—creating pathways that support individualized learning while maintaining rigorous standards.
The TSAM® Best Practices Toolkit
Participants will engage hands-on with the Best Practices Toolkit, learning to utilize tools designed specifically for effective clinical orientation.
The toolkit provides ready-to-implement resources and strategies that eliminate the need to create TSAM® documentation from scratch—accelerating implementation timelines and ensuring alignment with proven practices.
Addressing Implementation Challenges with Practical Solutions
Every innovation faces obstacles. The workshop dedicates significant time to discuss common implementation challenges health care organizations encounter when transitioning from traditional models to TSAM®. Dr. Joswiak will share real-world solutions for overcoming common challenges such as resistance to change, securing leadership buy-in for competency-based approaches, managing workflow disruptions during transition periods, and addressing preceptor concerns about increased complexity.
Participants will receive practical strategies to utilize change management principles, conduct readiness assessment tools effectively, and promote preceptor success throughout implementation.
Cultural Transformation and Preceptor Engagement
Sustaining effective clinical orientation requires cultural shifts in how organizations approach precepting. The workshop explores strategies for fostering environments where preceptors embrace competency-based assessment, new nurses feel empowered to progress at their own pace, and nurse managers understand the nurse manager’s role in supporting both preceptors and preceptees.
Participants will learn how to utilize tools that foster success through structured preceptor development, ongoing support mechanisms, and recognition systems that value the crucial work preceptors perform in developing clinical competence.
Outcome Evaluation and Continuous Improvement
Implementing TSAM® is just the beginning. The workshop also offers with guidance on evaluating implementation outcomes through meaningful outcome metrics, identifying opportunities for continuous improvement, and ensuring sustainability as leadership changes and organizational priorities evolve.
Learning objectives describe how participants will develop evaluation frameworks appropriate for their clinical settings, utilize data to demonstrate TSAM®’s impact on nurse satisfaction and patient care quality, and create systems for ongoing refinement.
Why the Tiered Skills Acquisition Model (TSAM®) Transforms Nursing Orientation
The Tiered Skills Acquisition Model represents a paradigm shift in nursing education—moving from rigid, time-based orientation to flexible, competency-driven development that meets learners where they are. This evidence-based approach recognizes that developing clinical competence requires more than surviving a predetermined number of orientation shifts.
Traditional orientation models assume all new nurses need identical experiences over identical timeframes. TSAM® acknowledges reality: nurses enter practice with vastly different educational backgrounds, prior health care experience, and learning needs. Some require extensive support developing foundational skills; others need exposure to complex patient care scenarios they never encountered during education.
By providing personalized pacing based on demonstrated competence, TSAM® enables confident, prepared nurses to transition to independent practice earlier while ensuring struggling learners receive additional support before assuming full patient loads. This individualized learning approach reduces the anxiety many new nurses experience when forced to progress on predetermined schedules regardless of actual readiness.
The broader range of patient care experiences TSAM® provides—including opportunities to observe expert nurses managing diverse clinical settings—accelerates competency development in ways traditional models cannot match. New nurses don’t just learn to manage their assigned patients; they develop the clinical judgment necessary to handle the unexpected situations that define nursing practice.
Workshop Details and Accreditation
Date: May 14th, 2026
Location: Nashville, Tennessee – Courtyard by Marriott Nashville Downtown
Led by: Dr. Ellen Joswiak, DNP, RN, NPD-BC, Co-Innovator of TSAM® and CHCI Chief Clinical Education Consultant
Format: In-person, highly interactive workshop
Contact Hours: 6.75 continuing professional development contact hours provided for participants who attend the full session and complete an evaluation
This activity is jointly provided by Creative Health Care Insight and Creative Health Care Management. Creative Health Care Management is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
Join the TSAM® Revolution in Nursing Professional Development
This January workshop represents the second of four quarterly Tiered Skills Acquisition Model (TSAM®) Nursing Orientation Workshops throughout 2026—an unprecedented opportunity to learn directly from TSAM®’s co-innovator as Creative Health Care Insight (CHCI) launches our exclusive TSAM® Implementation Education and Consulting division.
CHCI is the first and only platform authorized to offer comprehensive education and consulting services for TSAM® implementation. Through our partnership with Dr. Ellen Joswiak and our technology infrastructure supporting both traditional and tiered orientation approaches, we provide the complete ecosystem health care organizations need: consulting expertise, educational resources, and the automated tools that make robust orientation processes sustainable.
Whether you’re a nursing education specialist responsible for orientation program development, a nursing leadership member evaluating how to improve new nurse outcomes, or a preceptor development coordinator seeking to promote preceptor success, this workshop provides the foundational knowledge and practical strategies essential for transformation.
Space is limited for this intimate, interactive learning experience. Register today to secure your place in nursing education history as we revolutionize clinical orientation together.
Discover More About CHCI’s Complete TSAM® Implementation Educational Consulting Services- Schedule a Personalized Demo Today!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Tiered Skills Acquisition Model (TSAM®)?
The Tiered Skills Acquisition Model is an evidence-based framework for clinical orientation that replaces traditional time-based approaches with competency-driven, personalized progression. Co-innovated by Dr. Ellen Joswiak, TSAM® recognizes that new nurses develop clinical competence at different rates based on prior experience, educational preparation, and individual learning needs. Rather than requiring all orientees to complete identical experiences over predetermined timeframes, TSAM® allows progression based on demonstrated competence across defined competency tiers. This approach provides personalized pacing, broader exposure to diverse patient care scenarios including opportunities to observe expert nurses managing complex situations, and skill progression through collaborative learning. The model emphasizes validating competence and strengthening clinical judgment rather than simply completing orientation checklists, resulting in more confident, capable nurses transitioning to independent practice.
What is the TSAM® model of precepting?
The TSAM® model of precepting fundamentally transforms the preceptor’s role from task-focused supervisor to facilitator of competency-based progression. In traditional orientation models, preceptors typically focus on ensuring orientees complete required experiences within predetermined timeframes, often using checklist approaches. The TSAM® precepting model instead emphasizes validating competence through structured assessment, facilitating exposure to diverse clinical settings and patient populations, supporting individualized learning based on the orientee’s demonstrated abilities and learning needs, and utilizing preceptor tools aimed at strengthening clinical judgment rather than just skill completion. TSAM® preceptors learn to assess readiness for progression to next competency tiers, provide meaningful feedback focused on clinical reasoning and judgment development, and adapt orientation experiences to match individual learning trajectories. This requires cultural shifts in precepting—moving from rigid adherence to orientation timelines to flexible support of competency development. The upcoming CHCI Tiered Skills Acquisition Model (TSAM®) Nursing Orientation workshop provides preceptor tools, readiness assessment tools, and practical strategies to promote preceptor success in this transformed role, acknowledging that effective TSAM® implementation depends on preceptor development and ongoing support.
Sources
- Benner, Patricia
“From Novice to Expert: Excellence and Power in Clinical Nursing Practice”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_Benner - Joswiak, M. E. (2018). Transforming Orientation Through a Tiered Skills Acquisition Model. Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, 34(3), 118–122. https://doi.org/10.1097/NND.0000000000000439