neck, performing abdominocentesis, thoracocente- sis, a transtracheal wash, rectal biopsy or other similar diagnostic procedures, and performing di- agnostic ultrasound of the abdomen or thorax as important for a new graduate (Fig. 17). Competencies are skills or knowledge sets that
make a practitioner successful at their work. Re- spondents were asked to rank ten workplace compe- tencies, on a scale of 1 to 10, on their importance for
new associates. In general, people skills ranked higher than organizational, technical, or writing skills. People skills were cited as the most impor- tant competency (mean, 1.7) followed by client com- munication (mean, 2.5) and customer services skills (mean, 4.0). The three competencies ranked the least important were public speaking (mean, 9.3), writing proficiency (mean, 8.2), and technology pro- ficiency (mean, 7.0) (Fig. 18.)
Fig. 18. Distribution of AAEP respondents’ ranking of important competencies of new associates. AAEP PROCEEDINGS Vol. 65 2019 71
