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Sharon Cuthbert; Thurstine Basset
2007 The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice
doi: 10.1108/17556228200700015
This paper gives an overview of the ‘non‐professionally affiliated’ (NPA) workforce in mental health in relation to their education, training and development. Some comparison is made with the current situation for the key professions in mental health. We argue that the NPA workforce is an increasingly significant and important part of the workforce and that attention needs to be paid to the construction of an overall development and qualification pathway for these workers, who embody many of the strengths of generic mental health work and have been found to be of great value to service users and their families.
Cuthbert, Sharon Lee; Basset, Thurstine Lee
2007 The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice
This paper gives an overview of the ‘non-professionally affiliated’ (NPA) workforce in mental health in relation to their education, training and development. Some comparison is made with the current situation for the key professions in mental health. We argue that the NPA workforce is an increasingly significant and important part of the workforce and that attention needs to be paid to the construction of an overall development and qualification pathway for these workers, who embody many of the strengths of generic mental health work and have been found to be of great value to service users and their families.
2007 The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice
This paper is the first of two linked articles that explores a shared learning approach to developing a module on collaborative working for graduate primary care mental health workers (PCMHWs). The article describes how the policy context shaped the training agenda and how the requirements of the roles and responsibilities in respect of collaborative practice were mapped against the Ten Essential Capabilities of the mental health workforce. The process of constructive alignment (Biggs, 1999) that involves matching teaching and assessment methods to intended learning objectives was used alongside evidence from the research literature on systems working and interprofessional education to inform the design of the modular curriculum in more detail. The second paper will provide an in-depth evaluation of the module as it was delivered using a framework derived from the academic literature (See Bailey & Littlechild, 2001 and Barr et al , 1999a; 1999b). Included in the evaluation will be a discussion of how the context of workforce change in primary care mental health influenced the training inputs together with a reflection on the training methodologies employed to promote collaborative practice. Different levels of evaluating the training will be discussed including the impact of the module on practice outcomes such as attitudes of the workers and changes in their practice. The lessons learned from the evaluation will be discussed in relation to the models of best practice emerging from the IPE literature and the challenges of implementing a new workforce strategy in primary care mental health.
2007 The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice
doi: 10.1108/17556228200700016
This paper is the first of two linked articles that explores a shared learning approach to developing a module on collaborative working for graduate primary care mental health workers (PCMHWs). The article describes how the policy context shaped the training agenda and how the requirements of the roles and responsibilities in respect of collaborative practice were mapped against the Ten Essential Capabilities of the mental health workforce. The process of constructive alignment (Biggs, 1999) that involves matching teaching and assessment methods to intended learning objectives was used alongside evidence from the research literature on systems working and interprofessional education to inform the design of the modular curriculum in more detail.The second paper will provide an in‐depth evaluation of the module as it was delivered using a framework derived from the academic literature (See Bailey & Littlechild, 2001 and Barr et al, 1999a; 1999b). Included in the evaluation will be a discussion of how the context of workforce change in primary care mental health influenced the training inputs together with a reflection on the training methodologies employed to promote collaborative practice. Different levels of evaluating the training will be discussed including the impact of the module on practice outcomes such as attitudes of the workers and changes in their practice. The lessons learned from the evaluation will be discussed in relation to the models of best practice emerging from the IPE literature and the challenges of implementing a new workforce strategy in primary care mental health.
2007 The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice
doi: 10.1108/17556228200700018
The costs associated with staffing acute mental health wards is the largest expenditure in the inpatient budget. Exploring skill mix and its impact on outcomes, particularly service user outcomes should be of interest to all stakeholders involved in the commissioning, delivery and receipt of acute mental health care. This paper describes the findings of a literature and practice review of initiatives undertaken to improve staffing and skill mix, and their impact on service user outcomes. The practice review was necessary due to the paucity of published research in this area. Both research and practice initiatives do not appear to be driven by service user need. This results in a restricted and service driven range of outcome measures being used. The paper concludes by proposing recommendations for future workforce development in acute mental health settings.
2007 The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice
The costs associated with staffing acute mental health wards is the largest expenditure in the inpatient budget. Exploring skill mix and its impact on outcomes, particularly service user outcomes should be of interest to all stakeholders involved in the commissioning, delivery and receipt of acute mental health care. This paper describes the findings of a literature and practice review of initiatives undertaken to improve staffing and skill mix, and their impact on service user outcomes. The practice review was necessary due to the paucity of published research in this area. Both research and practice initiatives do not appear to be driven by service user need. This results in a restricted and service driven range of outcome measures being used. The paper concludes by proposing recommendations for future workforce development in acute mental health settings.
Tushna Vandrevala; Mark Hayward; Jane Willis; Mary John
2007 The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice
doi: 10.1108/17556228200700019
National policies suggest that service users and carers should be involved in health care planning and delivery. Initiatives to involve service users and carers within the education of mental health professionals have been reported. However, there has been no initiative to involve such individuals in the selection of clinical psychologists. This study examines the experiences of service users, carers and members of the Doctorate of Clinical Psychology programme in the implementation of a new interview task for the selection of trainee clinical psychologists at the University of Surrey. This new initiative involves service users, carers and staff members working collaboratively to assess candidates in a discussion based task. The study employed two focus groups, one pre‐selection and one post‐selection, and used interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to evaluate participants' expectations and experiences of the task. The findings suggest that there was genuine collaboration between service users, carers and programme team members that was deeply engrained in the programme ethos and was a step forward in normalising and empowering service users and their carers. Interviewers felt that this task helped select a different calibre of applicants who had an awareness of the perspective of service users and carers and were able to communicate effectively. Interviewers viewed applicants who were able to disclose and take ownership of their views favourably. The introduction of a successful new interview task at Surrey has set a marker for future collaboration with service users and carers in selection, which will have implications for other doctorate programmes in clinical psychology and the broader health care training community.
Vandrevala, Tushna ; Hayward, Mark ; Willis, Jane ; John, Mary
2007 The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice
National policies suggest that service users and carers should be involved in health care planning and delivery. Initiatives to involve service users and carers within the education of mental health professionals have been reported. However, there has been no initiative to involve such individuals in the selection of clinical psychologists. This study examines the experiences of service users, carers and members of the Doctorate of Clinical Psychology programme in the implementation of a new interview task for the selection of trainee clinical psychologists at the University of Surrey. This new initiative involves service users, carers and staff members working collaboratively to assess candidates in a discussion based task. The study employed two focus groups, one pre-selection and one post-selection, and used interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to evaluate participants' expectations and experiences of the task. The findings suggest that there was genuine collaboration between service users, carers and programme team members that was deeply engrained in the programme ethos and was a step forward in normalising and empowering service users and their carers. Interviewers felt that this task helped select a different calibre of applicants who had an awareness of the perspective of service users and carers and were able to communicate effectively. Interviewers viewed applicants who were able to disclose and take ownership of their views favourably. The introduction of a successful new interview task at Surrey has set a marker for future collaboration with service users and carers in selection, which will have implications for other doctorate programmes in clinical psychology and the broader health care training community.