|
This symposium took place on Thursday 31 March 2005 at the University of Manchester during the Annual Conference of the British Psychological Society's Division of Clinical Psychology.
Symposium summary
A Wright, Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust
From September 2005, Chartered Psychologists will be required to submit an annual record of their continuing professional development (CPD) to the Society in order to maintain their Practising Certificate. In addition, Clinical Psychologists and other applied psychologists who are to be registered under the Health Professions Council (HPC) will need to undergo an approved programme of regular CPD in order to maintain their registration. There are many questions about CPD though, which remain largely unanswered, or even unasked, concerning its real value and effectiveness. This symposium aims to explain the growing importance of CPD for Clinical Psychologists, to pose some of the difficult questions about CPD's effectiveness, to provide some examples of current good practice, and to show how it may be evaluated.
Professor Zenobia Nadirshaw and Victoria Burt explain the current context in which CPD has come to the fore, and look at how it is likely to impact upon the profession in the future. Dr David Green poses some of the critical questions about CPD, and looks at the existing evidence for its value. Dr Laura Golding and Dr Diane Shapiro provide examples of good practice in CPD, drawn from across the UK, including innovative strategies for providing CPD at low cost. In the final presentation Professor Derek Milne discusses ways in which CPD may be evaluated, using supervision as an example. The symposium will conclude with a discussion led by Professor Graham Turpin, which will focus on the future role of CPD in the career development and progression of Clinical Psychologists.
CPD and clinical psychologists: Where does the future lie?
V Burt, CPD Officer, British Psychological Society & Z Nadirshaw, Chair, DCP CPD Subcommittee
The current policy context in which CPD has become an increasingly important activity for psychologists will be reviewed, with particular consideration given to the proposed new regulatory mechanisms likely to be imposed by the Health Professions Council (HPC). There will be an update on the HPC consultation around CPD. The relationship between the HPC and the BPS, and its potential implications for member`s CPD requirements, will also be considered.
An overview will be presented of the Society`s CPD requirements for members holding Practising Certificates, with an explanation of the central role of the National Occupational Standards in focusing CPD activity. The DCP`s own approach to CPD will be presented, and the likely impact of Agenda for Change and the Knowledge and Skills Framework upon future career development for Clinical Psychologists, and other chartered psychologists working in the NHS, will be considered.
Some awkward questions we ought to ask about CPD for clinical psychologists
D Green, University of Leeds
Purpose: The aim of this brief paper is to counter the sloppy assumption that investment in the continued professional development of clinical psychologists is just an uncomplicated "good thing".
Background: The policy shift towards compulsory continued professional development for health professionals within the UK and elsewhere in the world has largely been propelled by political priorities. However the evidence base that should inform these development is pretty sparse. All of which leaves the profession of clinical psychology, that likes to pride itself on its scientific credentials, somewhat exposed.
Key Points: Four fundamental questions are posed and considered in the light of relevant empirical and experiential evidence:
- Can qualified clinical psychologists be relied upon to accurately assess their own training needs?
- What are the likely relative costs and benefits of the adoption of a policy of mandatory CPD?
- Will lessons learned on training courses ever get transferred into everyday working practice?
- Can CPD ever deliver its promise to protect the public from malpractice?
Conclusions: Each of these challenges needs to be taken seriously as there are sound psychological reasons to expect that, under many circumstances, the answers to these questions are not ones that the funders of CPD for health professionals will want to hear. However this is not entirely a tale of doom and gloom. There are measures that can be taken and arguments that can be made which make it easier to justify the substantial investment of limited resources into the post-qualification training of clinical psychologists. But the case has to be made carefully and conservatively.
A framework for evaluating CPD, illustrated by supervision
D Milne, I James & A Sheikh, Newcastle University and 3N's NHS Trust
Objectives: To outline a systematic framework for evaluating CPD, based on a related series of searching questions; and to relate these to clinical supervision, probably the most common and best-researched form of CPD.
Methods and Results: The first CPD evaluation question is: 'what is the 'right' thing to do in the name of supervision (and related CPD)?' In our reply we emphasise the experiential learning cycle. We then show how guidelines and manuals can support such a theoretical model. In addressing the next question, 'has the right thing been done?' we next show how process evaluations contribute to CPD, again providing an example from our own experience of work within the clinical supervision field. Having addressed the questions of what to do and whether it has been done right, we go on to ask whether it has been done correctly? This brings skill (competence) and interpersonal effectiveness. Here we will try to show how CPD can be evaluated by outlining a way of evaluating supervision that has been developed locally. We then proceed to focus on whether a good model, one that has been adopted and followed faithfully, results in the 'right' outcomes? We adopt Kirkpatrick's (1967) approach, with appropriate modifications, to set out the four levels of outcome that CPD can achieve, and again illustrate it from supervision research. Finally, we will concentrate on the question of what is the 'right' organisational climate for successful CPD activity?
Conclusion: We believe that these questions encourage a thorough evaluation of CPD, as illustrated by our examples from published and current research on clinical supervision. This framework can provide a firm basis on which to evaluate CPD.
Continuing Professional Development on a Shoestring
L. Golding, Bolton, Salford & Trafford NHS Mental Health Trust & D. Shapiro, Sheffield Care Trust
Purpose: This paper discusses the practical issues involved in meeting the continuing professional development (CPD) needs of clinical psychologists, and other healthcare psychologists. It focuses on examples of good practice from across the UK and offers some flexible solutions to the most commonly cited problems in this field - lack of funding for, and time to pursue, CPD activities.
Background: The British Psychological Society requires all of its applied psychologists working with the general public to undertake mandatory CPD activity. This will become a legal requirement with the introduction of statutory regulation for applied psychologists through the Health Professions Council. This is likely to occur in 2005. Within the NHS, the requirement to undertake such activity raises a range of practical issues for clinical, and other applied, psychologists in the context of multi-professional and multi-agency work.
Key Points: This paper explores the challenges that arise from the mandatory requirement to undertake CPD activity by offering practical examples and ideas drawing on relevant research. This includes strategies for providing free and low cost CPD opportunities based on examples of good practice from around the UK. It also explores innovative ways of meeting CPD needs when funding is available.
Conclusions: The paper concludes by underlining the importance, for clinical and other applied psychologists, of undertaking CPD activity in order to maintain and improve professional competence. It emphasises the need for this to be given priority within health and social care.
|
