2002 COMPETENCIES CONFERENCE: FUTURE DIRECTIONS IN EDUCATION AND CREDENTIALING IN PROFESSIONAL PSYCH

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• 2002 COMPETENCIES CONFERENCE FUTURE DIRECTIONS
  IN EDUCATION AND CREDENTIALING IN PROFESSIONAL
  PSYCHOLOGY
• Nadine J. Kaslow, Ph.D., ABPP
• nkaslow_at_emory.edu

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AM I COMPETENT TO GIVE THIS TALK?

• Limited literature, except in the multicultural
  area
• More attention on practice than science domains
• Dearth of empirical evidence
• Diversity of models reflected in the audience
• Considerable tension regarding let a 1000
  flowers bloom versus consensus building
  regarding core or foundational competencies
• Interesting topic?????

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ZEN AND THE ART OFMOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE

• Quality isnt something you lay on top of
  subjects and objects like tinsel on a tree it is
  the core from which the tree must start

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WHAT DOES COMPETENCY MEAN?

• Websters Dictionary
• Competent properly or sufficiently qualified
  capable, adequate for the stipulated purpose
• Competence (1) the state or quality of being
  adequately well-qualified ability (2) a
  specific range of skill, knowledge, ability
• Competent (adj) Connotes public understanding
  of certification
• Latin Origin Compete to strive against
  another or others to attain a goal, such as an
  advantage or victory

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WHAT DOES COMPETENCY MEAN? (cont.)

• Competence (noun) Connotes professional
  judgment of an individuals ability or capability
  (to do certain things) based on education,
  training, experience, and special assessment
• In this sense, competencies would appear to be
  elements of competence

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WHAT DOES COMPETENCY MEAN? (cont.)

• What individuals know or are able to do in terms
  of knowledge, skills, and attitudes
• The ability to perform a complex task or function
  effectively
• Ability to transfer skills and knowledge to new
  situations

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WHAT IS PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE?

• Professional competence is the habitual and
  judicious use of communication, knowledge,
  technical skills, clinical reasoning, emotions,
  values, and reflection in daily practice for the
  benefit of the individual and community being
  served
• (Epstein Hundert, 2002)

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META-COMPETENCIES

• Meta-knowledge is knowledge about knowledge
  knowing what you know
• Meta-competencies refers to the ability to judge
  the availability, use, and learnability of
  personal competencies

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DOMAINS OF COMPETENCY

• What the person brings to the role
• What the person does in the role
• What is achieved
• Thus, knowledge, performance, and outcome are
  essential features

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COMPONENTS OFCOMPETENCE (Stratford, 1994)

• Observable
• Measurable
• Containable
• Practical
• Derived by experts
• Flexible

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DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVE ON COMPETENCE

• Dreyfus 5 Stages of Development
• Beginner
• Advanced beginner
• Competent
• Proficient
• Expert

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DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVE ON COMPETENCE (cont.)

• Training implies a sequence of learning, from a
  relative lack of knowledge to increasing degrees
  of sophistication and competence. Training
  therefore should include

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DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVE ON COMPETENCE (cont.)

• Exposure introduction to the topical area in a
  didactic seminar or through observation in an
  applied or research setting
• Experience the practice of the topical area of
  activity and
• Expertise course work and extensive experience
  in the topical area at a level of competence at
  which a psychologist can practice independently
• (Roberts et al., 1998)

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COMPETENCY BASED EDUCATION AND TRAINING (CBET)

• CBET has its origins in preparing teacher
  education programs and human resources
• Competency-based training is relatively new in
  its wide application to psychology
• Fantuzzo outlined one model for CBET for
  psychologists, which serves as a useful example

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MASTERY MODEL (Fantuzzo)

• MASTERY model for competency-based training for
  psychologists involves
• Knowledge of fundamental psychological principles
• Mandatory skills
• Legal and ethical restraints
• Educators must identify the requisite information
  and skill sets, and students must be assessed and
  to be competent must perform above the minimal
  standard set

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MASTERY MODEL (cont.)

• M - Master prerequisite body of knowledge
• A - Assess skill of competency
• S - Set minimal competency
• T Train to competency
• E Evaluate understanding of relevant legal and
  ethical principles
• R Review skill level
• Y- Yield to continued education

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PROPERTIES OF COMPETENCY CONSTRUCT (Nelson, 2001)

• Mastery and application of relevant knowledge and
  developmentally-informed and culturally competent
  methods/procedures to
• Assess/diagnose problems
• Select appropriate intervention(s)
• Analyze and interpret intervention outcomes
• Communicate outcomes to other professionals and
  the public
• Educate/supervise other professionals

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PROPERTIES OF COMPETENCY CONSTRUCT (cont.)

• The above should occur in a manner consistent
  with standards of peer review, including ethical
  principles of the profession and continuing
  professional education

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WHAT DOES THE ETHICS CODE SAY ABOUT COMPETENCE?

• APA Ethics Code Revision (2002)
• Psychologists provide services, teach, and
  conduct research with populations and in areas
  only within the boundaries of their competence,
  based on their education, training, supervised
  experience, consultation, study, or professional
  experience

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ETHICS CODE (cont.)

• Where scientific or professional knowledge in the
  discipline of psychology establishes that an
  understanding of factors associated with age,
  gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity,
  culture, national origin, religion, sexual
  orientation, disability, language, or
  socioeconomic status is essential for effective
  implementation of their services or research,
  psychologists have or obtain the training,
  experience, consultation, or supervision
  necessary to ensure the competence of their
  services, or they make appropriate referrals

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ETHICS CODE (cont.)

• Psychologists planning to provide services,
  teach, or conduct research involving populations,
  areas, techniques, or technologies new to them
  undertake relevant education, training,
  supervised experience, consultation, or study

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ETHICS CODE (cont.)

• When psychologists are asked to provide services
  to individuals for whom appropriate mental health
  services are not available and for which
  psychologists have not obtained the competence
  necessary, psychologists with closely related
  prior training or experience may provide such
  services in order to ensure that services are not
  denied if they make a reasonable effort to obtain
  the competence required by using relevant
  research, training, consultation, or study

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ETHICS CODE (cont.)

• In those emerging areas in which generally
  recognized standards for preparatory training do
  not yet exist, psychologists nevertheless take
  reasonable steps to ensure the competence of
  their work and to protect clients/patients,
  students, supervisees, research participants,
  organizational clients, and others from harm

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• WHAT IS THE RECENT HISTORY WITHIN PSYCHOLOGY ON
  COMPETENCIES?
• KEY HIGHLIGHTS

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UNDERGRADUATE PSYCHOLOGY LEARNING GOALS OUTCOMES

• 2 major categories of goals
• Knowledge, skills, and attitudes consistent with
  the science and application of psychology
• Knowledge, skills, and attitudes consistent with
  liberal arts education that are further developed
  in psychology
• Each of these categories contain 5 goals

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UNDERGRADUATE PSYCHOLOGY LEARNING GOALS
OUTCOMES (cont.)

• Knowledge, skills, and attitudes consistent with
  the science and application of psychology
• Knowledge base of psychology
• Research methods in psychology
• Critical thinking skills in psychology
• Application of psychology
• attitudes in psychology

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UNDERGRADUATE PSYCHOLOGY LEARNING GOALS
OUTCOMES (cont.)

• Knowledge, skills, and attitudes consistent with
  liberal arts education that are further developed
  in psychology
• Information and technological literacy
• Communication skills
• Sociocultural and international awareness
• Personal development
• Career planning and development

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UTAH CONFERENCE (1987)

• National Conference on Graduate Education in
  Psychology resolved that the responsibility for
  specifying core content of graduate education for
  all psychologists rests with the departments and
  schools of psychology, a similar conclusion to
  that drawn in Miami 30 years earlier
• Recognized there was a common core, but reluctant
  to identify it to avoid a uniform prescription

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NATIONAL COUNCIL OF SCHOOLS AND PROGRAMS IN
PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGY (NCSPP)

• Contexts in which core competencies model is
  embedded
• Continuity among doctoral, internship, and
  postdoctoral training
• Core set of attitudes, aptitudes, and values
• Sociocultural, situational, and professional
  training contexts of the competencies are key
  considerations

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NCSPP ATTITUDES, APTITUDES, VALUES

• Intellectual curiosity and flexibility
• Scientific skepticism
• Open-mindedness
• Psychological health
• Belief in the capacity for change in human
  attitudes and behavior
• Appreciation of individual and cultural diversity
• Interest in providing human services
• Personal integrity and honesty
• Capacity of developing interpersonal skills
• Self-awareness

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NCSPP GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF CORE COMPETENCY
MODEL (1986, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1997)

• Each competency is composed of the knowledge,
  skills, and attitudes, which, as a coherent
  group, are necessary for professional practice
  knowledge, skills, and attitudes are inextricably
  related
• Specific, identifiable knowledge, skills, and
  attitudes are important parts of the training
  experience and conceptually and pragmatically
  joined in the competencies

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NCSPP GUIDING PRINCIPLES (cont.)

• Competencies develop together and often remain
  intertwined
• Competencies must be acquired in the context of
  the diversity of clients, areas of practice,
  problems, and approaches used
• A systems view should be evident in the
  competency areas, reflecting assessment and
  intervention at the individual, couple, family,
  group, organizational, and community levels

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NCSPP GUIDING PRINCIPLES (cont.)

• Competencies can be defined at varied levels that
  vary in terms of generality (focus), complexity,
  and experience
• Foundation or core level generic to all
  programs, most general, require the least
  experience
• Focused or special proficiency level draw on
  foundation experience, adds depth
• Specialty level most focused, including a focus
  on generalist, comes with advanced training and
  experience

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NCSPP INTEGRATIVE PEDAGOGY

• Academic-scientific materials
• Real examples and experiences
• Incorporate contributions from disciplines other
  than psychology
• Development of each individual student as a
  professional psychologist, his/her professional
  self, in a reflective process
• Explicit discussion of the relevant social
  issues, marginalization, power, and authority

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NCSPP INTEGRATIVE PEDAGOGY (cont.)

• Local, unique elements relevant to a particular
  client or professional situation local clinical
  scientist
• Faculty and supervisory role models
• Appropriate attitudes, including explicit ways of
  thinking like a psychologist

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SCIENTIST-PRACTIONER CONFERENCE (1990)

• National Conference on Scientist-Practitioner
  Education and Training for the Professional
  Practice of Psychology (Gainesville)
• (Belar Perry, 1992)

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SCIENTIST-PRACTITIONER CONFERENCE

• Basic Principles of Scientist Practitioner Model
• Integrative approach to science and practice
• Contributes to and essential for the ever
  changing discipline of psychology
• Overall theoretical, empirical, and experiential
  approach to science and professional practice in
  psychology
• Consistent with APA Code of Ethics
• Sensitive to issues of diversity and individual
  differences

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SCIENTIST-PRACTITIONER MODEL (cont.)

• Model provides for the development of the
  knowledge, skills, and attitudes that encourage
  the scientific approach to practice
• Model calls for life-long learning
• Value placed on role models

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SCIENTIST-PRACTITIONER MODEL (cont.)

• Didactic Scientific Core
• Didactic Practice Core
• Scientific Experiential Core
• Professional Practice Experiential Core

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MULTICULTURAL GUIDELINES

• Psychologists are encouraged to recognize that,
  as cultural beings, they may hold attitudes and
  beliefs that can detrimentally influence their
  perceptions of and interactions with individuals
  who are ethnically and racially different from
  themselves
• Psychologists are encouraged to recognize the
  importance of multicultural sensitivity/responsive
  ness, knowledge, and understanding about
  ethnically and racially different individuals

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MULTICULTURAL GUIDELINES (cont.)

• As educators, psychologists are encouraged to
  employ the constructs of multiculturalism and
  diversity in psychological education
• Culturally sensitive psychological researchers
  are encouraged to recognize the importance of
  conducting culture-centered and ethical
  psychological research among persons from ethnic,
  linguistic, and racial minority backgrounds

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MULTICULTURAL GUIDELINES (cont.)

• Psychologists strive to apply culturally-appropria
  te skills in clinical and other applied
  psychological practices
• Psychologists are encouraged to use
  organizational change processes to support
  culturally informed organizational (policy)
  development and practices

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MULTIDIMENSIONAL MODEL OF CULTURAL COMPETENCE

• D. Sue (2001) proposed a multidimensional model
  of cultural competence that incorporates 3
  primary dimensions
• Racial and culture-specific attributes of
  competence
• Components of cultural competence
• Foci of cultural competence

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MULTIDIMENSIONAL MODEL OF CULTURAL COMPETENCE
(cont.)

• Based on a 3 (awareness, knowledge, skills) X4
  (individual, professional, organizational,
  societal) X5 (African American, Asian American,
  Latino/Hispanic American, Native American,
  European American) factorial combination, the
  multidimensional model of cultural competence
  allows for the systematic identification of
  cultural competence in a number of different areas

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COMMITTEE ON ACCREDITATION (CoA)

• In the Guidelines and Principles document under
  Domain B pertaining to Program Philosophy,
  Objectives, and Curriculum Plan it states that
  the program specifies education and training
  objectives in terms of the competencies expected
  of its graduates

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CoA (cont.)

• The competencies must be
• Consistent with the programs philosophy and
  training model
• Substantive areas for which the program prepares
  students at the entry level of practice
• An understanding of professional issues,
  including ethical, legal, and quality assurance
  principles

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CoA (cont.)

• For graduate programs, the program must implement
  a clear and coherent curriculum plan that
  provides the means whereby students can acquire
  and demonstrate a basic level of understanding
  and competence in defined areas

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CoA (cont.)

• For internships, there must be an organized and
  programmed sequence of professional supervised
  training experiences that are characterized by
  greater depth, breadth, duration, frequency, and
  intensity than practicum training

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CoA (cont.)

• The program must require that all interns
  demonstrate an intermediate to advanced level of
  professional psychological skills, abilities,
  proficiencies, and competencies, and knowledge in
  defined areas

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CoA (cont.)

• For postdoctoral residencies, the program must be
  organized and build upon, but be distinct from,
  doctoral and internship training, and must be
  consistent with the programs philosophy and
  model of professional training and education

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CoA (cont.)

• The residency must include education and training
  activities that are cumulative, graduated in
  intensity, and structured
• The primary training method is supervised service
  delivery and direct contact
• Training includes socialization into the
  profession through mentoring, didactics, role
  modeling, observational learning, and
  supervisory/consultative guidance

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CoA (cont.)

• All residents must demonstrate advanced level of
  competence, skills, abilities, proficiencies, and
  knowledge in defined areas

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CoA (cont.)

• Issues of cultural and individual diversity are
  considered to be relevant to the development of
  competence on all levels in all defined areas
• Attitudes essential for life-long learning,
  scholarly inquiry and professional
  problem-solving as psychologists in the context
  of an evolving body of scientific and
  professional knowledge are also underscored

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CoA (cont.)

• In many ways, the current accreditation process
  judges the degree to which a program has achieved
  the goals and objectives of its stated training
  model, rather than making collective judgments
  about what constitutes a standard professional
  training program

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ASPPB PRACTICE ANALYSIS

• 1993 - ASPPB conducted a practice analysis to
  serve as the basis for the restructuring of the
  EPPP
• Survey was conducted in the U.S. and Canada
• Practice Analysis Update is underway

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ASPPB PRACTICE ANALYSIS (UPDATE)

• Clinical with emphasis on managed care context
• Neuropsychology
• Cross-cultural studies
• Forensics

• Geropsychology
• Neuroscience
• Psychopharmacology
• Quantitative methods
• Health psychology

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AMERICAN BOARD OF PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGY (ABPP,
1993)

• A specialty is a defined area in the practice of
  psychology that connotes special competency
  acquired through an organized sequence of formal
  education, training, experience, and professional
  standing

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ABPP (cont.)

• Purpose To serve the public and profession by
  certifying that psychologists in various
  specialty areas of psychology
• have completed the education, training, and
  experience requirements of a specialty, including
  an examination designed to assess the
  competencies required to provide quality services
  in the specialty
• maintain high ethical standards

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ASSOCIATION OF POSTDOCTORAL PROGRAMS IN CLINICAL
NEUROPSYCHOLOGY (APPCN)

• Defines competency in terms of
• The broad spectrum of specialty assessment and
  intervention (knowledge skills)
• Defending ones practice on the basis of its
  scientific foundations
• Communicating with other professionals and the
  public
• Recognition of the limits of ones competence
• Threshold level of capability

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APPCN (cont.)

• Knowledge Base
• Generic psychology core
• Generic clinical core
• Foundations for the study of brain-behavior
  relationships
• Foundations for the practice of
  clinical-neuropsychology

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APPCN (cont.)

• Skills
• Assessment
• Treatment and interventions
• Consultation
• Research
• Teaching and supervision

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APPCN (cont.)

• Outline training recommendations regarding
  competencies in clinical neuropsychology at the
  doctoral, internship, residency, and continuing
  education levels
• Depicts a model of education and training that
  facilitates longitudinal integration and
  continuity in knowledge skill acquisition with
  an emphasis that will vary according to training
  level

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Practice Directorate Task Force on Professional
Child Adolescent Psychology

• Multicultural competencies
• Delivery and evaluation of comprehensive and
  coordinated services of care
• Collaborative and interprofessional skills
• Empirically supported assessments and treatments
  for promotion behavioral change in children,
  families, and other systems
• Entrepreneurial and supervisory skills
• (La Greca Hughes, 1999)

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SOCIETY OF PEDIATRIC PSYCHOLOGY (SPP) TASK FORCE
RECOMMENDATIONS

• Life-span developmental psychology
• Life-span developmental psychopathology
• Child, adolescent, and family assessment
• Intervention strategies
• Research methods and systems evaluation
• Professional, ethical, and legal issues
  pertaining to children, adolescents, and families

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SPP TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS (cont.)

• Issues of diversity
• The role of multiple disciplines in
  service-delivering systems
• Prevention, family support, and health promotion
• Social issues affecting children, adolescents,
  and families
• Consultant and liaison roles
• Disease process and medical management
• (Spirito et al., 2003)

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COMMISSION FOR THE RECOGNITION OF SPECIALTIES AND
PROFICIENCIES IN PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
(CRSPPP, 1994)

• CRSPP has incorporated the competencies
  designated by ABPP in the application process as
  key definition elements for emerging or
  traditional specialties in the Petition for the
  Recognition of a Specialty in Professional
  Psychology

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COMMISSION (2001)

• The Commission on Education and Training Leading
  to Licensure in Psychology highlighted
  competencies in the recommendations section
• Define competencies (e.g., research, practice,
  human diversity, etc.) expected of graduates of
  doctoral programs in professional psychology over
  the next decade and design developmentally
  informed education and training guidelines for
  their achievement and assessment

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EDUCATION LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE (2001)

• One of the ELC Conference groups addressed what
  psychologists should have in common, despite the
  diversity of bodies of knowledge foundational to
  psychology as a scientific discipline and
  profession, and despite the diversity of pedagogy
  models among doctoral programs in psychology

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EDUCATION LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE (cont.)

• It was recommended that all psychologists have
• A substantive understanding of multiple
  determinants of behavior in individuals, groups,
  organizations, and communities
• A culture of evidence perspective about
  behavior based on scientific inquiry and
  reasoning, replicable methods of observation and
  measurement, and interpretation of qualitative
  and quantitative evidence

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EDUCATION LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE (cont.)

• An understanding of ethical principles applicable
  to practice, research, and teaching, as well as a
  value orientation of respect for human diversity
• An understanding of what it means to learn as a
  psychologist and a commitment to life-long
  learning

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INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS

• CANADA Mutual Recognition Agreement of the
  Regulatory Bodies for Professional Psychologists
  in Canada
• European Union Leonardo Project (initiative of
  the European Federation of Professional
  Psychologists Association)

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• CORE
• COMPETENCIES

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CONTRIBUTING GROUPS

• American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP)
• Association of State and Provincial Psychology
  Boards (ASPPB)
• College of Professional Psychology
• Commission for the Recognition of Specialties and
  Proficiencies in Professional Psychology (CRSPPP)

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CONTRIBUTING GROUPS (cont.)

• Committee on Accreditation (CoA)
• Council of Counseling Psychology Training
  Programs (CCPTP)
• Council of Credentialing Organizations in
  Professional Psychology (CCOPP)
• Joint Council on Professional Education in
  Psychology (JCPEP)

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CONTRIBUTING GROUPS (cont.)

• Mutual Recognition Agreement of the Regulatory
  Bodies for Professional Psychologists in Canada
• National Council of Schools and Programs in
  Professional Psychology (NCSPP)
• National Register of Health Service Providers in
  Psychology (NRHSPP)
• Scientist Practitioner Conference

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ASSESSMENT

• Assessment
• Evaluation
• Diagnosis
• Appraisal
• Measurement
• Psychological Assessment

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BREADTH OF SCIENTIFIC PSYCHOLOGY

• Basis of Behavior (affective, biological,
  cognitive, cultural, developmental, social)
• Normal and Abnormal Behavior
• History and Systems of Psychology
• Techniques of Data Analysis and Statistics
• Application of Research

78
CONSULTATION

• Consultation
• Consultation and Teaching
• Intervention and Consultation
• Consultation and Program Evaluation
• Consultation and Education

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DIVERSITY

• Diversity
• Cultural and Individual Differences with Diverse
  Populations
• Cultural and Individual Diversity
• Individual Differences and Diversity

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ETHICS AND LEGAL

• Ethics and Legal Foundations
• Professional and Ethical Standards
• Consistent with APA Code of Ethics
• Professional Ethics and Standards
• Ethics, Social, and Legal Responsibility
• Professional Conduct, Ethics, and the Law
• Ethics and Standards
• Legal and Ethical Issues
• Protection of the Public

81
INTERVENTION

• Intervention
• Intervention and Consultation
• Scientifically Validated Interventions
• Evaluating the Efficacy of Interventions
• Empirically Supported Treatments

82
MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION

• Supervision
• Supervision, Administration/Management
• Supervision and Training
• Supervision and/or Teaching Organization
  Management, and Administration
• Management and Supervision
• Administration and Supervision

83
PROFESSIONAL IDENTIFICATION

• Professional Identification
• Professional Issues
• Attitudes for Life-Long Learning
• Professional Socialization
• Socialization into the Professional Practice of
  Psychology
• Professional Development
• Consumer Protection

84
RELATIONSHIP

• Interpersonal Relationships
• Relationship
• Working Relationships
• Interpersonal Skills
• Communication Skills
• Impact of the Personal Characteristics of the
  Psychologist in Professional Interactions

85
RESEARCH

• Science Base and Application
• Research Design and Methods
• Research, Evaluation, and Scientific Thinking
• Evaluation Research
• Strategies of Scholarly Inquiry
• Methods of Evaluation
• Critical Thinking
• Scientific Method

86
NEWER COMPETENCIES

• Social Responsibility
• Public Policy/Advocacy
• Managed Care
• Forensics
• Geropsychology
• Neuroscience
• Psychopharmacology
• Health Psychology

87
ACCREDITATION COUNCIL FOR GRADUATE MEDICAL
EDUCATION (ACGME)

• Patient Care
• Medical Knowledge
• Practice-based Learning and Improvement
• Interpersonal and Communication Skills
• Professionalism
• Systems-based Practice

88

• CONTROVERSIES,
• CHALLENGES,
• QUESTIONS

89

• DO WE HAVE THE
• RESOURCES FOR
• COMPETENCY BASED EDUCATION AND TRAINING?

90
RESOURCES

• CBET takes time, money, and other resources for
• Task analysis
• Development of assessment tools and training
  modules
• Repeated assessment
• Training
• Feedback

91

• SHOULD WE IDENTIFY
• CORE COMPETENCIES?

92
YES

• Wards off potential litigation
• Keeps up with current trends
• Better defines the skills for graduates to
  perform
• Ensures a relationship between instructional
  methods and goals
• Competencies can be determined in part by the
  programs philosophy
• (Sumerall et al., 2000)

93
YES

• Ensures breadth of training, particularly
  important in the face of trends toward
  specialization
• Provides psychologists with a needed common
  identity as members of a recognized professional
  discipline
• (Benjamin, 2001)

94
NO

• Concerns that determining core competencies will
  lead to required curriculum
• Concerns that identifying core competencies would
  mean a core curriculum that would place unwanted
  constraints on a program of study, prohibiting
  the diversity needed to keep abreast of changes
  in psychology and related fields implied
  narrowness of focus

95
NO (cont.)

• Concerns that the definition of core competencies
  reduces the profession to a collection of
  specific skills that might or might not require
  extensive educational/experiential training

96
NO (cont.)

• Koch Psychology does not and can not represent
  a coherent science
• Lipsey There is no intellectual core in
  psychology no set of distinctive concepts that
  both pervade the field and play an integral role
  in the substantive content of the major specialty
  areas

97
NO (cont.)

• Psychologists value variability, experimentation,
  and educational freedom far more than we value
  conformity and standardization (Ericksen)

98

• IS COMPETENCE
• ENOUGH?

99
COMPETENCE VS. CAPABILITY

• Traditional education and training tends to focus
  on competence
• As we advance, we must educate not merely for
  competence, but for capability
• Capability - extent to which individuals can
  adapt to change, generate new knowledge, and
  continue to improve their performance
• (Fraser Greenhalgh, 2001)

100
TO ERR IS HUMAN(IOM, 2000)

• Most errors do not occur as a result of the lack
  of one persons competence
• More commonly errors are caused by faulty
  systems, processes and conditions that lead
  people to make mistakes or that fail to prevent
  errors
• Thus, mistakes can best be prevented by designing
  safer and more effective systems

101

• HOW DO WE
• IDENTIFY COMPETENCIES?

102
ACGME RECOMMENDATIONS

• Generate lists of skills via brainstorming
• Cluster into groups via affinity grouping
• Identify priority criteria via brainstorming
• Rank items by importance via a priority matrix
• Assign requirements (number, sequence) via
  consolidation and consensus
• Important to get buy-in at each step in the
  process

103

• HOW DO WE TRAIN
• CORE AND SPECIALIZED
• COMPETENCIES?

104
CHALLENGES IN TRAINING

• Assuming a developmental stance
• Working with differences in learning style
• Some competencies are more teachable than others
• Some students are more trainable than others
• Problem or difficult students
• Integrating both didactic and experiential
  innovations into the education and training
  process

105

• WHAT ARE THE KEY CHALLENGES IN ASSESSING
  COMPETENCIES?

106
ASSESSMENT CHALLENGES

• Need clear and measurable learning objectives and
  associated competencies
• An effort to make competencies as precise and
  measurable as possible can lead to a reduction of
  significant competencies to trivial, but
  measurable, tasks
• Questionable validity and reliability of our
  assessment approaches for assessing knowledge,
  performance, and outcomes

107
ASSESSMENT CHALLENGES(cont.)

• The more specific the target identified, the more
  likely the educational program is to achieve it
• Conversely, the level of abstraction in a
  training goal is inversely proportional to the
  validity of its measurement

108
ASSESSMENT CHALLENGES (cont.)

• Subjective, multiple-choice, and standardized
  patient assessments, although reliable and
  internally valid, fail to capture key aspects of
  professional competence integration of
  knowledge, skills, attitudes context of the
  work information management teamwork systems
  and interpersonal relationships

109
ASSESSMENT CHALLENGES (cont.)

• Most commonly used assessment strategies
• do not observe the person being evaluated in
  real-life situations
• do not integrate feedback of peers and
  clients/patients
• do not use measures that predict clinical outcomes

110
ASSESSMENTCHALLENGES (cont.)

• Assessment often creates resistance in multiple
  people within the system
• Comprehensive assessment can be costly and it is
  unclear who will cover the costs
• Other professions have been more creative and
  innovative than psychology in assessing
  competence What can we learn from them?

111

• HOW DO YOU ASSESS COMPETENCIES?

112
FORMAT

• Definition of Competence
• Articulation of associated knowledge, skills, and
  attitudes
• Expectations of level of competence/capability at
  various developmental levels
• Examples of developmentally appropriate
  competence/capability attainment
• Assessment approaches
• Outcomes expected

113
ACGME MEASUREMENT TOOLBOX EXAMPLES

• 360 Degree Evaluation
• Checklist Evaluation
• Global Ratings
• Standardized Oral and Written Examinations
• Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)
• Standardized Client Examinations
• Client Surveys

114
RESEARCH MEASUREMENT

• Comprehensive Examinations
• Thesis and Dissertation
• Peer-Review Process Local
• Peer-Review Process Professional Community
• Grant Submission Review Process (e.g., NRSA)

115
PRINCIPLES TO GUIDE ASSESSMENT

• Undergraduate Psychology Learning Goals and
  Outcomes Principles
• A set of outcomes is meaningful and useful in
  improving instruction only if student abilities
  are measured thoughtfully with the specific
  intent of improving teaching and learning
• Students should receive direct feedback to
  facilitate their learning from completing
  assessment activities

116
PRINCIPLES TO GUIDE ASSESSMENT (cont.)

• Assessment planning should encourage systematic
  improvement, rather than concentrate on
  deficiencies
• Multiple assessment strategies are needed
• Classroom/course data
• Individual projects/performance assessment
• Summative performance assessment
• Self-assessment/reflection
• Collaboration
• Interviews and surveys
• Archival measures

117
SELF-ASSESSMENT(Belar et al., 2001)

• Self-assessment is important and teachable
• Ethical practice requires self-assessment
  regarding the boundaries of ones competence
• Psychologists should ask themselves specific
  questions to identify their own boundaries of
  competence for engaging in a particular
  professional activity

118
SELF-ASSESSMENT (cont.)

• When deficits in knowledge, skills, attitudes are
  revealed through the self-assessment process,
  self-study and appropriate consultation or
  supervision should be obtained

119
QUESTIONS?

• What are the goals and objectives of education
  and training in professional psychology?
• What attributes must our graduates possess in
  order to meet societys expectations of them in
  the practice of professional psychology?
• Should all graduates possess a common foundation
  of knowledge, skills, and attitudes?
• If so, what are they?

120
QUESTIONS (cont.)

• Can we define competencies that can operationally
  be shown to differ from other competencies?
• Can we create definitions of competencies that
  can be measured?
• Can we create dynamic descriptions of competence
  and competencies that can modified as change
  occurs?

121
QUESTIONS (cont.)

• How do we balance between a focus on the core
  competencies and capitalizing on the academic and
  professional strengths of the programs faculty
  and the interests of the students?
• How do we reconcile contradictory tendencies
  toward developing a detailed wish list of
  desirable competencies versus a restrictive list
  based on concerns that these competencies will be
  used for accreditation certification?

122
QUESTIONS? (cont)

• To what extent and how is our conceptualization
  of core competencies related to our model of
  training and professional role functioning?
• How can we conceptualize competencies
  developmentally?
• When should specialty training occur?

123
QUESTIONS (cont.)

• What education resources must be designed and
  developed to build the required knowledge,
  skills, and attitudes?
• Are some competencies more teachable than others?
• How do competencies evolve/develop in psychology
  and when might competencies no longer be
  considered core and relevant?

124
QUESTIONS (cont.)

• How can we have better communication among
  trainers at various levels and credentialers of
  individuals and programs in the process of
  determining our approach to competencies?
• How well can established psychologists learn new
  competencies, and what makes doing so challenging
  for us?

125

• ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN
  KINDERGARTEN
• UNCOMMON THOUGHTS
• ON COMMON THINGS
• Robert Fulghum, 1993