Innovation
Our innovation is to actively include service users and carers in the team that provides feedback to students. This is done to enhance the validity of role play appraisal by adding the perspective of a service user in the feedback to the trainees. Service users and carer consultants take part in the in vivo skills teaching for our trainees. The trainees learn through role plays of clinical interview skills (e.g. assessment; sharing formulation; dealing with distress) which are watched by a small group of trainee and staff observers and are filmed, so that the actors can watch and join in the appraisal of their performance. They are then encouraged to repeat the role play, incorporating feedback.
What prompted innovation?
Trainees had requested that service users and carers become more involved in the teaching on the programme. Trainees also particularly value the in vivo skills training and we took the opportunity to strengthen this element of teaching by inviting our service users and carers to take part. We have a large group of service user and carer consultants who are involved in all aspects of the programme and so it was relatively straightforward to implement.
What makes innovation different?
The opportunity for service users and carers to directly shape the development of trainee clinical skills. Although trainees are directly observed by supervisors on a few occasions, most of their clinical learning occurs through supervision based on trainee accounts of what they have done. This innovation provides a rare opportunity for trainees to be directly observed and to receive feedback from service users on their skills.
Changes in practice
Trainees’ feedback is excellent and so we plan to continue to include service users and carers in the skills training. We will also be introducing in vivo assessment of trainee skills and competences on clinical placements in the next academic year.
Impact
The programme has been commended by the HCPC (2011) during their Approval Visit and the British Psychological Society (2011) during their Accreditation Visit, for the breadth and quality of service user involvement across the whole programme.
Dissemination
This innovation could be disseminated during Faculty away days and via the ECQ process for auditing NHS commissioned programmes.