Hostname: page-component-cb9f654ff-h4f6x Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-08-25T13:24:38.365Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Development of a tool to evaluate geropsychology knowledge and skill competencies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 February 2010

Michele J. Karel ,
Erin E. Emery  and
Victor Molinari
Michele J. Karel*
Affiliation:
VA Boston Healthcare System and Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Brockton, MA, U.S.A.
Erin E. Emery
Affiliation:
Geriatric and Rehabilitation Psychology, Rush University Medical Center, and Department of Behavioral Sciences, Rush University, Chicago, IL, U.S.A.
Victor Molinari
Affiliation:
Dept of Aging and Mental Health Disparities, University of South Florida and College of Behavioral and Community Sciences, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, Tampa, FL, U.S.A.
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Michele J. Karel, PhD, VA Boston Healthcare System, 940 Belmont Street, 3-5-C, Brockton, MA 02301, U.S.A. Phone: +1 774-826-3725. Email: Michele.Karel@va.gov.
Get access

Abstract

Background: Workforce shortages to meet the mental health needs of the world's aging population are well documented. Within the field of professional geropsychology in the U.S.A., a national conference was convened in 2006 to delineate competencies for psychological practice with older adults and a training model for the field. The conference produced the Pikes Peak Model of Geropsychology Training. The Council of Professional Geropsychology Training Programs (CoPGTP) aimed to produce a competency evaluation tool to help individuals define training needs for and evaluate progress in development of the Pikes Peak professional geropsychology competencies.

Methods: A CoPGTP task force worked for one year to adapt the Pikes Peak Model geropsychology attitude, knowledge, and skill competencies into an evaluation tool for use by supervisors, students and professional psychologists at all levels of geropsychology training. The task force developed a competency rating tool, which included delineation of behavioral anchors for each of the Pikes Peak geropsychology knowledge and skill competencies and use of a developmental rating scale. Pilot testing was conducted, with 13 individuals providing feedback on the clarity and feasibility of the tool for evaluation of oneself or students.

Results: The Geropsychology Knowledge and Skills Assessment Tool, Version 1.1, is now posted on the CoPGTP website and is being used by geropsychology training programs in the U.S.A.

Conclusions: The evaluation tool has both strengths and limitations. We discuss future directions for its ongoing validation and professional use.

Keywords

psychologytrainingcompetencegeriatricsassessmentprofessional practice

Information

Type
Special Issue Articles
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 22 , Special Issue 6: Focus on training in psychogeriatrics , September 2010 , pp. 886 - 896
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) (2000). Toolbox of Assessment, Methods, Version 1.1. Available at: http://www.acgme.org/Outcome/assess/Toolbox.pdf.Google Scholar
American Association of Colleges of Nursing and The John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing (2000). Older Adults: Recommended Baccalaureate Competencies and Curricular Guidelines for Geriatric Nursing Care. Available at http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Education/gercomp.htm.Google Scholar
American Psychological Association (2004). Guidelines for psychological practice with older adults. American Psychologist, 59, 236–260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
American Psychological Association (2006). Report of the Assessment of Competency Benchmarks Work Group. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Available at: http://www.apa.org/ed/graduate/Benchmarks%20FINAL.doc.Google Scholar
American Psychological Association (2008a). Blueprint for Change: Achieving Integrated Health Care for an Aging Population. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Available at: http://www.apa.org/pi/aging/blueprint.html.Google Scholar
American Psychological Association (2008b). Competency Assessment Toolkit for Professional Psychology. Available at: http://www.apa.org/ed/graduate/competency.html.Google Scholar
Barnett, J. E., Doll, B., Younggren, J. N. and Rubin, N. J. (2007). Clinical competence for practicing psychologists: clearly a work in progress. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 38, 510–517.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Center for Health Workforce Studies (2005). The Impact of the Aging Population on the Health Workforce in the United States. Rensselaer, NY: School of Public Health, University of Albany.Google Scholar
Damron-Rodriguez, J., Lawrance, F. P., Barnett, D. and Simmons, J. (2006). Developing geriatric social work competencies for field education. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 48, 139–160.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dreyfus, H. L. and Dreyfus, S. E. (1986). Mind Over Machine: The Power of Human Intuition and Expertise in the Era of the Computer. New York: The Free Press.Google Scholar
Eva, K. W. and Regehr, G. (2005). Self-assessment in the health professions: a reformulation and research agenda. Academic Medicine, 80, S46–S54.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fernández-Ballesteros, R., Pinquart, M. and Torpdahl, P. (2007). Geropsychology: demographic, sociopolitical and historical background. In Fernández-Ballesteros, R. (ed.), Geropsychology: European Perspectives for an Ageing World (pp. 1–14). Göttingen: Hogrefe and Huber Publishers.Google Scholar
Hatcher, R. L. and Lassiter, K. D. (2007). Initial training in professional psychology: the Practicum Competencies Outline. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 1, 49–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hinrichsen, G. A., Zeiss, A., Karel, M. J. and Molinari, V. A. (in press). Competency based geropsychology training in doctoral internships and postdoctoral fellowships. Training and Education in Professional Psychology.Google Scholar
Institute of Medicine (2008). Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforce. Washington, DC: National Academic Press.Google Scholar
Karel, M. J., Knight, B. G., Duffy, M., Hinrichsen, G. A. and Zeiss, A. (in press). Attitude, knowledge, and skill competencies for practice in professional geropsychology: Implications for training and building a geropsychology workforce. Training and Education and Professional Psychology.Google Scholar
Kaslow, N. J. et al. (2004). Competencies Conference: future directions in education and credentialing in professional psychology. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 60, 699–712.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kaslow, N. J. et al. (2007) Guiding principles and recommendations for the assessment of competence. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 38, 441–451.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knight, B. G., Karel, M. J., Hinrichsen, G. A., Qualls, S. H. and Duffy, M. (2009). Pikes Peak Model for training in professional geropsychology. American Psychologist, 64, 205–214.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
LaMascus, A. M., Bernard, M. A., Barry, P., Salerno, P. and Weiss, J. (2005). Bridging the workforce gap for our aging society: how to increase and improve knowledge and training. Report of an expert panel. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 53, 343–347.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lieff, S. J., Kirwin, P. and Colenda, C. C. (2005). Proposed geriatric psychiatry core competencies for subspecialty training. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 13, 815–821.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Molinari, V. (ed.) (in press). Professional Competencies in Geropsychology. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Psychology Specialists Working with Older People, the British Psychological Society (2006). Good Practice Guidelines for UK Clinical Psychology Training Providers for the Training and Consolidation of Clinical Practice in Relation to Older People. British Psychological Society. Available at www.psige.org.Google Scholar
Qualls, S. H., Segal, D. L., Normans, S., Niederehe, G. N. and Gallagher-Thompson, D. (2002). Psychologists in practice with older adults: current patterns, sources of training, and need for continuing education. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 33, 435–442.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Qualls, S. H., Scogin, F., Zweig, R. and Whitbourne, S. K. (in press) Predoctoral training models in professional geropsychology. Training and Education in Professional Psychology.Google Scholar
Rodolfa, E. R., Bent, R. J., Eisman, E., Nelson, P. D., Rehm, L. and Ritchie, P. (2005). A cube model for competency development: implications for psychology educators and regulators. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 36, 347–354.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seigler, E. L., Myer, K., Fulmer, T. and Mazey, M. (eds.). (1998). Geriatric Interdisciplinary Team Training. New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Shah, A. (2008). Do socio-economic factors, elderly population size and service development factors influence the development of specialist mental health programs for older people? International Psychogeriatrics, 20, 1238–1244.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Snowdon, J., Ames, D., Chiu, E. and Wattis, J. (1995). A survey of psychiatric services for elderly people in Australia. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 29, 207–214CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Xakellis, G. et al. (2004). Curricular framework: core competencies in multicultural geriatric care. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 52, 137–142.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed