Module HEAS42015: ADVANCED PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE AND DECISION MAKING IN MENTAL HEALTHCARE

Department: Health [Queen's Campus, Stockton]

HEAS42015: ADVANCED PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE AND DECISION MAKING IN MENTAL HEALTHCARE

Prerequisites

• None.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To develop students' critical and reflexive knowledge of the legislative and policy context that governs contemporary mental health care such that they can apply this knowledge through the development of individuals, teams and services.

Content

• Policy framework.
• Risk assessment, planning and management.
• Complex legal issues.
• Managing Interdisciplinary Practice.
• Child care and mental health.
• Offenders with mental health problems.
• Dual diagnosis services.
• Cross cultural issues in service design and delivery.

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of module students will have developed a critical understanding of:
• The regulatory framework for mental health practice.
• Key issues in interdisciplinary practice in mental health including ethically safe, sound and supportive assessments and interventions.
• Cross cultural perspectives of mental distress and effective approaches for promoting diversity.

• Managing complex mental health assessments and interventions including the involvement of service users and their support networks.
• Skills requirements for continued professional registration.
• Integrating the subject knowledge above into supervisory practice.
• Managing interdisciplinary practice including promoting social inclusion of service users and their supporters in the design and delivery of care services.
• Critical reflection on the application of legislation and policy in day to day professional practice.

• Students who successfully complete one of the programmes in the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences suite will have:
• The ability to think critically and creatively and to argue coherently.
• The capacity for sustained interprofessional learning and work at an advanced level and the ability to learn through reflection on practice and experience.
• The ability to communicate effectively across specialised subject and professional areas.
• Enhanced personal effectiveness: advanced skills of self-awareness, time management including working to deadlines, sensitivity to diversity in people and different situations and the ability to sustain learning.
• The ability to work effectively in inter-professional and inter agency contexts and to critically assess the relevance and validity of others’ views, contributions to care planning and service delivery.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lecturing - Explains current legislative and policy context in respect of different groups such as people with common mental health problems, those with severe mental illness and those who are labelled with a dual diagnosis - Examines the application of the legislation and policy guidance in respect of assessments and interventions in complex situations where there are issues of risk to self or others, ethical or antidiscriminatory practice issues to consider.
• Tutorials and seminars - Allow students to work through application of concepts to practice in more detail, providing both teacher and peer led input, promoting discussion and developing the interprofessional communication and working skills.
• Structured reading - Allows students to pursue topics in greater detail enabling both familiarity with key texts and a deeper understanding of the subject knowledge generally.
• Case studies/role plays/simulation games - Provide real life examples that are discussed, analysed and sometimes role-played to assist students to arrive at new insights into the practical applications of decision making in relation to complex cases in particular.
• Independent study, research and analysis - Focuses student knowledge more deeply by pursuing aspects of the module that are of special interest to themselves and exploring relevant specific applications.
• The structured assignment provides the oportunity to assess students' conceptual understanding and creativity in managing compex intervnetions, their ability to be reflexive regarding their individual and team practice, and their ability to communicate effectively in inter-professional and, where relevant, inter-agency contexts.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

A 1000 word case study summarising the key issues that will be addressed as part of the summative assignment.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University