The Competency Benchmarks: Competence Initiatives in Professional Psychology

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The Competency Benchmarks Competence Initiatives
in Professional Psychology

• Catherine L. Grus, Ph.D.,
• Associate Executive Director,
• Professional Education and Training
• APA Education Directorate

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CONTEXT
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a culture of competenceRoberts, Borden,
Christiansen Lopez (2005)

• a shift within professional psychology toward an
  emphasis on the acquisition and maintenance of
  competence as a primary goal

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Culture of Competence

• Recent years have witnessed a burgeoning
  interest in a competency-based approach to
  student learning outcomes in professional
  psychology
• Educational programs are expected to produce
  competence
• Professional credentialing bodies are expected to
  certify individuals as competent
• Policy makers laud competence
• Consumers increasingly demand it

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Culture of Competence

• It is also time to embrace a culture of the
  assessment of competence, as the assessment of
  competence
• fosters learning
• evaluates progress
• assists in determining curriculum and training
  program effectiveness
• advances the field
• protects the public

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Culture of Competence

• We can learn a lot from the efforts of our
  colleagues in education and the other health
  professions (medicine, pharmacy, nursing,
  dentistry)
• Assessment of Competence Toolbox (American
  College of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)
• APA Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology
  Major (APA, 2007)
• A lot of efforts have already taken place within
  professional psychology that informed our work

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Competency Initiatives in Professional
Psychology

• 1996 Revision Guidelines and Principles for
  Accreditation of Programs in Professional
  Psychology
• Focus on program outcomes, less on curriculum
• Broad and general competency domains
• Council of Chairs of Training Councils
  (CCTC)/Association of Directors of Psychology
  Training Clinics (ADPTC) Practicum Competencies
  (2001)

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Competency Initiatives in Professional Psychology

• 2002 APA Ethics Code
• Board of Educational Affairs (BEA) Task Force on
  Assessment of Competence in Professional
  Psychology (2004)
• 2002 Competencies Conference
• Goal to develop consensus about domains of
  foundational and functional competencies from a
  developmental perspective

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Rodolfa, E. R., Bent, R. J., Eisman, E.,
Nelson, P. D., Rehm, L., Ritchie, P. (2005). A
cube model for competency development
Implications for psychology educators and
regulators. Professional Psychology Research and
Practice, 36, 347-354.
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WHY IS DEVELOPMENT AN IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION
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Policy/Regulatory Developments

• APA Policy on Education and Training Leading to
  Licensure (approved by APA Council of
  Representatives, 2006)
• Jurisdictions are and will be looking to this
  policy as guidance

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• Applicants should be considered for admission to
  licensure upon completing a sequential,
  organized, supervised professional experience
  equivalent to two years of full-time training
  that can be completed prior or subsequent to the
  granting of the doctoral degree. One of the two
  years was to be a pre-doctoral internship for
  those preparing for practice as health service
  providers.  

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ASSESSMENT OF COMPETENCY BENCHMARKSWORKGROUP
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Assessment of Competency Benchmarks Work Group

• Chair Nadya Fouad, Ph.D.
• Two-day meeting September 2006
• Gathered individuals knowledgeable about domains
  of competence
• 32 member work group

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Goals

• Build on existing knowledge and advance the shift
  to a culture of competence
• Promote excellence in professional education and
  training
• Operationalize a developmental model of
  competence in professional psychology
• To better inform understanding of entry level to
  practice in light of the APA policy on Education
  and Training Leading to Licensure

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Caveats

• Applies most directly to those preparing for the
  practice of health service provision, i.e., those
  who will seek licensure
• Not meant to be prescriptive, a tool for programs
  to implement if they chose and in accordance with
  their model of education and training
• Assessment of competence must be balanced with
  the primary mission of the program education and
  training

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Product of the Group

• A working document that delineates competency
  benchmarks, or measurable standards of
  performance, that are developmental and
  integrated through the sequence of professional
  education and training and identifies methods of
  assessing achievement

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How are Benchmarks Organized?

• Essential Component what are the critical
  elements of/what knowledge/skills/attitudes that
  make up this competency?
• Behavioral Anchor what would it look like if you
  saw it (essential component)
• Assessment Method(s) what methods would you use
  to measure it?

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Essential Components
A. Knowledge A. Knowledge
Readiness for Practicum Readiness for Internship
basic knowledge of expectations for supervision knowledge of purpose, roles and goals of supervision
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Behavioral Anchors
A. Knowledge A. Knowledge
Readiness for Practicum Readiness for Internship
demonstrates basic knowledge of supervision student knows their roles and responsibilities in the process student able to engage in goal setting related to practicum successful completion of supervision coursework completion of practicum placements supervision completion of comprehensive examinations
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Assessment Methods
A. Knowledge A. Knowledge
Readiness for Practicum Readiness for Internship
faculty, peer, and self judgments (with consideration to consensual validation) performance in courses and evaluation milestones completion of supervision coursework assessments by practicum supervisors about participant role in supervision process
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Competence Initiatives in Professional
Psychology Next Steps

• Benchmarks document underwent period public
  comment fall 2007
• Available on APA website
• http//www.apa.org/ed/resources.html
• Group to be charged by APA Board of Educational
  Affairs to review comment and make
  recommendations
• Future efforts to address professional
  development from early career to specialty
  practice

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• Competence Assessment for Professional Psychology
  Work Group
• A Toolkit for professional psychology
• Met once Fall 2007 2nd meeting April 2008
• On-line resources for education and training
  programs methods to assess competence
• CCTC continued efforts to make communication
  between doctoral and internship programs routine
  and focused on promoting competence

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• Specialty/proficiency specific competency models
  clinical health geropsychology
• ASPPB Practicum Work Group
• Met July 2007
• Draft model language related to practicm training
• Informed by Benchmarks and Practicum Competencies
  Outline
• Goal incorporate competency-based outcomes in
  regulatory language and processes

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• Interprofessional professionalism consultant work
  group
• Initiated by American Physical Therapy
  Association in 2006
• Representatives from doctoral level health
  professions
• All have discipline specific initiatives on
  fostering competence
• Developing a tool to measure interprofessional
  professional