Certified QPR Gatekeeper Instructor Training

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Certified QPR Gatekeeper Instructor Training

• Participant Evaluations from 2002
• Paul Quinnett, Ph.D.

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Introduction

• The QPR Institute and its faculty train and
  certify citizen gatekeeper instructors to deliver
  a brief (1 to 3 hour) awareness and brief
  intervention program called QPR. QPR stands for
  Question, Persuade and Refer. Instructors are
  trained in either a full, 8-hour onsite program,
  or through an individual self-study program, or
  via a mentored self-study program. Since 1996,
  more than 1,400 Instructors have been trained in
  the U.S. and in foreign countries.

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Introduction Continued

• The following summary report is based on the
  post-training evaluations of 130 QPR Instructors
  certified by four different QPR Master Trainers
  during 2002 in the following states Montana,
  Arizona, New Mexico, Minnesota and Missouri. All
  1,400 QPR Instructors have been evaluated using
  similar methods, with the exception of self-study
  participants who must pass a quiz and a personal
  telephone interview.

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Method

• Potential QPR Gatekeeper instructors are
  either self-selected or selected by their
  organizations or communities to participate in
  the training. All must be at least 21 years of
  age. There are no other barriers to becoming a
  Certified QPR Instructors. Included in this 2002
  sample group were nurses, job coaches, tribal
  elders, social workers, school teachers, chemical
  dependency counselors, police officers,
  clergymen, union stewards, suicide survivors,
  mental health professionals and many others.

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Core Course Content

• Sample of certification core modules taught
• Epidemiology, risk and protective factors
• Suicidal communications
• History of suicide prevention
• Gatekeeper training in the National Strategy
• Rationale and history of QPR
• Required QPR modules and how to teach them
• Role-plays and rehearsals
• Audience response and instructor duties
• Boot Camp Handling the QA

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The Training Day

• Participants certified to teach QPR for 3 years
  must attend the entire 8-hour training program
  and participate fully to become qualified.
• National Board of Certified Counselor continuing
  education credits are awarded.
• Participants are provided a full educational
  package video, CD-ROM, Instructional Guide and
  QPR booklets and cards for trainees, and receive
  three years of technical support, newsletters and
  program updates

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Evaluation

• At the end of the training day, and to receive
  a Certificate, all participants must evaluate the
  training program. In this report, five-point
  Likert scales were administered to all 130
  participants to assess nine dimensions of the
  training program. The 5-point scales ranged from
  Outstanding to Poor. Each of the following
  graphs covers a separate dimension of the survey
  ratings.

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Overall program organization
9
Program content
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Program presentation
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Overall value to you
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How well did the course meet your expectations?
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Did the instructor demonstrate a thorough
knowledge of the subject matter?
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How would you rate the instructors presentation
of the material?
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To what degree did the course provide practical
applications for your work?
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What is the overall evaluation of this course?
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Discussion and Summary

• As can be seen from these evaluations, 75 of
  participants rated the overall QPR Instructor
  certification course as outstanding and 22
  rated the program as above average for total of
  97 above average or outstanding ratings.

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Discussion and Summary

• Based on our experience, the selection of
  potential QPR Gatekeeper Instructors by
  communities and organizations is sometimes less
  than ideal. Some participants are not fully
  informed about what they will be learning in the
  program and that, in fact, they are expected to
  train others in QPR after certification. As a
  result, ratings of program relevance, practical
  application and value tend to be lower compared
  to persons who fully understood the mission.

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Discussion and Summary

• To achieve such highly similar ratings from four
  different instructors, the following should be
  noted
• The certification program content and modules
  have been tested and evaluated for more than 7
  years with more than 1,400 participants
• All QPR Institute Master Trainers complete a
  rigorous training program under direct
  supervision of a senior Master Trainer to ensure
  program consistency and fidelity
• All QPR Master Trainers are held to high subject
  matter knowledge and teaching standards

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Contact Information

• If you have questions regarding this summary
  evaluation please contact the QPR Institute at
  qinstitute_at_qwest.net.