As in all professions, the practice of psychologists is based on the acquisition and application of knowledge, skills, and behaviors that are often conceptualized as competencies. As students progress through their curricula, they might approach each individual unit as a discrete set of skills embedded in different coursework units. However, these discrete skills and competencies may not reflect the diverse, interrelated, and complex nature of the practice of psychology. This project sought to identify the key competencies required to practice psychology and to present these competencies in a model that demonstrates how melding these competencies together better reflects authentic, real-world practice. The methodology comprised two stages. Pre-existing data, including detailed postgraduate course content, graduate course evaluations, and destinations such as vocational outcomes, from two universities were distributed to eight Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) for consideration. During the first stage of the study, the eight SMEs engaged in a modified Delphi process designed to explore psychology competencies. The SME panel also answered several rounds of questions at first face-to-face, and later online. From these sessions, a draft psychology competency model was developed, including both competencies that are underpinned by the scientific-practitioner process, and meta-competencies. During the second stage of the study, practitioners and academics from various areas of psychology practice participated in a series of workshops and further refined the competency model. Future research is needed to validate the model. Elucidation of competencies in psychology is imperative and has ramifications for psychology regulation, training, and practice.
This study examined whether training staff in preparation for organizational changes, such as the implementation of new practices, can increase levels of change readiness in residential aged care. Four aspects of organizational readiness were compared across time and between training and control conditions. Participants ( n = 129) were employed in eight residential aged care facilities in Australia. Survey data were collected at four time-points: preintervention and three postintervention time-points. The two conditions (training and control) differed significantly from one another on the subscales of appropriateness, personal valence, and efficacy postintervention but not at preintervention. The finding of support diminishing at 6 month and 12 months following the intervention for the training group was unexpected. The findings suggest that within aged care facilities, training in change processes may enhance an organization’s readiness for change, and booster training may be needed to help to sustain all aspects of change readiness over time.
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