Research experience is often important for academic and career development. This paper describes the implementation and impact of a training program for temporary research assistants (RAs) at an academic medical center. The program includes a 9-month didactic lecture series covering research and professional development skills, a Quality Improvement project focused on improving research processes, and manuscript writing. Overall, the program goals of increasing confidence, self-efficacy, job satisfaction, and well-being, as well as providing an opportunity for career exploration, were met. Thus, this program has the potential to support temporary RAs and enhance their early research experiences.

Aggressive behaviour in psychiatric inpatients was assessed before and after a training course for staff members. The Social Dysfunction Aggression Scale (SDAS) was used to report and assess aggressive behaviour over time, and the Staff Observation Aggression Scale (SOAS) to report and assess single aggressive incidents. In addition, the numbers of nursing staff members who were on sick leave because of injuries in the periods before and after the course were recorded and compared. No statistically significant reduction was found in the number of aggressive patients or in the number of staff members on sick leave. One interesting finding was a lower reporting on the SOAS of perceived aggressive incidents after the training course in comparison with the SDAS reports. Directed verbal aggressiveness and violence towards things were found to be predictors of violence.

Wales has not adopted the English IAPT system and has no centralized training plan for developing cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) in Wales. However, Welsh Government policy expresses an ambition to improve access to evidence-based psychological therapies for people in Wales. This study focuses on one Welsh Health Board's plan to improve access to CBT. The study aims to benchmark support for effective delivery of CBT in the Health Board against NICE and Department of Health standards, and to establish whether the Health Board's plan is succeeding in developing staff capability and access to evidence-based CBT. Mental health staff funded by the Health Board to complete accredited training in CBT were asked to complete an online questionnaire asking about their training, accreditation, use of CBT, and experience of workplace support for delivering CBT. The standards were taken from the Department of Health competency framework for CBT, NICE guidelines and BABCP safety and confidentiality criteria. The Health Board performed well across seven standards of workplace support for the delivery of evidence-based CBT. Staff funded to undertake accredited CBT training continued to develop and to use CBT in their everyday clinical practice. The study indicates that the Health Board is succeeding in offering good standards of workplace support for CBT, including access to accredited CBT training. A recommendation is made that this be shared with other Welsh Health Boards and that a comparable study be undertaken within an IAPT service.

Reception and administrative employees may be particularly vulnerable to patient aggression in mental health services. This study examined whether satisfaction with social support and primary aggression training moderated the effects of perceived aggression on psychological distress and somatic symptoms in a sample of 101 employees. The biophysical model of threat and challenge, the stressor-stress-strain model, and the stress-buffering hypothesis served as theoretical frameworks. Results showed perceived aggression correlated positively with psychological distress, but not with somatic symptoms. Significant interactions were found for social support (buffering effect) and training (interaction effect) for somatic symptoms, but not for psychological distress. It is suggested that, for somatic symptoms, the moderation effects of social support and training on perceived aggression involve similar mechanisms (increased knowledge, self-esteem, perceived control, coping capacity). These findings provide support for the benefits of staff training and the incorporation of knowledge-based components in training programs.

Background: Symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and behavioral problems are very common in people with dementia living in care homes. Staff training has been identifed as a promising psychosocial intervention. This pilot study investigated the feasibility of implementing the Staff Training in Assisted Living Residences (STAR) program in UK care homes.

Methods: The eight-week STAR program was delivered in two care homes. Twenty-five care staff attended the training. Thirty-two residents, with dementia and clinically significant anxiety, depression, or behavioral problems, were included in the study. Residents and staff were assessed at baseline and eight-week follow-up.

Results: Residents demonstrated significantly reduced symptoms of depression and behavioral problems following the implementation of the program, although resident-rated quality of life and anxiety symptoms did not improve significantly. Staff sense of hopefulness towards people with dementia also improved significantly and staff rated themselves as significantly more competent at forming relationships with residents.

Conclusion: Delivering the STAR program to care staff can have an impact on the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia displayed by care home residents. The program was feasible to implement and was rated highly by care staff. A large-scale randomized controlled trial is now required to evaluate the effectiveness of this training intervention.

In the U.S.A., direct care workers and licensed practical nurses are the professionals who provide the most hands-on care to people with dementia in nursing homes and residential care facilities – yet they do not receive adequate training in dementia care. Dementia care training needs to be universal with all disciplines at all levels of care. Even though there is variability on recommended hours and content, most studies emphasize the importance of dementia care training as a distinct component of required training for any professional or paraprofessional working in long-term care. In 2005, the Alzheimer's Association launched its Quality Care Campaign to improve dementia care through state and federal advocacy; consumer education and empowerment; and staff training. This paper describes the effectiveness of Alzheimer's Association training as measured by knowledge gained and providers' intention to change their behavior immediately after attending the training.

Overall, findings indicated that the participants responded positively to evidence-based training in dementia care that emphasized the importance of (i) leadership, (ii) team communication and collaboration, (iii) support and empowerment of direct care staff, (iv) awareness and practice of specific dementia care issues, (v) resident and family involvement in care, and (vi) professional self-care.

The aim of this study was to describe the extent and variations in administration of depot antipsychotic medication within primary care in the North Thames Region, by means of a cross-sectional survey of a sample of general practices in the North Thames Region. Outcome measures were the number of patients receiving depot at the general practice, the professionals administering depot in that general practice, and the perceived need by these professionals for further training. Depot antipsychotic medication was administered in 55 practices (79.7% of the respondents). Practice nurses gave depot antipsychotics in 41 (59.4%) of the respondents, general practitioners in 27 (39.1%) of the respondents and community psychiatric nurses (CPNs) in 31 (44.9%) of the respondents in the practices studied. It was found that the majority of GP practices within the North Thames Region administer depot antipsychotic medication, and the GPs and practice nurses share a significant proportion of this administration. Practice nurses need specific training for this task, with access to regular refresher courses to ensure good practice.

The present study aimed to trial the effectiveness of 10 newly developed brief vignettes portraying typical interactions between staff and people with intellectual disabilities in residential care settings to assess the knowledge and understanding of staff about choice diversity, pre- and post-attendance at a staff training workshop. A total of 29 residential staff completed the Vignette Rating Scale and a knowledge questionnaire pre- and post-training. A t- test conducted on the vignettes revealed that respondents identified fewer choices in the post-test vignettes compared to the pre-test vignettes. Results showed no significant difference between the pre- and post-test data on the knowledge questionnaire. The questionnaire revealed a high level of knowledge about choice prior to and following training. The vignettes, however, proved effective in measuring changes in awareness of choice diversity among residential staff following participation in a staff training workshop.

Developing staff competence in evidence-based interventions for people with a severe mental illnesses is now a government priority. However, evidence concerning the nature and effectiveness of the training programmes that are designed to develop competence is decidedly limited. The purpose of the present study was, therefore, to evaluate systematically a manualized and evidence-based staff training programme. This programme was delivered over a 17-day period, in a modular and experiential workshop format. Staff (mostly mental health nurses) were allocated to either an experimental group (N = 18) who received the training or to a waiting-list, control group condition (N = 7). Multi-dimensional process and outcome evaluations indicated that the staff training was delivered competently, followed an experiential learning approach, and led to significant improvement in the participants' targeted knowledge and skills. The staff were also satisfied with the acceptability and delivery of the training. Generalization to the participants' clients was reported to be very good, which was congruent with evidence of a supportive work environment, the organizational evaluation aspect of this study. While these learning outcomes are typical of such training, the degree of generalization is exceptional. Possible reasons for this favourable outcome are discussed, and conclusions are drawn for developing staff competence in ways that maximize the delivery of evidence-based practice.

The objective of this pilot study was to evaluate the relative effectiveness of two approaches to staff training. Multidisciplinary mental health staff, receiving a standard training programme (N = 45), were compared on multiple measures with an experimental group (N = 11), receiving a programme featuring a “relapse prevention” module. This module was designed to improve the transfer of the training. The staff receiving the relapse prevention module reported significantly greater generalization of the training. Participant variables, the delivery of the training and work environment factors did not appear to explain this favourable finding. It is concluded tentatively that a relapse prevention module shows promise as a facilitator of the transfer of training in psychosocial interventions for severe mental illness.

Studies of in-service training demonstrate repeatedly the difficulty of transferring training to the routine work of the staff. One of the likely explanations for this difficulty is the recurring absence of an educational and organizational needs assessment to guide the training. Such assessments can play a critical role in defining management support, goal setting, the selection of the trainee group and in analysing the readiness of staff in an organization for a training intervention. The present study summarizes and extends prior research in the field of mental health by conducting a comprehensive educational and organizational needs analysis. Six assessment methods were administered to N = 72 staff and 20 clients in a psychiatric hospital, including questionnaires, interviews, direct observations and an audit. The study design was based on a series of naturalistic, cross sectional comparisons between four wards. Significant differences were obtained between the four participating wards, which served to define training needs and to validate the needs assessment procedure. Implications are drawn for needs assessment within a more systematic approach to staff training.