CLIMATE FOR CHANGE: EDUCATION, TRAINING AND THE COMMUNITY PSYCHIATRIC NURSE.
Contributors: Council for National Academic Awards (Great Britain)
Published: 1991
Number of pages: 440
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: Available from UMI in association with The British Library.

This study investigates the process of development during and after post registration education in the field of Community Psychiatric Nursing (CPN). The main areas of interest concerned the influence of post registration education on CPNs' practice, the influence of the form of education and type of course undertaken and any influence other than post registration education which affects professional development.

The main longitudinal research was of eight mental health nurses using a case study approach. In order to provide a check and a measure of corroboration of the findings, further students from three different educational centres offering the CPN course and one group undergoing a diploma course in counselling were invited to respond to a questionnaire on a selection of key issues. Respondents were followed up by telephone-interview one month and nine months respectively after completion of the course.

The constant comparative analysis approach gave rise to the idea that:.

All forms of education are as reliable as each other, each system can be compared with some sort of "neutral" framework of inquiry giving students support to develop personal motivation and the desire to profit from it. All courses achieved their objectives with respect to the translation of (in-course) theory into (community-based) practice.

There appears to be two distinct lines along which CPNs approach their professional duties. They may be characterised as exhibiting either internality or externality. Roughly, in the former case the individual takes a pro-active stance, in the latter a reactive stance, towards the world and the context of action.

Professionals demonstrate a deep desire to acquire "skills". However, just what in specifics they see as the required skills proves elusive. They are merely aware of an (unspecified) deficiency in this respect. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-11, Section: B, page: 5759.

Thesis (PH.D.)--COUNCIL FOR NATIONAL ACADEMIC AWARDS (UNITED KINGDOM), 1991.

School code: 0935.