Professorial Lecture - Craig Gonsalvez - Assessing the Development of Practitioner Competence in Psychology and Other Health Practitioners: Problems, Progress and Promises

Abstract: Competency-based pedagogies have dominated practitioner training in clinical psychology over the last decade, triggering a cascade of major changes to the way psychology is taught, but especially how practitioners are supervised and assessed. The competency movement, described as a revolution, has affected psychology and other health disciplines both within Australia and internationally. The competency approach is supported by an internally consistent conceptual framework that underpins the formulation of guidelines that, in turn, informs the articulation of a set of coherent application principles, a formula that has been embraced by regulatory authorities worldwide. However, the success of any competence-based pedagogy is dependent upon reliable and valid competence assessment. Regrettably, systematic scrutiny of competence assessments in psychology has produced disappointing results that raise serious concerns about assessment reliability and integrity, threatening to stall the progress of the competence revolution. This lecture describes the work of a multisite study committed to improve the outcomes of competence-assessment by a range of initiatives including the design and testing of new and innovative instruments. The contributions of the multisite group led by Prof Gonsalvez and conducted over the past decade have been published in several scientific publications. This address will summarize the scientific literature on the topic, identify critical issues, discuss dilemmas and challenges, and offer possible solutions. The lecture will discuss implications of the group’s work for other disciplines and outline new opportunities for innovation and research.

Bio: Craig Gonsalvez, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and Professor in Clinical Psychology at the School of Social Sciences and Psychology, University of Western Sydney, Australia. His research interests and publications are mainly in two very different areas: clinical psychophysiology and professional training in psychology. He has been actively involved in education and training of psychologists for over 20 years, has served in several senior roles including as national Chair of Course Approvals for the Clinical College of the Australian Psychological Society and as a Site Assessor for the Australian Psychological Society and the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council. He has received multiple research grants and several teaching awards for his contributions to practitioner training and clinical supervision, including the Australian Psychological Society’s Award of Distinction for contributions to Clinical Psychology, an Australian Citation for Teaching Excellence and an Australian Teaching Excellence award for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning. His presentation highlights findings from a multisite research study on assessment of practitioner competence in clinical psychology, funded by the Australian Government’s Office for Learning and Teaching

RSVP: 3/10/2018 - ssap-research@westernsydney.edu.au