CPD, Self-care and Burnout

Question 1

Who registers psychologists?

Answer 1

The Psychology Board of Australia (governed by AHPRA)

Question 2

Who is the professional peak body for Australian psychologists?

Answer 2

Australian Psychology Society
APS

They have created the code of ethics which has coincidentally been adopted by the Pyschology Board of Australia
and APS has a service for logging registration CPD that helps for registration (done through PBA)

Question 3

What are the requirements for CPD each year?

Answer 3

30 hours continuing professional development per year
10 must include peer consultation (supervision and consultation in individual or group format for the purposes of professional development and support in the practice of psych)
- providing peer consultation counts as CPD but not as the 10 hours of your own peer consultation

Question 4

What is the purpose of peer consultation

Answer 4

• critically reflective focus on the psychologists own practice
• goals of the overall CPD plan
• done with a peer or senior psych
• person to person
• document this in a log book

Question 5

What are some types of CPD?

Answer 5

• conducting / attending workshops, seminars, lectures or courses of study
• writing, assessing, reading and analysing peer reviewed journal articles, scholarly books, research proposals and grants
• producing, reviewing and analysing professional videos, audios, internet resources, scientific posters
• providing peer consultation to another psych

Question 6

What is active CPD and is it mandatory?

Answer 6

No mandatory, but recommended to have 10 hours.

Active training through written and oral activities than enhance / test learning.
- seminars with a written test
- role playing
- providing peer consultation to others
- oral presentations

Question 7

In the context of CPD, what is the ‘approved area of practice’

Answer 7

To maintain endorsement in an approved area of practice (i.e. specialization as a neuropsychologists, etc) you must do 15 hours of your CPD within that area of practice.

Question 8

You must have an up-to date CPD portfolio that contains:

Answer 8

• A learning plan (desired outcomes)
• How the CPD relates to psychologist’s professional development
• All CPD activities undertaken (proof, receipts, invoices, certificates)

Question 9

How to renew registration / endorsement?

Answer 9

• psych must declare they have completed the minimum requirements of the CPD standard in the previous 12 month registration period (30 hours CPD, 10 inclusive hours of peer consultation)

Question 10

What are punishments of non-compliance

Answer 10

• refusal of registration
• registration contingent on the completion of specified CPD activities
• must undergo performance assessment
• must undergo an examination
• disciplinary proceedings instigated

Question 11

What is the point of ongoing professional development?

Answer 11

• important for self-efficacy, professional competence, feeling equipped to do your job
• linked with job engagement and wellbeing
• failure to do so is linked with burnout, lower professional standards and unhappiness with one’s profession

Question 12

Poor self-care can affect:

Answer 12

• motivation, energy, resilience
• wisdom, judgement, regard for others
• self-awareness
• capacity to think clearly and solve problems
• capacity to deal effectively with our feelings

Question 13

Burnout is especially prevalent in:

Answer 13

caring professions –> particularly psychologists and counsellors

Question 14

What are the 3 dimensions of burnout?

Answer 14

Maslach and colleagues found 3 dimensions of burnout:

Exhaustions: stress, distress, anxiety, worry –> impacting cognitive capacity and causes withdrawal

Cynicism: increasing callousness / cynicism, depersonalization of the client, self-protective mechanism (emotional / cognitive, distancing)

Ineffectiveness
- feeling ineffective
- being ineffective

Question 15

Australian researcher Tavella found 5 factors, measuring burn out in 6 facets:

Answer 15

Maslach’s dimensions:
- exhaustion
- loss of empathy
- impaired work performance
AND

cognitive impairment
withdrawal and insularity
unsettled mood

Question 16

Symptoms of burnout:

Answer 16

• most people have some of these symptoms at times without having burnout
• having several symptoms doesn’t automatically mean burnout - but may indicate you are headed in that direction

Question 17

What situational factors influence burnout?

Answer 17

Type of occupation
Working conditions: overload, insufficient resources, nature of employer

Question 18

Outline how mismatch theory contributes to burnout

Answer 18

Mismatch theory = burnout is far more likely when there is a mismatch between the employees needs / capacity and working conditions in 6 areas:
- workload
- control
- rewards
- community
- fairness
- values

Question 19

Outline mismatch theory - going through each area

Answer 19

Workload: the amount, type (does it match your skills / interests)
Control: resources, decisions –> are your responsibilities possible given your resources
Rewards: financial, social, intrinsic
Community: cooperative, respectful, enjyable vs isolating, conflict prone?
Fairness: inequities, how management handles cheats
Values: have you been asked to be unethical?W

Question 20

Outline factors within the person that impact burnout

Answer 20

These influence burnout less so than situational factors

Demographics
- age: younger are more at risk (<30)
- marital status: unmarried greater burnout (especially single men)
- education: higher education correlated to greater burnout

Personality: likelihood of burnout is greater for those who have:
- low hardiness
- external locus of control
- poor coping styles
- low self-esteem
- stress prone individual
- high in trait anxiety, hostility, depression, self-consciousness, vulnerability
- prone to emotional instability and psychological distress
- type A personality type
- feeling rather than thinking types

Attitudes:
- those with higher expectations are possible more at risk of burnout

Question 21

How to combat burnout

Answer 21

Change the organisation:
- promote job engagement
- prevention is key

Change individual (not as helpful as it only changes individual facets)
- self-care strategies

Question 22

How to prevent burnout by increasing job engagement

Answer 22

Make each job important, meaningful, challenging.

Job engagement is characterised by energy, effort, persistence, feelings of effectiveness, pride, involvement, enthusiasm, resilience, immersion.

Question 23

How can organisations actively promote well-being for staff?

Answer 23

Reduce conditions where mismatches between employee and job are likely in the 6 areas:
- workload
- reward
- values
- control
- community
- fairness

Question 24

What are some personal strategies for burnout

Answer 24

Generally related to the ‘exhaustion’ component of burnout and are best put in place prior to burnout.
- stress inoculation training
- interpersonal and social skills training
- relaxation training
- time management training
- meditation

These can help change an individual’s ability to prevent / cope with exhaustion component of burnout, but not those related to cynicism or feelings of ineffectiveness