Article

A descriptive survey to identify the perceived skills and community skill requirements of mental health staff

Details

Citation

Bugge C, Smith LN & Shanley E (1999) A descriptive survey to identify the perceived skills and community skill requirements of mental health staff. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 29 (1), pp. 218-228. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2648.1999.00862.x

Abstract
Throughout the 1990s mental health care has shifted from a hospital to a community-based service. Government policy indicates that staff require further education as a result of the shift to community care. However, none of the United Kingdom policy documents or mental health literature prescribes what education is required. Consequently this multidisciplinary study aimed to identify what skills, if any, were required by hospital-based staff to move to a community-based working environment. Study findings suggest advantages in perceiving skills as overlapping and interconnecting. Five common core skills and skill differences between professional groups are identified. It is argued that core skills are central and common to all groups and specialist skills are those that distinguish professional groups one from another and different grades of staff within professional groups. While problems of multidisciplinary education are considered, nevertheless a case is made for educating staff in core skills within a multidisciplinary environment which may be beneficial in achieving community care goals.

Keywords
Community care; Mental health; Multidisciplinary education; Multidisciplinary practice; Skills; Psychiatric nursing

Journal
Journal of Advanced Nursing: Volume 29, Issue 1

StatusPublished
Publication date31/01/1999
URLhttp://hdl.handle.net/1893/12725
PublisherWiley-Blackwell / Blackwell Publishing
ISSN0309-2402