Civic Recovery Mentorship: An Online Undergraduate Medical Training Program to Transform Experience into Expertise, and Attitudes into Competencies (original) (raw)

Recovery-oriented Medical Training: A Narrative Literature Review for the University of Recovery as a New Concept of Co-learning between Patients and (Future) Healthcare Providers

Journal of Community Medicine & Health Education, 2016

Recovery has undoubtedly gained traction throughout the world, and much effort is going into the transformation of mental health policies and systems to achieve recovery-oriented outcomes. There is also a growing argument that emphasizes the interconnectedness of mental and somatic health dimensions, with one dimension affecting the state of the other, and the recovery vision has thus also begun to influence chronic physical illness management. As mental and physical health integration may include colocation, by which the mental health specialist sees patients with various physical health conditions in the same primary care setting, it has been suggested that this colocation could also be conceptual and, in fact, favored by the sharing of a common and global recovery vision for a genuine holistic and person-centered approach. A rapid review of literature was performed to inform the development of a series of workshops to train psychiatry residents and medical students to recovery. Although a plethora of writings exists on ways to transform existing practices to make them more recovery-oriented, not much is known about training techniques meant to inculcate recovery values and principles within the initial training of doctors and other professionals. Through this review, we could not find any faculty of medicine-based class with official institutional credentials specifically and explicitly meant to train future professionals to recovery. The University of Recovery emerged as a new approach to training, not only on recovery, but more importantly for training in recovery. In effect, at the 'with-no-walls' University of Recovery, professors learn from students and conversely through a 'flipped classes' approach by which patients and (future) providers experiment with recovery together, for example, with inversed role plays and other small group techniques of co-learning, as discussed in this paper.

Recovery-oriented Medical Training: An Informational Rapid Literature Review for the University of Recovery as a New Concept of Co-learning between Patients and (Future) Healthcare Providers

Journal of Community Medicine & Health Education, 2016

Recovery has undoubtedly gained traction throughout the world, and much effort is going into the transformation of mental health policies and systems to achieve recovery-oriented outcomes. There is also a growing argument that emphasizes the interconnectedness of mental and somatic health dimensions, with one dimension affecting the state of the other, and the recovery vision has thus also begun to influence chronic physical illness management. As mental and physical health integration may include colocation, by which the mental health specialist sees patients with various physical health conditions in the same primary care setting, it has been suggested that this colocation could also be conceptual and, in fact, favored by the sharing of a common and global recovery vision for a genuine holistic and person-centered approach. A rapid review of literature was performed to inform the development of a series of workshops to train psychiatry residents and medical students to recovery. Although a plethora of writings exists on ways to transform existing practices to make them more recovery-oriented, not much is known about training techniques meant to inculcate recovery values and principles within the initial training of doctors and other professionals. Through this review, we could not find any faculty of medicine-based class with official institutional credentials specifically and explicitly meant to train future professionals to recovery. The University of Recovery emerged as a new approach to training, not only on recovery, but more importantly for training in recovery. In effect, at the 'with-no-walls' University of Recovery, professors learn from students and conversely through a 'flipped classes' approach by which patients and (future) providers experiment with recovery together, for example, with inversed role plays and other small group techniques of co-learning, as discussed in this paper.

Recovery in Mind: Perspectives from Postgraduate Psychiatric Trainees

Academic Psychiatry, 2016

The authors assessed psychiatric trainees' understanding of recovery-oriented care, a therapeutic philosophy with varied meanings but wide purchase in contemporary mental health policy. Four cohorts of residents were presented with a clinical vignette as part of a written curricular evaluation and asked what it would mean to engage the patient from a recovery-oriented perspective. Responses were subjected to qualitative analysis, with the analysts examining each cohort independently, then meeting to discuss their findings and build consensus on the most pertinent themes. Nine themes emerged in trainees' understanding of recovery-oriented care: (1) a person is more than his or her illness; (2) hope; (3) an emphasis on patient goals; (4) taking a collaborative approach; (5) an emphasis on level of social function; (6) valuing subjective experience; (7) psychosocial interventions; (8) empowerment of the patient; and (9) persistence of traditional attitudes. Residents revealed an understanding of recovery that reflected many, but not all, of the guiding principles in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's 2010 working definition. For many of these trainees, recovery-oriented care signified a shift in the traditional power dynamic between physician and patient that allowed patients to take an active role in their own care. Residents also recognized the importance of hope and the complexity of their patients' social identities, though some trainees had difficulty reconciling a collaborative approach with their perceived responsibilities as physicians. If educators wish to incorporate elements of the American Psychiatric Association's Recovery to Practice initiative into their curricula, they would do well to recognize residents' variable receptivity to elements of the model.

Project GREAT: Immersing physicians and doctorally-trained psychologists in recovery-oriented care

Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 2014

The advocacy of recovery-oriented practices in mental health care with its emphasis on freedom and choice in care has been gaining considerable traction in recent years. In response to the growing recognition and promotion of recovery-oriented services, several training initiatives have been developed to bring about mental health care system transformation. These initiatives, however, have been primarily focused on broad organizational and procedural changes as well as hospital and clinic staff development. Relatively neglected have been initiatives to educate physicians and doctorally trained psychologists in the concepts and practices of recovery-oriented care. This article describes a case study of the efforts of Project GREAT (Georgia Recovery-Based Educational Approach to Treatment) that has aspired to transform the education and practice of an academic department of psychiatry into a recovery-oriented one with the focus on shaping the recovery knowledge, attitudes, and practices of psychiatry and psychology faculty and trainees. Core issues in the transformation effort were identified and led to the implementation of the following change interventions: (a) administrative leadership and support, (b) consumer mediated interventions, (c) educational presentations/materials, (d) interactive small groups/ program champions, (e) reminders/prompts/practice tools, (f) newsletters/pamphlets, and (g) educational outreach visits. It is proposed that this transformation experience provided valuable lessons that are generally applicable to other academic programs for psychiatrists and psychologists attempting to adopt recovery-oriented training and care.

Immersing Practitioners In the Recovery Model: An Educational Program Evaluation

… mental health journal, 2009

The ascendance of the recovery movement in mental health care has led to the development and implementation of educational curricula for mental health providers to assist in mental health care system transformation efforts. The Medical College of Georgia (MCG) partnered with the Georgia State Department of Human Resources (DHR) to develop, implement, and evaluate such an educational curriculum for providers within an academic medical institution. This effort, entitled Project GREAT, led to the creation of a curriculum based on the SAMHSAdefined (2006) critical components of recovery. As an initial evaluation of educational curriculum effectiveness, the authors examined effects of the training program on recovery-based knowledge and recovery-consistent attitudes. We also compared MCG provider knowledge and attitudes to those of a similar group of providers at a neighboring medical institution who did not receive the intervention and training. Findings generally supported the effectiveness of the intervention in increasing providers' knowledge of recovery and a shift in recovery-supporting attitudes.

"Things you can’t learn from books: Teaching Recovery from a lived experience perspective."

International Journal of Mental Health Nursing

Mental health policy in Australia is committed to the development of recovery-focused services and facilitating consumer participation in all aspects of mental health service delivery. Negative attitudes of mental health professionals have been identified as a major barrier to achieving these goals. Although the education of health professionals has been identified as a major strategy, there is limited evidence to suggest that consumers are actively involved in this education process. The aim of this qualitative study was to evaluate students' views and opinions at having been taught 'recovery in mental health nursing' by a person with a lived experience of significant mental health challenges. In-depth interviews were held with 12 students. Two main themes were identified: (i) 'looking through fresh eyes' - what it means to have a mental illness; and (ii) 'it's all about the teaching'. The experience was perceived positively; students referred to the impact made on their attitudes and self-awareness, and their ability to appreciate the impact of mental illness on the individual person. Being taught by a person with lived experience was considered integral to the process. This innovative approach could enhance consumer participation and recovery-focused care.