The Value of Psychology in Health Professional Education.

Upton, Dominic (2008) The Value of Psychology in Health Professional Education. Psychology Teaching Review, 14 (1). pp. 3-12. ISSN 0965-948X

Abstract

The NHS relies on a range of professional staff-from nurses, midwives and medical staff through to a range of professions known, collectively as the Allied Health Professionals (AHPs). The professional and regulatory bodies oversee the educational requirements of the individual professions and suggest the key topics and curriculum content that have to be both studied and completed in order for the individual student to be considered a proficient practitioner in that area. The curriculum content would impact on how much they know their levels of clinical competence, and their beliefs about what is important for the provision of good clinical care. The hidden curriculum includes those elements of education that implicitly impact on students' attitudes. We have evidence that allied health care professionals have a curriculum bereft of psychology. We have the evidence that the allied health care curriculum is over stocked with basic science. Based on the material presented in this paper it is argued that in order to better serve our students and their patients we need to increase the psychological content of health care professional training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

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