Competence & Licensure Flashcards
What ethical principles does “Competence in Practice” fulfill?
Rests on principles of Nonmaleficence and Beneficience—avoiding harm and doing good
What are the three components of competence?
Most agree Competence has three components
- Knowledge
- Skill
- Diligence
What is competence? How is it monitored for licensure?
Competence = a minimum threshold for adequate care
Practitioner monitors their competence, report to state
Updating their list of competences whenever they want/have time/have a new competence to add.
Knowledge
Familiar with history, theory, and research of field
Offers ability, judgment, capacity to make informed decisions
Maintain knowledge via continuing education, good, interesting CE
How is knowledge acquired?
- Completing graduate program/formal study
- Dubin (1972) and Jensen (1979) suggest ~50%++ of what is learned in graduate school is obsolete in a decade
- Licenses have continuing education requirements
Skill
Practicing therapeutic procedures, approaches, interventions
What are the two forms of skill?
Two forms of skill
- Clinical: learn in basic counseling skillls class; soft skills, building rapport, reflecting, empathy
- Technical: administer IQ test and interpret, e.g., systematic desensitization, DBT, EMDR, etc.
How is skill honed?
Practicum—lengthy and heavily supervised
Post-degree supervision toward licensure
Diligence
Deliberate care from intake to termination
Diligence is the consistent attentiveness to putting client needs above other concerns; taking care with all aspects of relationship (not really monitored by state or included in licensure).
How is diligence developed?
Diligence is grounded in self-knowledge
Must understand strengths and weaknesses to be diligent
Taught/practiced reflection and self-awareness in classes
Explain the concept, “Performance is Key to Competence”
Competence refers to professional performance not abilities or capacity
May have ability to perform competently but competence is judged by performance of task
Performance varies from client to client, hour to hour—uniform performance is impossible
What factors might interfere with performance?
Performance varies from client to client, hour to hour—uniform performance is impossible
Environmental—impossible work load
Unpredictable events—illness
Mental health of counselor—depression, burnout
Client variables—client behavior, personality
**Critical to recognize recurring factors that interfere with performance and address them
Name 3 Limits to Competence
New Techniques
- Try to master new intervention
- Must provide informed consent with new techniques
New Populations
Rural Environments/Small Communities
-Greater comfort practicing on the edge of your comfort zone: more need than available, fully appropriate practitioner
Name 3 codes that discuss that include issue of Competence. What are the commonalities among the 3?
ACA Code of Ethics § C: Professional Responsibility (Welfel, 2010, p. 86)
APA Ethical Principles § 2.01-2.04 (Welfel, 2010, p. 87)
AAMFT Code of Ethics, Principle III: Professional Competence & Integrity
Commonalities among all three:
- Work within bounds of training and experience; knowledge, skill
- Responsible for monitoring own competence and improving it; diligence
- Competence = formal education, supervised practice, and CE
What does licensure have to do with competency?
Licensure is a way to protect public; help ensure competence
Board of Psychology, Behavioral Health and Therapy, and BMFT only truly review knowledge component
Evaluate skills indirectly by requiring supervised practice prior to being fully licensed
Diligence is not measured at all—more or less assumed when other thresholds are met
Requires completion of accredited graduate school, supervision, EPPP ethics exam
Expensive licenses
