Inherent requirements – Master of Psychology

This relates to the understanding and ability to comply with Australian and Victorian law and professional accreditation regulations. Examples include:

•  Child protection and safety legislation (including the ability to pass a Working with Children Check)
•  Criminal History / Police Checks
•  Occupational health and safety
•  Anti-discrimination legislation

Rationale

Knowledge, understanding, and compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements are necessary in order to reduce the risk of harm to self and others in clinical and related settings; compliance with these professional regulations and the Australian Law ensures students are both responsible and accountable for their practice.

Examples

• Respond to the requirements for student registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)
• Comply with relevant legislation including child protection and safety, work health and safety, and anti-discrimination legislation. For examples of applicable Australian Federal legislations visit https://www.comlaw.gov.au/

This relates to the student's ability to understand and adhere to standards, codes, guidelines and policies that facilitates safe, competent interactions and relationships for students and the people they engage with. Examples include:

• Complying with academic and non-academic conduct codes and policies, including academic integrity policies
• Understanding and complying with professional standards, codes of practice, and guidelines

Rationale

Compliance with standards, codes, guidelines and policies that facilitate safe, competent interactions and relationships for students and those they engage with in various practice environments is required for the physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual well-being of all.

Examples

• Comply with academic and non-academic conduct codes and policies and professional standards 
• Identify and enact relevant applications of these codes and standards, including those relating to plagiarism, informed consent, privacy, confidentiality, appropriate use of social media and equitable and respectful behaviour in academic and clinical settings.

Where relevant, this relates to considerations of current scope of practice, workplace health and safety, and any other matter related to safety. Examples include:

• Ability to understand and comply with all relevant workplace health and safety policies and practices
• Ability to identify and respond to alarm systems
• Ability to understand and demonstrate compliance with current scope of practice
• Ability to manage one's own health in a manner that promotes the ability to fulfil the requirements of study, placements, and the role/s for which the study typically equips the graduate

Rationale

Compliance with current scope of practice, workplace health and safety, infection control considerations and effective and timely response to alarm systems are required to provide safe environments for students, staff and others.

Examples

• Limit task performance to current scope of practice as a psychology student within the course;
• Undertake and respond appropriately to clinical supervision feedback and instruction;
• Observe and implement client risk management protocols in the VU Psychology Clinic and external practice settings;
• Be able to respond to alarm systems to maintain safety of self and clients.

This relates to the student's capacity for knowledge acquisition, utilisation and retention. It also includes metacognitive capacity such as awareness of one's own thinking, and the ability to reflect, evaluate, adapt and implement new cognitive strategies. Examples include:

• Focus, memory, attention to detail, theoretical deliberation, and practical functioning sufficient to meet the course objectives
• Ability to reflect and take personal responsibility
• Ability to apply knowledge in practical and theoretical assessment settings

Cognition - knowledge & cognitive

Knowledge acquisition, utilisation and retention spanning and drawing together all coursework subjects. Cognitive skills for focus, memory, attention to detail, theoretical deliberation, and practical functioning.

Rationale

Understanding and retention of coursework information and the effective processing of this information is required for appropriate, safe and effective delivery of care/practice.

Examples

• Acquire, comprehend, conceptualise and apply appropriate information and knowledge in response to academic tasks and clinical practice;
• Make safe and appropriate client care decisions from retained knowledge;
• Assess the application of policy and procedures in the context of clinical situations;
• Research and use an evidence based framework to make sound decisions when developing treatment plans;
• Notice and respond effectively to critical changes in instructions from supervisors and/or observable behaviour in clients.

Cognition - metacognition

Awareness of own thinking, and skills to reflect, evaluate, adapt and implement new cognitive strategies for improved learning.

Rationale

Understanding and ongoing learning about oneself as an instrument in client care is required for safe and effective delivery of practice.

Examples

• Demonstrate safe and appropriate decision-making in client care using reflective processes to inform future interventions
• Review the outcome of treatment for a client's particular symptom presentation and adapt current knowledge for future clinical decisions
• Review and reflect on personal responses and cultural paradigms relating to client care challenges, and develop safe, effective and professional care approaches
• Manage and proactively learn from academic and clinical challenges through self-evaluation
• Reflect on the options, ethical implications, and impact for all the stakeholders in client care decisions

This includes both writing and reading, and is also linked to English language proficiency (literacy requirements are always established in terms of English). NB: For VE, literacy requirements are based on the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF). Examples include:

• Capacity to comprehend, summarise and reference a range of literature in accordance with appropriate academic conventions in written assignments
• Producing clear, accurate documentation relating to practical tasks

Rationale

Patient care information can be delivered by many different modes and competent literacy skills are essential to provide appropriate, safe and effective delivery of care/practice.

Examples

• Capacity to comprehend, summarise and reference a range of literature in accordance with appropriate academic conventions
• Ability to accurately interpret tables, graphs, and diagrams
• Produce clear, accurate, concise documentation that meets academic/clinical requirements.

 This includes any form of numeracy required to complete the course successfully. For many courses, this will be basic functional numeracy. NB: For VE, numeracy requirements are based on the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF). Examples include:

• Competent reasoning and reliable accuracy with numerical concepts
• Ability to perform basic mathematical tasks

Rationale

Competent reasoning and reliable accuracy with numerical concepts are essential for safe and effective care/practice.

Examples

• Accurately score and interpret test data
• Calculate and accurately report placement activities and hours

 This includes verbal, non-verbal and written communication. Examples include:

• Verbal communication in English to a standard that allows fluid, clear, and comprehensible two-way discussions
• Ability to recognise, interpret and respond to non-verbal cues, to communicate with congruent and respectful non-verbal behaviour, and to be sensitive to individual and/or cultural variations in non-verbal communication
• Ability to produce English text to the expected standard (NB: This is a skill that may be developed throughout a course, and should be identified as such in any inherent requirements statement)
• Communication - verbal: Verbal communication in English to a standard that allows fluid, clear, and comprehensible two-way discussions, tailored to the local English-speaking audiences.

Rationale

Effective verbal communication, in English, with clients and University and clinical staff is required for effective learning and to provide safe and effective delivery of care/practice.

Examples

• Understand and respond to verbal communication accurately and appropriately in time-constrained academic and clinical environments;
• Convey spoken messages accurately and effectively in academic and clinical situations, such as explaining a client treatment plan;
• Present information formally to, and engage in developing discussions with a wider audience, including tutorial participation, supervision interaction, and case conferences;
• Build rapport with clients and clinical colleagues

Communication - non-verbal

Non-verbal communication skills that enable respectful communication with others.

Rationale

The ability to recognise, interpret and respond to non-verbal cues, to communicate with congruent and respectful non-verbal behaviour, and to be sensitive to individual and/or cultural variations in non-verbal communication is essential for safe and effective care.

Examples

• • Recognise client cues in facial expression, appearance, behaviour, posture, and movement;
• • Deliver information to a distressed client, incorporating non-verbal behaviour that effectively matches the nature of the information.

Communication - written

Ability to produce English text to a standard that provides clear and professional-level communication, with language usage and style tailored to the targeted recipients.

Rationale

Effective communication in English text is required to demonstrate applied skills in academic writing conventions and in sustained and organised academic argument, and provide safe and effective delivery of care/practice.

Examples

• Clearly communicate complex academic and clinical perspectives in writing;
• Summarise and appropriately reference a range of literature in written assignments;
• Use precise and appropriate language to contribute to both handwritten and electronic clinical records in a time-constrained environment

 This includes visual, auditory and tactile capacity. NB: Care must be taken to not prescribe any sensory ability as an inherent requirement if the student might be able to achieve the desired result with the use of one or more adjustments. Examples include:

• Ability to interact with visual inputs sufficiently to manage learning environments
• Ability to interact with auditory inputs sufficiently to manage learning environments
• Ability to respond to tactile input and provide appropriate tactile interaction

Sensory ability - visual

Ability to interact with visual inputs sufficiently to manage learning environments.

Rationale

Ability to interact with visual inputs sufficiently to manage learning environments. Elements in the working and learning environment are delivered by visual means, and the ability to learn from or respond to these inputs is required to provide safe and effective practice.

Examples

• Process visual information from handwritten, print and electronic sources;
• Visually monitor the environment for client safety, including observation of multiple people and events simultaneously;
• Detect visual changes in clients in response to psychological treatments, e.g., changes in mood.

Sensory ability - auditory

Ability to interact with auditory inputs sufficiently to manage learning environments.

Rationale

Elements in the learning and working environments are delivered by auditory means, and the ability to learn from or respond to these inputs is required to provide safe and effective practice.

Examples

• Acquire information aurally in learning environments;
• Detect and discriminate alarms and emergency calls over PA systems, and urgent verbal information for client care;
• Follow developing discussions with colleagues and clients for clinical treatment decisions

This includes both gross and fine motor ability. NB: Care must be taken to not prescribe any motor ability as an inherent requirement if the student might be able to achieve the desired result with the use of one or more adjustments. Examples include:

• Strength, range of motion, coordination and mobility sufficient to meet the requirements of the study, including placements included in the course
• Manual dexterity and fine motor skills sufficient to meet the requirements of the study, including placements included in the course

Motor ability - fine

Manual dexterity and fine motor skills.

Rationale

A wide range of fine-motor manual tasks in a time-constrained environment are required to provide safe and effective practice.

Examples

• Preparation and delivery of assessment and psychological treatment techniques that require manual dexterity and fine motor skills;
• Contribute to handwritten and electronic clinical records

 This includes a person's ability to sustain their performance in a given activity or series of activities over time. Care must be taken to not prescribe sustained performance in a way that allows no room for temporary changes to performance levels due to illness or other factors. Examples include:

Ability to sustain a working posture, associated manual tasks, cognitive engagement, performance level and emotional control for the full duration of any task required as part of the course or any placement

Rationale

A range of complex, multi-component or extended client care tasks carried out over a period of time and in a time-constrained environments is required to provide safe and effective practice.

Examples

• Sustain study practices and clinical performance to sufficiently engage with the learning workload for a study period, and for the degree, within a constrained time-frame
• Sustain a working posture, associated manual tasks, cognitive engagement, performance level and emotional control for the full duration of client care process, e.g. sit for a period of 90 minutes while administering test procedures with clients; be physically and emotionally present and engaged for a two-hour group therapy session.

This includes the personal flexibility and resilience required to adapt behaviour to different situations, even when they are stressful or difficult. NB: Care must be taken to allow room in the inherent requirements for the individual to demonstrate behavioural adaptability through withdrawing from activities for a time to undertake medical interventions and self-care measures. Examples include:

• Ability to adjust ways of working to work within teams of varied personal and professional backgrounds
• Being receptive and responding appropriately to constructive feedback
• Maintaining respectful communication practices in times of increased stressors or workloads
• Adjusting to changing circumstances in a way that allows self-care

Rationale

Behavioural adaptation is required to manage personal emotional responses as an individual and within teams in changing and unpredictable environments, including emergency situations and times of human distress. Students will also be required to adapt their behaviour appropriately during times of additional stressors in their own lives, whether this adaptation involves appropriately managing their study/work roles or withdrawing for a period of self-care.

Examples

• Appropriately adjust ways of working effectively with people of varied personal, cultural and professional backgrounds
• Receptivity and appropriate responding to constructive feedback
• Maintaining respectful communication practices in times of increased stress or workload
• Adjusting to changing circumstances in a way that accommodates self-care.