Self efficacy enhanced

Nine students from our MSc Health Psychology (and one final year BSc Psych student who was VERY welcome) attended our recent workshop introducing motivational interviewing.  As part of the evaluation process, we measured their self assessed confidence in a range of knowledge and skills, pre and post training.  Nice positive changes observed, and lots of interest in further training.

More workshops coming soon, including:

Cognitive behavioural therapy techniques applied to health behaviour change.

Intermediate and advanced motivational interviewing - health promotion, primary prevention, long term conditions, substance misuse, working with groups, dealing with dyads, brief opportunistic interventions.

Intervention mapping - developing theory driven, evidence based programmes using proven health behaviour change techniques - especially relevant to public health.

Sampling

Spent most of today on administrative tidying: getting samples of work ready to be seen by the external examiners for the various programmes I am 'module leader' on:

• BSc Hons Health & Lifestyle Management: Second year and third year psych modules
• BSc Hons Psychology: a third year module on applied health psychology 
• MSc Health Psychology: a module on long term conditions 

External examiners are senior academics from outside institutions who look at a sample of our students' work - in the context of a lot of other information - and check our academic standards.

For every module this requires the designated leader to put together a pack of information which typically includes:

• Copy of the module guide and all guidance given to student on the assessment they're required to do
• Copy of an overall marks list showing individual students' marks for each component (piece of coursework, exam, etc.), plus summary statistics for the whole group.
• Copies of marked coursework with evidence that marks have been internally moderated (checked) by another academic
• Copies of exam papers - with markers' guidelines
• Copies of marked exam scripts with evidence that marks have been internally moderated (checked) by another academic

Some external examiners also request summary statistics broken down per exam question (to see if some questions seemed 'harder' than others).

We also have to produce a form that shows an assessment 'audit trail' - evidence that we got all our assessment tasks and instructions checked and signed off by another academic within the department - before we used them. This process does happen but keeping a record can sometimes be forgotten...

All of the documentation required is kept on file until near the examination boards  - which are in the next couple of weeks - but it's still rather time consuming to collate it together into a digestible form. Not the most interesting of tasks but it still gives a sense of closure on the filing front.

Meanwhile of course teaching and assessment continues apace on postgraduate courses and preparations have to be made for students who'll be doing resits over the summer period.

Mostly marking -and a new department

A lot of marking in last 24 hours... 


Students on a final year module in health psychology took a multiple choice class test under exam conditions some weeks ago. This was administered online and gave them their marks and feedback right away - thus meeting our demanding new targets for providing timely student feedback - a key element in getting good student satisfaction scores and rising up the university league tables.


Unfortunately the marking key that had been provided had some errors in it. A couple of students noticed that they'd been marked as wrong for answers they were sure they'd gotten right. I have spent many hours in the interim checking all 100 questions and regrading all students' papers manually.  Rather than being a quick and easy way to objectively assess students this turned out to be very time consuming and difficult - urgh.  What didn't help was that every students' virtual test 'paper' had the questions numbered differently and presented in a randomised order. This technical wheeze is meant to make it less likely that students sitting at adjacent PCs might be tempted to copy each others' answers. It also made it a pain to identify the problem items when regrading them by hand.


Much simpler was my exam essay marking for M99PY Management of Chronic Illness and Disability. Only nine candidates, with two essays each. Very low tech (and arguably less objective), but much more pleasant to do.  All the scripts are anonymised and I now hand them over to a colleague who will sample some and second mark them to check that the grading standard is appropriate and consistent.


The tedium was relieved today by a brief launch lunch, to celebrate the creation of a new academic department. Our faculty has just been restructured. Psychology will now be joined by colleagues from Clinical Psych, Criminology and Forensic and Investigative Studies, to form a new department called Psychology and Behavioural Sciences. 




 

Can't believe it's the last week of term already

Can't believe it's the last week of term already.  Still lots to try to get finished. Some recent highlights:

Been marking student assignments on the module I run on our MSc Health Psychology programme. Students have to write a case study of a hypothetical person who has a chronic health condition, describe the psychosocial issues they face, then choose and justify a self management intervention that will help them with these issues. Students can choose any condition they wish. Diabetes, HIV and arthritis proved the most popular choices this year.

I've also been writing new modules for the degree restructuring that's currently taking place for next academic year, including: clinical and counselling psychology, applied social psychology and professional skills for psychology graduates. I'm particularly keen on the last of these but finding an assessment strategy that will work for such a large group of students (its a mandatory module) will be a bit of a challenge.

In the last week I've drafted ethics submissions for projects with external collaborators, on the experience of volunteering and of monitoring one's fertility. I'm hoping that dissertation students and/or placement students will work on these in the next six months to a year.

I've also just submitted a research paper on PCOS to a journal - please please PLEASE don't let it be rejected... and have decided to write a blog entry as an excuse to digress from the very long NHS form I have been struggling with...

Enjoyable student discussion, and some frustration too.

One hour plus meeting today with student on MSc health psych about his dissertation plans, and a piece of coursework he is about to attempt on my module M99PY Self management of chronic conditions.

Very interesting dissertation proposal on an aspect of caregiver burden in home-based care for dementia.
Good case study plan too - choosing a self management intervention for type 2 diabetes.

We had a very productive discussion - just wish I could spend an equal time with all the students I teach but the numbers mean that it doesn't bear thinking about.

Meanwhile have been writing a draft training programme in motivational interviewing for a public sector organisation - more later if we win the bid - and giving a two hour lecture to undergraduates on the discursive defense of threatened identities.  We were 'discussing' two key papers:

Horton-Salway, M. (2001) 'Narrative Identities and the Management of Personal Accountability in Talk About ME: A Discursive Psychology Approach to Illness Narrative.' Journal of Health Psychology 6, (2) 247-259
Willott, S. and Griffin, C. (1999) 'Building Your Own Lifeboat: Working-Class Male Offenders Talk About Economic Crime.' British Journal of Social Psychology 38, 445-460

...or rather I should say I was talking about them.  Only two students had actually read a paper in advance of the class, so the seminar discussion fell rather flat.  I think I may also have offended one student with my reply to her question: "What is the exam on? Are we having a lecture on the exam?"

I asked her how many lectures she'd had on the module and her exasperated response suggested that she knew what I meant but dared not say out loud (That the exam is on the topics covered in the lectures we've been having all year - or did you think I just turned up and lectured because I'd nothing better to do...?).

I fear I may have compromised my student satisfaction scores...

Oh and gave feedback to a PhD student who is champing at the bit to submit for ethical approval of her next research study (apologies for the horse metaphor Felicity)

slippage may occur

Teaching four hours non-stop is quite tiring...

'Psychosocial aspects of stroke' on MSc Health Psychology for two hours then straight to 'motivational interviewing' on MSc Forensic Psychology.  Some slippage between the terms 'patient' and 'offender' may have been evident...

Making preparations

Spent what seemed like an awfully long time this morning making preparations for travel to a conference in May.  Visa waiver application, flights, accommodation,etc. At least it's done now.

Afternoon spent doing some marking, and preparing for tomorrow's classes on two different applied psychology masters programmes: Forensic Psychology and Health Psychology, plus a wee bit of research on an external organisation who've expressed an interest in buying some training from us. 

Really looking forward to Friday when I hope to pick up my OWN work again - if I ever manage to catch up on all the (increasingly terse) emails that are swamping my inbox...

Has it really been so long?

Been busy  - too busy... But back to it:

Supervising a test today for students on the third year option module Applied Health Psychology.  Students took the test online and got their results immediately - nicely meeting the new fast turnaround time for student feedback ;-) - with exception of a few who encountered technical problems and will get their papers manually marked within a day or so.

Some very pleasing results overall.

In the interim, one of my colleagues (Erica Bowen) has been on Radio 4 Women's Hour, discussing her new book on domestic violence. Listen again is highly recommended http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00yj189

Bumpass Hell

Ok so the bubble has been burst.

I opened the editor's decision email referred to in yesterday's post. It was a rejection...

Editor's comment:

Thank you for allowing us to consider this work for (name of journal). At this point your paper has been reviewed by one expert reviewer only, who has presented us with a quite brief review. In order to avoid a delay I decided not to invite more reviewers. However, we have subjected your paper to a thorough editorial evaluation.

Reviewer #1: I enjoyed reading the paper which makes a worthy contribution to an under-researched area. Although the paper is well-structured, I have a number of minor suggestions to improve it...

Editor's comment:
Because of an increase in submissions, we can only publish a minority of the manuscripts we receive. Space constraints dictate that that to an increasing extent we may publish only those manuscripts providing significantly novel insights or new perspectives.

Sadly, this means that we are unable to publish many manuscripts of significant quality. I must regretfully inform you that based on the review and our editorial evaluation your paper did not reach a high enough priority to be further considered for publication.

Sob

Preparing for clinical - and is my bubble about to burst?

Teaching students on MSc Health Psychology today - looking specifically at pain management programmes and the guidelines offered by the British Pain Society and the International Association for the Study of Pain.

Also preparing some teaching materials for tomorrow morning's session teaching narrative analysis to year two clinical psychology trainees.

Meanwhile, an email has arrived with an editorial decision from a journal we submitted to in the autumn.  Am postponing looking at it in case it's bad news. If I look tomorrow and it turns out to be bad news at least I will have the weekend to lick my wounds...

More teaching

Met with my head of department today to talk about taking on some extra bits and pieces of cover within the health psychology team.  There have been a few moves (departures, other people's sabbaticals, planned absences, etc.) so duties have to be swapped around a little.

I also broke the news about the Florida conference, and my HoD was positive about supporting me to attend - reasonable costs permitting.

Teaching this afternoon on Advanced Social Psychology.  Allocated students a couple of papers to read on the use of personal construct approaches in social psychology:

Doster, J. A., Mielke, R. K., Riley, C. A., Toledo, J. R., Goven, A. J., & Moorefield, R. (2006). Play and health among a group of adult business executives. Social Behavior and Personality, 34(9), 1071-1080.

Weiss, P. A., Watson, N., & McGuire, H. (2003). Smoking and self-concept in young adults: An idiographic method of measurement. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 16(4), 323-334.

Looking forward to hearing what they make of them when we meet again next week...

Setting the bar

Had a meeting today with a senior colleague to set my 'performance objectives' (urgh) for the coming year. As the achievement (or otherwise) of these now has an impact on whether we get our annual salary increments the process has become even more anxiety-provoking than ever...

Had a nice first lecture today with students on the masters in health psychology. We were focusing on theory and terminology related to disability, impairment and chronic illness.  After I highlighted the specific conditions we will be studying in more detail over the coming weeks (see yesterday) one student asked for more info on dementia.  This used to be a specific lecture which we covered in depth, but due to time restrictions we had to remove it in favour of diabetes (tough choice - kind of wish there was more time).  So here is the reading I recommended to him:

Banerjee, S., Samsi, K., Petrie, C. D., Alvir, J., Treglia, M., Schwam, E. M., & de Valle, M. (2009). What do we know about quality of life in dementia? A review of the emerging evidence on the predictive and explanatory value of disease specific measures of health related quality of life in people with dementia. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 24(1), 15-24. doi:10.1002/gps.2090

Caddell, L. S., & Clare, L. (2010). The impact of dementia on self and identity: A systematic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 30(1), 113-126. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2009.10.003

De Boer, M. E., Hertogh, C. M. P. M., Dröes, R. -., Riphagen, I. I., Jonker, C., & Eefsting, J. A. (2007). Suffering from dementia - the patient's perspective: A review of the literature. International Psychogeriatrics, 19(6), 1021-1039. doi:10.1017/S1041610207005765

Deep, K. S., Hunter, A., Murphy, K., & Volandes, A. (2010). "It helps me see with my heart": How video informs patients' rationale for decisions about future care in advanced dementia. Patient Education and Counseling, 81(2), 229-234. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2010.02.004

Hamilton-West, K. E., Milne, A. J., Chenery, A., & Tilbrook, C. (2010). Help-seeking in relation to signs of dementia: A pilot study to evaluate the utility of the common-sense model of illness representations. Psychology, Health and Medicine, 15(5), 540-549. doi:10.1080/13548506.2010.487109

O'Connor, D. W., Ames, D., Gardner, B., & King, M. (2009). Psychosocial treatments of behavior symptoms in dementia: A systematic review of reports meeting quality standards. International Psychogeriatrics, 21(2), 225-240. doi:10.1017/S1041610208007588

O'Connor, D. W., Ames, D., Gardner, B., & King, M. (2009). Psychosocial treatments of psychological symptoms in dementia: A systematic review of reports meeting quality standards. International Psychogeriatrics, 21(2), 241-251. doi:10.1017/S1041610208008223

Seignourel, P. J., Kunik, M. E., Snow, L., Wilson, N., & Stanley, M. (2008). Anxiety in dementia: A critical review. Clinical Psychology Review, 28(7), 1071-1082. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2008.02.008

Van Der Roest, H. G., Meiland, F. J. M., Maroccini, R., Comijs, H. C., Jonker, C., & Dröes, R. -. (2007). Subjective needs of people with dementia: A review of the literature. International Psychogeriatrics, 19(3), 559-592. doi:10.1017/S1041610206004716

Drafting and crunching

Today:



I sent my bit of a paper off to a co-author for checking.


I started drafting a second.


I crunched a lot of data in an Excel spreadsheet.

Lots to say - and do

Had a good meeting today with PhD student and another member of the supervisory team.  Delighted with progress to date and planning a couple of preliminary empirical studies.  Felicity is on course to have lots to say at her end of year Progress Review Panel, which is due early 2011.

Had a brief chat with my co-author about the PCOS paper that's nearly ready  to submit.  We also discussed a bit of research assistant work that's coming up - one related to Felicity's assistance dogs research and the other to ongoing work with Ryder Cheshire Volunteers.

Have also been looking at some data collected from our level two undergraduates, about their vocational identities and career aspirations. 

And now it's ever so dark and I'm glad to be indoors...

Time for a trim

Spent today responding to enquiries about the motivational interviewing courses, and then trying to be ruthless with a research paper I've written on my PCOS research. 

It has a lot of qualitative data extracts in it, and I need to edit it from about 6,000 to 4,000 words.  When I last looked at it I found it impossible to decide which women's words could be cut out.  But if I want to have a chance of changing the way healthcare is offered in similar cases, I need to get at least part of the story published. A shorter paper that gets into print will have infinitely more impact than a longer 'richer' one that never sees the light of day.

Out with the metaphorical scissors I think.

Foraging

Another slightly taxing but (hopefully) productive day, split between more detailed project planning and marketing activities.

The online shop links for our motivational interviewing courses went up yesterday, just around the end of the business day, so I am now able to take bookings.

Now before it gets dark I must go outdoors and fill up the bird feeders with nigella - there are some rather cross looking goldfinches swarming around the garden who will expect their breakfast long before I surface in the morning.

The Joy of GANTT

(or trying to get a quart into a pint pot)

Have been wrestling with Gantt charts all day, trying to programme 4 years' worth of (perhaps rather ambitious) applied research work, for a grant application.  While MS project is a very useful planning tool, it hasn't half made my head go boggle.

I think some therapeutic activity is in order.  This evening I may try to make one of these (view A), from some of this:

Fabric credit: I think this came from cheap fabrics online, but I can't remember and think it is discontinued now :-(

Mapping out my hoped for future

Have spent most of today mapping out plans for a long term programme of research, which I hope will grow out of my current three month research sabbatical. Have been in touch with NHS colleagues in the North of England to meet up and discuss collaboration.  Unfortunately the exact plan is what, in these cash driven days is 'commercially sensitive', so I can't say more at present.

Meantime however, have also taken calls expressing interest in attending our next short course in motivational interviewing.  Am slightly concerned that the links for booking places are still not up on the cu online shop.  I have been assured that someone is working on it, but if you had hoped to book and can't see this link, please email me directly.

Coventry University
Introduction to Motivational Interviewing
Next course
Thursday 28th October 2010, The Graduate Centre, Coventry University

Trauma, resilience and future preparedness

The inquests into the deaths of the 52 people killed in the July 2005 attacks on London's public transport system opened today.



I have been thinking about the applied research work that has been done to document and address the psychosocial impacts, and help with future emergency preparedness. I am particularly interested in (and inspired by) the resilience displayed by individuals, groups and organisations affected.


Work on the psychosocial impact


Bux, S. M., & Coyne, S. M. (2009). The effects of terrorism: The aftermath of the London terror attacks. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 39(12), 2936-2966. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2009.00556.x


Handley, R. V., Salkovskis, P. M., Scragg, P., & Ehlers, A. (2009). Clinically significant avoidance of public transport following the London bombings: Travel phobia or subthreshold posttraumatic stress disorder? Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23(8), 1170-1176. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2009.07.023

Misra, M., Greenberg, N., Hutchinson, C., Brain, A., & Glozier, N. (2009). Psychological impact upon London Ambulance Service of the 2005 bombings. Occupational Medicine, 59(6), 428-433. doi:10.1093/occmed/kqp100


Rubin, G. J., Brewin, C. R., Greenberg, N., Hughes, J. H., Simpson, J., & Wessely, S. (2007). Enduring consequences of terrorism: 7-month follow-up survey of reactions to the bombings in London on 7 July 2005. British Journal of Psychiatry, 190(APR.), 350-356. doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.106.029785


Rubin, G. J., Brewin, C. R., Greenberg, N., Simpson, J., & Wessely, S. (2005). Psychological and behavioural reactions to the bombings in London on 7 July 2005: Cross sectional survey of a representative sample of londoners. British Medical Journal, 331(7517), 606-611. doi:10.1136/bmj.38583.728484.3A


Whalley, M. G., Farmer, E., & Brewin, C. R. (2007). Pain flashbacks following the July 7th 2005 London bombings. Pain, 132(3), 332-336. doi:10.1016/j.pain.2007.08.011




Work on future preparedness


Bland, S. A., Lockey, D. J., Davies, G. E., & Kehoe, A. D. (2006). Military perspective on the civilian response to the London bombings July 2005. Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps., 152(1), 13-16.


Hughes, G. (2006). The London bombings of 7 July 2005: What is the main lesson? Emergency Medicine Journal, 23(9), 666. doi:10.1136/emj.2006.039586


Jacobs, L. M., & Burns, K. J. (2006). Terrorism preparedness: Web-based resource management and the TOPOFF 3 exercise. Journal of Trauma - Injury, Infection and Critical Care, 60(3), 566-571. doi:10.1097/01.ta.0000197379.40878.c7

Langdon, P., & Hosking, I. (2010). Inclusive wireless technology for emergency communications in the UK. International Journal of Emergency Management, 7(1), 47-58. doi:10.1504/IJEM.2010.032044


Lockey, D. J., MacKenzie, R., Redhead, J., Wise, D., Harris, T., Weaver, A., Hines, K., & Davies, G. E. (2005). London bombings July 2005: The immediate pre-hospital medical response. Resuscitation, 66(2) doi:10.1016/j.resuscitation.2005.07.005


Page, L., Rubin, J., Amlôt, R., Simpson, J., & Wessely, S. (2008). Are Londoners prepared for an emergency? A longitudinal study following the London bombings. Biosecurity and Bioterrorism, 6(4), 309-319. doi:10.1089/bsp.2008.0043


Shirley, P. J. (2006). Critical care delivery: The experience of a civilian terrorist attack. Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps., 152(1), 17-21.


Shirley, P. J., & Mandersloot, G. (2008). Clinical review: The role of the intensive care physician in mass casualty incidents: Planning, organisation, and leadership. Critical Care, 12(3) doi:10.1186/cc6876


Wilson, J., Murray, V., & Kettle, J. N. (2009). The July 2005 London bombings: Environmental monitoring, health risk assessment and lessons identified for major incident response. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 66(10), 642-643. doi:10.1136/oem.2008.039933

Picture credit: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/7-7_Memorial.JPG

Thinking...

After a yesterday making lots of phone calls and trying to set up meetings, in connection with continuing professional development courses, I have decided to have a day devoted to thinking and organising my ideas.

I think I'd have been rather surprised when I set out on an academic career to find that so little time would be available to sit and think deeply about things - but that's how it has turned out.

So today, instead of giving in to the tyranny of email and short term targets, I am going to really concentrate on what I want to achieve in my PCOS work for the next three years, so that I have a truly coherent set of plans to discuss with potential collaborators.  I already have a long list of possibilities, so it's just a question of dreaming up the best possible outcome to aim for.  Wish me luck...