News
Launch
MHPOD will be launched during The Mental Health Services (TheMHS) Conference in Sydney in September, 2010. We look forward to celebrating the completion of the resource, and moving beyond the pilot phase.
Pilot process
A national project officer, Kate Anthony, was appointed earlier in the year to assist with the MHPOD pilot. Kate is based at the Department of Health in Victoria. She has travelled to each of the pilot jurisdictions except the Northern Territory, to assist in their preparation for piloting the first ten topics to be released. (The trip to Darwin was unfortunately cancelled owing to illness, so a workshop was conducted remotely instead). A list of the pilot Topics can be found here.
Pilot Sites Underway
Eleven pilot sites nationally currently have workers undertaking MHPOD topics and completing surveys to provide feedback. Most states and territories have more than one service or site participating. This means we have mental health workers from Alice Springs, Brisbane, Tasmania and many other places giving us feedback on MHPOD. The list of selected sites can be found here. Thanks go to all the workers and educators who have put their time and efforts into participating.
Content Completion
Writing of content for MHPOD is now complete. Some additional materials are being prepared, including a curriculum guide for educators, and facilitator’s materials for a small number of topics. Attention is now shifting towards pilots of MHPOD nationally, and details regarding implementation of the Learning Management System (LMS).
Update: Expression of interest closes
An expression of interest (EOI) for public mental health services to participate as a pilot site for MHPOD closed during December 2009. The aims of the pilot process are to identify enablers and barriers to the successful implementation of MHPOD; support services to incorporate MHPOD in professional development programs; and to evaluate MHPOD’s effectiveness as a professional development tool.
MHPOD pilot
An expression of interest (EOI) for public mental health services to participate as a pilot site for MHPOD was released in November 2009. The aims of the pilot process are to identify enablers and barriers to the successful implementation of MHPOD; support services to incorporate MHPOD in professional development programs; and to evaluate MHPOD’s effectiveness as a professional development tool.
Two new sample topics
Two new topics are now available on the Sample Topics page (see the Try a Sample page): Classification of Mental Disorders and Dual Disability. Both topics deliver "on the ground experience" through the inclusion of audio interviews with practitioners, and some activities for you to check and refine your understanding of both subjects.
Project Update
About three-quarters of the topics that will comprise MHPOD have been developed to a near-final stage. Topics currently being worked on include gender sensitive practice, dual diagnosis practice, mental health histories and mental state examination.