Responding to the ECM Agenda : Developing a Joint Module for Social Work and Community Health Studen

1
Responding to the ECM Agenda Developing a Joint
Module for Social Work and Community Health
Students

• Alison Bennett
• Tracey Race

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Inhibiting Factors to Inter-Agency Working

• Different core professional models
• Incompatibility of agencies agendas and
  procedures - different priorities, externally
  imposed targets
• Protocols for information-sharing
• Power and status
• Lack of trust
• Service boundaries and issues
• around gate-keeping
• Anning, A. et al, 2006

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Creating a Joint Module

• Previously two separate modules for Community
  Health and Social Work Students
• Learning Outcomes and content were similar
• Staff input was duplicatory
• A joint module would share the different
  expertise of staff and students
• A joint module would respond to the evolving ECM
  Agenda

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Embedding the ECM Agenda

• Acknowledging the shared agenda for Health and
  Social Care
• Developing a shared language during professional
  training
• Recognising and valuing differing skills and
  roles through inter-disciplinary groupwork
• Promoting participation through active
  involvement of Young
• Peoples Service User Group

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Three Dimensions to Building Effective
Inter-Professional Work

• Structural The ability of individuals to make
  connections with others and feel an integral part
  of the network
• Relational The development of strong,
  interprofessional relationships
• Cognitive The extent that people share a common
  language
• Based on Organisational Model of
• Nahapiet and Ghoshal, 1998

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Key Learning

• Anticipating tensions due to lack of
  understanding about roles and stereotyping
• Responding to tensions around language, values,
  models of practice
• Managing different levels of experience and five
  different Courses
• Different expectations and
• perceptions around Participation

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Key Learning

• Promoting understanding of own role and role of
  others
• Building professional competence and confidence
  in integrated team-working
• Strengthening the social work experience
• Safeguarding is everyones
• business

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Feedback from Students

• Opportunities to learn from others and look at
  situations from other perspectives
• Realised we cant do it alone, we need to work
  together, no man is an island
• The importance of communication, collaboration
  and information-sharing
• Useful insight into other professionals roles
  and responsibilities, boundaries and policies
• Knowledge of own limitations, broke down
  barriers
• Overlapping of roles, lots of common ground,
  complementary
• Appreciation of and respect for others
• roles (especially Social Workers!)

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And Finally

• That sort of lack of mutual trust and respect
  for the different professional backgrounds.not
  sharing the same vocabulary and language,
  certainly not sharing the same sort of
  understanding of child development and child
  protection is an enormous problem. Changing
  that culture so that people value each others
  professional competence and recognise each
  others work is a hugely difficult and complex
  thing to achieve.we are only going to achieve
  that over time.
• Margaret Hodge Childrens Minister
• Guardian Society, 19.5.04