Abstract
The mental health workforce is struggling to find qualified staff at all levels. Development of a career ladder concept in education and compensation beginning at the entry level could help decrease the needs and increase the mental health workforce.
Problem: The mental health crisis in the United States requires a new approach when considering the educational needs of not only the mental health population but also the mental health workforce.
Interventions: Development of a mental health technician program based on current market and employer needs to increase the education of lay persons being hired into direct care mental health positions.
Measures: Registered nurses working in mental health evaluated the developed mental health technician program to ensure the program adequately prepared entry level mental health technicians.
Results: Evaluators confirmed the mental health technician program would adequately prepare an entry level lay person to properly care for mental health patients and establish the first step to a mental health career.
Conclusion: The mental health technician program in conjunction with local mental health facilities and a pay for performance policy could provide a stair step process to not only prepare the mental health technician but also provide consistent elevation of pay with each level of education. The mental health technician program could also provide the initial step to expanding the number psychiatric health care staff to treat the growing population needing mental health care.
Sigma Membership
Unknown
Lead Author Affiliation
Nebraska Methodist College, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Type
DNP Capstone Project
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Mental Health Technician Program, Mental Health Employer Needs, Mental Health Technician Program curriculum
Advisor
Kindschuh, Alice
Degree
DNP
Degree Grantor
Nebraska Methodist College
Degree Year
2023
Recommended Citation
Pauley, Jessica, "Mental health technician program" (2024). Group: Nebraska Methodist College. 6.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/group_nmc/6
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.
All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Faculty Approved: Degree-based Submission
Acquisition
Self-submission
Full Text of Presentation
wf_yes
