Approved Mental Health Professional CPD Update #4 – Professional Practice

Course Outline:

Practice as an Approved Mental Health Professional requires complex assessment and decision making, working within challenging situations and applying a number of laws and policies to them. The focus of AMHP updates is therefore often understandably the legal framework surrounding the AMHP’s powers and duties.

This course, however, invites delegates to discuss and refresh themselves on the wider context of practice within their chosen profession, linking their regulatory standards – e.g. social work or nursing – to their AMHP practice and their overall fitness to practice.

The course will also consider the five competencies AMHPs are required to demonstrate as part of the Mental Health Act regulatory framework, linking these to social work / nursing standards in order to arrive at a comprehensive overview, intended to aid delegates in their day-to-day practice as well as at the renewal of their professional registration. Delegates will also have the opportunity to meet and discuss these matters with other AMHPs while achieving a proportion of their yearly CPD requirement.

The course learning outcomes below give a good idea of the coverage of the course, which is one of four written specifically for the purpose of updating AMHPs in line with statutory and best practice requirements. All courses are also directly relevant to the Professional Standards AMHPs are bound by within their roles.

Key Learning Outcomes:

• Examine professional regulatory standards (e.g. of conduct, performance and ethics) and align these to the role and duties of an AMHP
• Discuss these in light of the five regulatory competencies applying to the approval of AMHPs in England and Wales
• Reflect on professional experiences, identifying interfaces between the standards discussed, with a view to developing a personal action plan for the future to aid with professional development and registration renewal 
• Review developments in case law over the last year and any changes to AMHP practice