Feature Organization: Park Center

In our business, there is a continual need for meaningful, timely professional development to advance our professional skills and attain advanced certifications. The worst scenario for employees is for them to attend a training that they feel is not useful , timely, or relevant. The CPRP Study Circle was designed to be a regular forum to study and discuss best practices that not only led to higher than average exam pass rates, but increased the dialogue and shared best practices of those involved.

Seven years ago, I was charged to lead an organizational improvement project which was to help staff earn their CPRP certification. This was a daunting task because as the Director of Quality Assurance, I hadn’t worked in a direct care capacity for many years, and at the time, I myself was not CPRP certified.  I had to figure out a creative way to make this happen. Working in the field of mental health for over twenty years has taught me that no matter what the issue, consultation and collaboration with others will always yield the best results and demonstrates that people support what they help create.  So I recruited a group of eight staff to pilot a small group learning project which is what would become the Park Center CPRP Study Circle.  The group was small by design and was created from a cross-section of staff. We wanted various staff levels (direct care and supervisory) as well as cross-program representation from each of the seven programs in the organization.  

Once the pilot group was chosen, the study materials were developed. Using the PRA Principles and the CPRP Blue Print as the foundation, a fourteen session curriculum was created where each of the seven practice domains is studied in depth across one or two sessions. Within a given domain session(s), the knowledge, skills and abilities associated with that domain are discussed and applied directly back to the day-to-day jobs of the study circle participants through group discussions. This is where the true value of cross program and staff representation can be seen as staff can apply the principles to a variety of real-life scenarios, both in their own programs and the other programs provided in the organization. By using authentic experiences, we were able to discuss relevant best practices which resulted in high levels of intellectual engagement.

In its current form, the study circle meets twice a month for six months leading up to the exam date. The sessions are two hours in length and include a mixture of didactic presentation, small group work, role plays, case study review and working through practice exam questions. Although tweaks have been made along the way, the basic principles of a small group with cross staff and program representation remains.  The study circle is never larger than 8 people.   

Since 2010, Park Center has offered an annual CPRP study circle in which 37 staff have participated. We are proud to say that our pass rate has exceeded the national pass rate in all but one of those years.  The high pass rate is a testament to the value of small group learning. Currently we have eighteen CPRPs on staff and look forward to adding several more in 2017 after completion of our seventh annual CPRP Study Circle.