Evaluating Rehabilitation Caseload Management Skills Through Computer Simulations

Abstract

In this article the authors report on the development and validation of a computer‐based rehabilitation caseload management simulation as a teaching and evaluation tool in counselor education. The computer simulation was administered to 18 rehabilitation students and 18 rehabilitation counselors. Their performance on the simulation was evaluated using six caseload management performance indicators. These performance indicators, derived from the computer simulation, were found to be effective in differentiating the student group from the experienced counselor group using discriminant analysis. Implications for the use of computer simulations in rehabilitation counselor education and future research directions are discussed.

Clinical Problem Solving in Micro-Case Management

“…Rehabilitation research addressing computer-based training (CBT) dates back to the 1980s (Berven, 1985(Berven, , 1987Berven & Scofield, 1980;Chan et al 1990;Chan et al, 1987;Chan et al, 1993;Janikow, ski et al, 1989;Kates et al, 1993;Reid & Chan, 1994;Reid & Peterson, 1991. The predominant focus of CBT in rehabilitation counseling has been on studying single case management simulations of state vocational rehabilitation scenarios for the purpose of teaching and assessing clinical decision-making skills (Chan et al, 1990).…”

“…Berven (1985) defined clinical problem-solving skills in counseling as &dquo;the ability to guide the moment-to-moment interaction in counseling where the clinician uses verbal and nonverbal behaviors, selected from the universe of those available, because they are judged to be helpful or productive&dquo; (p. 397). Computerized case management simulations show promise for enhancing rehabilitation counseling students' clinical problem-solving skills in case management (Berven, 1985(Berven, , 1987Berven & Scofield, 1980;Chan, Bevern, & Lam, 1990;Chan, Parker, Lam, Mecaskey, & Malphurs, 1987;Chan, Rosen, Wong, & Kaplan, 1993; Janikowski, Berven, Meixelsperger, & Roedl, 1989;Kates, Chan, & Lam, 1993;Reid & Chan, 1994). Educators may use feedback from student computer simulation performance to identify less effective problem-solving strategies.…”

Teaching and Evaluating Rehabilitation Case Management Skills Through Computer Simulations: Methodological Considerations

“…Standardised simulation, on the other hand, has been found to be effective for evaluating not only knowledge, but the skill and affective domains of professional competence as well (Berven & Scofield, 1980a;Chan, Parker, Lam, Mecaskey, & Malphurs, 1987;Chan, Rosen, Wong, & Kaplan, 1993). In fact, a particular strength of this approach is the ability to assess all three domains simultaneously.…”

“…To a great extent, objectivity and reliability of the standardised simulation is an improvement over traditional (i.e, written) assessment methods. Today, in the training of rehabilitation counselling professionals, standardised simulations have been employed primarily to teach and evaluate clinical problem-solving and caseload management skills (c.f., Berven & Scofield, 1980a;Berven, 1985a;Berven & Scofield, 1980b;Chan, Berven, & Lam, 1990;Chan et al, 1993).…”

“…Berven and Scofield (1980a) first reported the development of a computerbased rehabilitation case management simulation. Continuing this line of research, Berven and his associates (Berven, 1985b;Berven & Scofield, 1980b, Chan et al, 1990Chan et al, 1993) conducted studies that exemplified research to develop such simulations to track and evaluate clinical problem-solving skills. Berven (1985b) developed another set of three computer-simulations and examined the psychometric properties for these simulations with encouraging results (see Chan et al, 1990 for a thorough review of this topic).…”