Field Note—Developing Suicide Risk Assessment Training for Hospital Social Workers: An Academic–Community Partnership

Abstract

This article describes 1 large urban pédiatrie hospital's partnership with a university to provide suicide assessment and managemetit trainitig within its social work department. Social work administrators conducted a department-wide needs assessment and implemented a 2-session suicide assessment training program and evaluation. Respondents (97.8%) indicated that the training was either helpful or very helpful in 8 suicide assessment skill-based domains. All attendees reported positive changes in perceived competence in 6 of 8 skill-based domains. A brief and time-efficient in-service training can be instrumental in augmenting hospital social worker competence in suicide risk assessment practice. This model of training program development, implementation, and evaluation is feasible, evidence-informed, and may be replicated.

When Is a Partnership Not a Partnership? Reflecting on Inherent Challenges in University-Community Collaborations on Educational Programs

“…The program evaluation component of our research made it quite distinct from other university-hospital partnerships that are motivated by shared objectives, such as the collaborative development of a specific tool or an acknowledged imbalance in skill sets that the partnership is intended to address. Wharff et al (2014), for example, described an inservice suicide risk assessment training program developed by an American university at the request of a hospital social work department. After identifying staff knowledge gaps using a needs assessment, hospital administrators invited a university team to develop and offer a twosession training program.…”

Diseño y evaluación de un adiestramiento para profesionales de ayuda sobre identificación y manejo de riesgo suicida en estudiantes universitarios

“…Estos resultados evidencian la necesidad de mayor adiestramiento para los-as profesionales de ayuda en relación a la evaluación y el manejo de riesgo suicida. Fuera de Puerto Rico también se ha señalado la necesidad de mayor educación y supervisión relacionada al suicidio tanto en los programas graduados como en la educación continua de los-as profesionales de ayuda (Bocquier et al, 2013;Reihl, Cash, Mackelprang, & Karle, 2014;Rudd, Cukrowicz, & Bryan, 2008;Schmitz et al, 2012;Wharff, Ross, & Lambert, 2014). Es importante que estos-/as profesionales tengan las destrezas y conocimientos necesarios para cernir y evaluar adecuadamente, así como manejar los distintos niveles de riesgo suicida de manera que se fomente el bienestar de los-as estudiantes y un ambiente más seguro en las instituciones de educación superior.…”