A RESEARCH PROJECT IN PSYCHIATRIC AIDE TRAINING
RUFUS M. VAUGHN M.D.1,
STANLEY TEITELBAUM PH.D.2, , and
HELEN KUMPAN M.ED.3
1 J. Hillis Miller Health Center, College of Medicine, Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.
2 VAH, New York 10, N. Y.
3 Boston College, School of Nursing, Boston, Mass.
Overall, we can clearly say this program was not an effective means of bringing about attitude changes or significantly changing work performance. We believe that the effectiveness of a program will probably be greatly hampered by the very nature of the aide group. There is such a diverse educational background as to make any program planning difficult. It is our feeling that the aide as now selected is a much less potent force in the growth of a positive program than is usually believed. Aides, in order to maintain adequate functioning, require aggressive nursing programs, staffed by properly trained nurses as key people. Although there is a great need for further study, there is a possibility that the good performer can be pre-selected. It may well be that hopes of upgrading patient care through in-service training of aides are not entirely realistic. Some more fundamental changes are probably needed in our concept of the job and in our concept of proper care of the hospitalized patient. This involves changes in educational requirements, selection procedures, pay scales and perhaps a total restructuring of responsibility within the hospital.
