title: The efficacy of programmed instruction in the training of paraprofessionals.
abstract: The authors assessed the efficacy of a self-instructional psychiatric learning program to provide training for paraprofessional psychiatric personnel. The self-regulated learning system, which originally was developed to train medical students, was designed to impart basic psychiatric knowledge and diagnostic skills. Changes along personality dimensions that occurred as a function of participating in the programmed learning project also were examined. Participation in this program was associated with substantial pre-post changes in dogmatism and locus of control for males as well as significant increments in psychiatric knowledge and diagnostic skills for the group as a whole. The benefits derived from this easily administered training procedure suggest its feasible inclusion in paraprofessional inservice training programs.
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001318:Authoritarianism; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D004521:Educational Measurement; D004644:Emotions; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D010552:Personality Assessment; D011380:Programmed Instructions as Topic; D011566:Psychiatric Aides / Q000193:education*; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012737:Sex Factors