How do we do what we do with patients and how can we do it better?

2000

James Monteith, Jo Greenaway, David Owen – Health Advisers
Central Middlesex Hospital
Acton Lane
London, NW10 7NS
Tel: 0208 453 2220
Email: joanne.greenaway@cmh-tr.nthames.nhs.uk

Summary of research topic:

“Is Health Advising just a job or does it have the characteristics of a profession? Are Health Advisers merely ancillary workers for the medical profession carrying out a delegated range of tasks, or do they have a coherent way of conceptualising their role in a way that relates theory to practice, and which betokens a distinct professional identity and role”?

The overall aim of the Research is to evaluate and conceptualise Health Adviser interactions with a specific patient group: HIV antibody positive gay men referred for psychological support; with a view towards developing and supporting an evidence based Health Adviser practice applicable to all patients referred. It is a baseline study.

From the responses to the patient questionnaire the authors considered three specific though inter-related questions:

1. What knowledge, skills and attitudes inform a Health Adviser interaction with a patient in a HIV/GUM centre?
2. How can we better define and characterise our patient interactions?
3. What implication do these findings have for the professional development of Health Advising with particular reference to the core areas of Health Advising (SSHA – Guidelines for Good Practice, 1999)

The argument of this study is that Health Advising is not just a job comprised of a range of specific delegated tasks. The authors have identified our professional core skill we counsel patients in sexual infections; and we believe as Health Advisers, we are beginning to conceptualise our counselling practice appropriately.

When committed and experienced Health Advisers meet and we discuss our work; we instinctively recognise each other as fellow professionals though we may have come from many different backgrounds and theoretical trainings.

Full poster presented at SSHA Conference 2000