The side effects of evidence‐based training

Abstract

The mental health inpatient workforce has been targeted for continuing training to promote improved practice and enhance morale. The effects of intensive training and innovations in clinical practice on staff well-being are poorly understood. The aim of this paper is to measure the impact of a programme of team training and clinical practice development on levels of stress, job satisfaction and burnout in inpatient mental health workers. A repeated measures design was used in which participants acted as their controls. Participants were assessed before and after training using standardized measures of stress and burnout. During the training period, mean scores on all measures remained stable. Over the practice implementation period, there were significant increases in perceived stress and burnout and a significant reduction in job satisfaction. Training in novel psychosocial interventions had no impact on staff psychological well-being and satisfaction. Attempting to implement, these interventions did appear to have harmful effects. Intensive clinical support to sustain novel practices did not prevent these outcomes.