Why use Upskill+?

Residential care workers provide care and accommodation for some of the most traumatise children and young people in Australia. At McAlpine-B we believe that this work is as complex, if not more complex, than working with psychiatric patients in a psychiatric ward.

Yet relative to psychiatric nurses, resi workers have two major disadvantages:

1. Geographic isolation: resi workers work in geographically isolated units. The consequence being that it is very difficult to provide them with required supervision or ‘on the job’ training. In contrast psychiatric nurses work in larger units which provide the opportunity for ongoing supervision by the charge nurse and a vast array of back up specialists in the form of psychiatrists, psychologists etc.
2. Lack of training: residential care staff have minimal entry level training requirements,  typically a Certificate IV qualification (which can be completed ‘online’),  plus minimal on the job training. In contrast, psychiatric nurses typically have a 3-4 year  degree.

Programs

To overcome the above disadvantages, we have developed the following programs for residential care workers:

• Orientation training for new residential care workers
• PACE program (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy program)
• Managing Explosive Situations
• Professional Boundaries
• Professional Relationships
• Rhythm of the Day program
• A skills-based program for residential care workers that uses the daily activities of residential care (eg meal times, bed times etc) as opportunities for therapeutic interactions with children and/or young people
• Managing Problematic Sexual Behaviour
• Trauma Informed Self-Care for Residential Care Workers
• Quality of Care: How To Raise Potential Quality Of Care Issues With Your Work Colleagues
• These modules can be tailored as orientation training for new residential car workers or
• advanced training for more experienced workers.

We also develop specialist programs for young people who have very complex needs and train their cares to deliver these programs.