Testing a model for counsellor training in three public health care organisations

The article describes a training programme arranged for 26 specially qualified nurses who were to be placed in the role of nurse counsellors. The programme was tested over a period of 2 years in three public health care organisations: a central university hospital, a regional hospital and a community health centre. The aims were to develop a basic model for counsellor training and to test the model in practice; and more specifically, to evaluate the relevance of the theoretical instruction, practical exercises, and reading assignments included in the programme. Finally, on the basis of self-evaluations by the nurses involved, the aim was to find out how far the objectives set for the practical counselling by the nurses themselves were realised. The data were collected by means of a semi-structured questionnaire after the completion of the training course, and analysed using the method of content analysis. Percentage and frequency distributions were used for purposes of statistical description. The small sample size and the differences in the nature and goals of the health care organisations involved mean that there are important restrictions to the generality of these results. Nevertheless they give important clues for the further development of counsellor training schemes.