Alignment to other competencies and frameworks
The development of Let’s get real and the seven Real Skills drew on all of the current and emerging competency frameworks for mental health and addiction services in New Zealand, including the following.
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Recovery Competencies for New Zealand Mental Health Workers (Mental Health Commission 2001).
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Competencies developed for professionals regulated by the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003.
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Te Ao Maramatanga (New Zealand College of Mental Health Nurses) standards of practice for mental health nursing.
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Mental health frameworks for particular professional groups.
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Drug and Alcohol Practitioners' Association Aotearoa New Zealand (DAPAANZ) practitioner competencies for alcohol and other drug workers. DAPAANZ recognises the use of the Let's get real learning modules as part of their continuing education programme for registered drug and alcohol practitioners. Completion of any of the seven Real Skills learning modules as part of professional development can earn 10 points.
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Midland Region Mental Health Network’s common capabilities project.
In addition, Te Rau Matatini and Matua Raki drew on their involvement in, and knowledge of, developing Māori competency frameworks to develop what was initially known as the focusing on Māori Real Skill and is now called the working with Māori Real Skill.
The Ministry of Health has mandated Let’s get real and the seven Real Skills as the foundation framework to support the delivery of mental health and addiction services.
Related initiatives
Real Skills plus series
The Real Skills of Let’s get real are complemented by specialist skill sets, known as the Real Skills plus series, which are aimed at people working in specialist areas. These skill sets are part of the overarching mental health and addiction competency framework.
Real Skills plus Seitapu: Engaging Pasifika is a Pacific cultural competency framework and applied training package developed by Le Va. It targets the mainstream health workforce to support better engagement with Pacific service users and their families.
Real Skills plus CAMHS – infant, child and adolescent mental health and alcohol and other drug sector (ICAMH/AOD) competencies aimed at practitioners working in ICAMH/AOD services. These have been developed by The Werry Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Workforce Development (2008). The framework and tools supporting implementation can be downloaded from The Werry Centre website.
Other specialist competency frameworks
Other specialist competency frameworks aimed at people working in specific areas of mental health and addiction. Some were in existence before Let’s get real, while others are at different stages of development. Let’s get real sits as a foundational framework for the specialist competencies, as it is intended for all people working in mental health and addiction services.
Specialist competency frameworks include:
- Takarangi Competency Framework - Maori cultural comptency framework, supported by a training package delivered by Matua Raki
- the practitioner competencies for alcohol and drug workers are being revised by DAPAANZ to be the Draft Addiction Intervention Competency Framework - a competency framework for professionals specialising in problem gambling, alcohol and other drug, and smoking cessation intervention
- mental health services for older people (being developed by the Northern District Health Board Support Agency, on behalf of the northern region district health boards).
