MHPOD

Mental Health Professional Online Development (MHPOD) Portal Technical Upgrade

The MHPOD Technical Upgrade was undertaken as part of modernising the existing MHPOD Learning Portal. Completed and launched in October 2019, the technical upgrade introduces improvements to the MHPOD Portal as the first step to a broader program of reviewing and building content on MHPOD moving forward.

If you need further information or assistance, please email help@mhpod.gov.au

What does this mean for me?

What about all the work I've done to date?

Don't worry, for those who have accessed MHPOD in the last 2 years, it's the same Portal and content, just a new look and feel.

All your existing training records are still there and your existing login will continue to work.
If you are part way through the modules, your Certificates will continue reflect all your completed topics.
If you are part way through a particular module, your time spent on this module will be preserved, however when you open the module next you will be returned to the overview screen, rather than where you left off. Unfortunately there is no way to return you to the page you were last on, however the revised modules have much simpler navigation which will allow you to return to the page you were on easily.
At this stage, the actual content is unchanged. The presentation of the material has just been improved to work better on mobile devices and be easier to use, but the actual content is undergoing a major review for the next update.

What if I haven't visited MHPOD in the last 2 years?

I'm a new user, what should I do?

MHPOD Learning Portal Employer Access Token

The MHPOD Learning Portal (the Portal) is pleased to advise that its Employer Access Token is now available to public hospital and emergency service organisations.

The MHPOD Learning Portal Employer Access Token is a digital 'token' that will allow their staff who access and use the Portal to set up automatic transfers of completed course information from the Portal to their employer(s). This will remove the need for organisations and their staff to either remind or manually send individual certificates of completion they attained on the Portal.

Further information about the process and the online application process can be found on the MHPOD Employer Token information page

Significant changes introduced with the technical upgrade include:

Fully mobile responsive design

MHPOD can now be easily accessed via any portable device. Known as 'responsive design' MHPOD will automatically adjust to the size of your screen without compromising viewing i.e. shrinking text thereby forcing you to zoom in.

Search catalogue

For those not sure of what they are after, all content on MHPOD can now be searched using a variety of keywords.

Completing and navigating content

In addition to being searchable, the new portal is easier to navigate with the topics grouped into five key areas. Navigation within topics is also improved with clear visual guidance on your progress.

Dashboard

From your Dashboard, you can easily see how many times you've logged into MHPOD, the number of course views and number of completed courses. You can also easily download individual Certificates, Progress Reports (which provide a summary of all completed topics) and a record of all topic completions in a CSV file format. It will also tell you which topics you've started but not completed.

Reporting (for organisations and employers)

Organisations that would like to use MHPOD's content as part of staff training and development can access information about completed topics in two ways. Firstly, they can request their staff to send Progress Reports in a PDF format as required. Staff can access their Progress Reports anytime. Below is an example of what the current MHPOD Progress Report looks like.

Sample Progress Report

Alternatively, your staff can download and send a CSV file that provides the above data in raw form. Contained within the file is the following information:

First name
Last Name
Email (as registered with MHPOD)
Topic, Module or Course Name
Number of Attempts
Status
Completion Date

What is the MHPOD Learning Portal? Back to top

The MHPOD Learning Portal is an evidence-based online learning resource for people working in or connected to mental health service delivery. Currently, there are over 100 hours of material across 74 topics, written and produced in Australia. The topics range from recovery to legislation and dual disability. Each topic includes an overview, activity, in-practice section, and resources such as checklists, templates, or links to further information. The content of MHPOD is linked to the National Practice Standards for the Mental Health Workforce.

A list of current content can be downloaded here

Who is it for? Back to top

MHPOD was originally designed for nurses, social workers, occupational therapists, psychiatrists and psychologists working in mental health in Australia, particularly those in their first two years of practice in Australian clinical mental health services. While this remains the case, it is expected that other people, including general practitioners (GPs), consumer workers, carer workers, Aboriginal health workers, and other allied health workers will also find it useful.

Moving forward, the MHPOD Program is seeking to expand MHPOD's audience to sit within the broader public health and human service system i.e. social services and those professions whose clientele are at risk of developing a mental illness.

How was it developed? Back to top

The MHPOD Learning Portal is funded by the Commonwealth government and all states and territories. It aims to support Australia's broader public health workforce involved in delivering mental health and associated services i.e. social services and improve access to evidence-based educational programs. The MHPOD Learning Portal's current suite of content has been written by the Psychosocial Research Centre at the University of Melbourne and North West Mental Health. After completion of a technical upgrade on October 2019, the MHPOD Program will move to review and build additional content to reflect current practice and standards, as well as enhance the range of topics and accessibility.

The MHPOD Program is managed on behalf of all funders through the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services. The MHPOD Program engages with a broad range of multidisciplinary experts located throughout Australia. All content is developed through engagement with expert groups including consumer and carer representatives, clinicians and academics as part of a quality assurance process.

Is it an effective learning resource? Back to top

In November 2017, an independent review of MHPOD was undertaken to ascertain if it had reached its objectives of building and increasing knowledge amongst users. The review found that it had achieved its original objectives including improving health worker knowledge and awareness of the recognition and treatment of mental disorders. While MHPOD content was specifically designed for the five disciplines outlined above, the review and data from recent years strongly suggested growing interest from other emerging workforces outside of the original five disciplines such as peer support workers, consumers and carers.

Moving forward Back to top

The next step for MHPOD, starting in November 2019, will focus on content development. More information will be provided in the following months but there are several ways you can be involved as outlined below:

MHPOD Content Surveys

The MHPOD Program is interested in getting feedback from individuals and organisations regarding content. There are currently two surveys open to collect this information, depending on which perspective you want to provide such as an individual or at an organisational level.

The survey links can be found below:

To provide your perspective on MHPOD content click here
To provide input from an organisational level on content, click here

MHPOD Distribution List

A distribution list has been created to ensure that individuals and organisations can be informed of MHPOD developments and opportunities to participate such as User Acceptance Testing and responding to surveys. Email ProjectManager@mhpod.gov.au to be included on the list.

Continual Professional Development (CPD) points. Back to top

As a guide, each topic currently on MHPOD has been written to equate to 1 CPD; however, this should be used as an indicative guide only and organisations are encouraged to assess each topic on its own to determine its worth.

Moving forward, as new content is developed or existing content reviewed, external organisations will be consulted, such as national collages etc, regarding the CPD value of the material.