Advancing the Assessment of Professional Learning, Self-Care, and Competence

Advances in the empirical study of continuing education in professional psychology rely on the development and utilization of measurements that assess key aspects of learning, the translation of that learning into practice, and the development of ongoing professional competence. This article describes 4 such instruments. Each measure is designed to target an element that is critical to the overall processes and objectives of continuing education. These include measures to enhance professional learning, to assess an ongoing commitment to lifelong learning, to measure levels of professional self-care, and to assess foundational, functional, and continuing competencies among professional psychologists. This article discusses each of these measures, reviews the developing literatures surrounding them, and identifies contexts in which they might be useful in the ongoing study of continuing education and continuing professional development. Copies of all 4 scales are included in the Appendixes to encourage their further use in advancing the literatures on continuing professional development and competence. Public Significance Statement This article introduces the reader to four professional development tools (the Commitment-to-Change Assessment, the Jefferson Scale of Psychotherapists Lifelong Learning, the Professional Self-Care Scale, and the Professional Competencies Scale). These tools can be used by professional psychologists as self-assessment measures or by researchers to support the field of professional development and professional competence.