Assessment of Skills for Practitioner Member Status
Context
To achieve Practitioner Member status of the MII you must satisfy the criteria as outlined in the Practitioner Member Application Requirements and have been assessed on your advanced skills as a Mediator - for detailed guidelines, please see MII Guidelines on Practitioner Member Assessment. Practitioner Member assessment is by way of interview, the purpose of which, is to assess whether you have developed advanced skills in line with the MII Practitioner Member core competencies.
(If you wish to qualify by a specific route (community or separating couples) different provisions will apply both in relation to the numbers of cases on which you will be assessed and other requirements - see 'Further Clarification' of Practitioner Member Application Requirements)
To submit for Practitioner Member assessment you should forward the following to the Registrar:
- An outline of the 3 cases which you believe showcase your advanced Mediator skills
- A short personal statement to give a brief overview of your practice and experience and to put the cases into context
- An outline of your reflective practice and changes in your practice in light of those reflections
- Completed Practitioner Member Assessment Application Form (downloadable from the MII Forms Page)
- Accompanying fee
Prior to the Interview Assessment
When submitting for Practitioner Member assessment, the personal statement and the paragraphs on personal awareness should be submitted, in writing, in advance. A brief abstract (1-2 pages per case) of the 3 cases should be submitted to provide the interviewers an outline and context of each case. This will enable the interview panel (where appropriate) to be selected to match the discipline to the substance of the cases. However it is recognised that as mediation is skills based and as Mediators frequently practice in a number of different disciplines of mediation, it is not necessary for the assessors to be familiar with the substantive issues of the mediation. It is recognised that more and more frequently Mediators practice across disciplines and will use this diversity of practice to demonstrate their advanced range of skills – that being so it will not always be possible nor appropriate to have the interviewers knowledgeable of the underlying substantive issues.
Although the cases can be read as discrete documents, applicants are encouraged to refer at interview to skills they have acquired by virtue of other mediations that they have conducted. Applicants are encouraged to select their cases and to highlight those situations which enable them to showcase a number of diverse advanced skills – not all skills will be used in every case. The assessment is made on the skills demonstrated or referred to in the interview both related to the cases presented and also to the personal statement of practice, the reflective element of the personal statement and the responses to queries.
Format of the interview
The Panel
The panel will comprise three experienced Mediators (Practitioner Members with current Practising Certificates) who more than likely will have experience of the substance of the cases presented (as described in the outline put forward by the candidate). The interview will usually last for about 1 hour but may be extended if the interviewers require further clarification on any issues. You therefore need to ensure that you get all of the expertise across to the interviewers in that time.
The Structure
The interview will commence with the candidate talking though and expanding on their personal statement including their reflective assessment of their practice. The aim of this is to enable the interviewers to obtain a view of the type of practice of the candidate, the number of cases and amount of experience the candidate has and the sorts of issues the candidate has dealt with through practice and the changes made as a result of their experiences. This part of the process will usually take 10 minutes and after the candidate’s presentation, will be a question and answer session bringing the total part of this session to 15 Minutes.
Each of the three cases is presented in turn with about 10 minutes for the candidate and 5 minutes for questions.
There will be a 5 minute wrap up at the end.
The Interviewers will work to the Practitioner Member Assessment Form and either on the way through the interview or at the end will mark you on the competencies required and will also give a general commentary on their overview of your level of skills.
Result
After the interview the three interviewers, having completed the assessment from, will discuss with each other their views of your competencies displayed in the interview and will pass or fail you.
They will give you no indication on the day whether you have passed or failed.
In the event that you pass you will be written to by the Accreditation Director who will enclose a certificate of successful completion of assessment.
Feedback
If you are unsuccessful in your interview assessment, you will be given feed back on the reasons you were not successful and may apply again for assessment either by way of interview or by way of written assessment.
Appeal
In the event that you believe that the result is inappropriate you may appeal the decision under the MII Appeals procedure.
For further information please review the information on Practitioner Assessment.
