Following on from my
blog the other day on Clinical Supervisors, I had an overwhelming response.
Many of my followers on Twitter sent me messages saying they had felt the same,
and that supervision had been variable between placements. It struck a chord with others
more than I realised it would, both with
students and supervisors themselves.
Many students or
practitioners reflecting on their days as a student stated that they always
appreciated their supervisor giving feedback on strengths/areas for development.
They stated that having
the opportunity as a student to have room to grow on placement,
and being supported in having the opportunity to experience flying solo in
practice. One person even reflected that a supervisors compliments were much more appreciated
when they were rarities, when the student had truly exceeded
expectations.
In discussing whether
or not it was the student or the supervisor that adapted their ways on clinical
placements, many people stated that both
needed to be flexible. They stated that the clinical supervisor
should be aware of clinical area and the amount the student was able to achieve
in that setting due to specialism and department structure. They also stated
that supervisors should
be aware of student’s previous
clinical experiences, the point at which the student was in their training
and the resources available
to them.
But though this has
been focused on what students prefer and what supervisors need to consider
about students, I became aware that
I hadn’t considered what supervisors preferred or what the
student should consider about the supervisor. As it was pointed out to me, supervisors themselves are also
learning, both about the profession, but also about how to be a
good supervisor. Having asked some peers, it became clear that many supervisors did not ask their students
for feedback on their supervision style, therefore how can
we expect supervisors to be flexible to our needs if we are not explicit in
telling them what we need from them on the placement.
“It’s
important to remember that supervisors are continually learning and improving
as well as students” - @TstarrMarshall
In my own experience I have never been explicitly asked
and been given the open opportunity to
reflect openly to my supervisors about their supervision styles.
I was once told that if I had any issues I could approach her, however this
seemed to be for extreme cases where I was struggling to keep up, not just
general comments on how I felt the student-practitioner supervision process was
going. One suggestion was that universities
could address the issue of students giving feedback to supervisors prior to
clinical placement. At my University we are given booklets
which supervisors fill in with sections being labeled “students strengths and
areas to develop”, would a booklet that the supervisor has, filled in by the
student support this gap? After
all, we are all learning from the clinical placement process, a
reason why many practitioners continue to take students on.
So to any clinical supervisors
of students on clinical placements happen to read this, give it a try, ask your students to give you open
honest feedback about how your supervision style fits with
their learning style. I’d be interested to hear how successful it is and whether or not students have the
insight to answer this, and whether they feel “brave enough” to reflect
on your practice as well as their own.
Many thanks to all those who tweeted and contributed to the discussion!
