Clinical Supervisiors: The response!

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!