a handbook for supervising allied health professionals - HETI - NSW ...

Clinical supervision and operational management
Supervision includes educational, supportive and administrative functions. This may be
delivered via a combination of clinical supervision and/or management processes.
Clinical Supervision
Operational Management
• Driven by the clinical development
• Promotion of positive working
needs of the clinician
relationships between individuals
• Targeted to promoting patient safety and teams
• Facilitates skills acquisition
• Managing for performance
• Provides a forum for discussion of
• Management of human resource
ethical practice issues
• Promotes reflective practice
• Allocating and monitoring workload
or caseload proactively in
collaboration with the clinician.
Adapted from Allied Health Clinical Support Framework, Country SA, SA Health, May 2009, p 36.
SECOND EDITION
How and by whom supervision is provided is influenced by the context in which the clinician is
working and by service delivery needs. In NSW Health there is a diversity of clinical teams and
organisational structures which will impact the manner in which supervision is provided to an
individual. It is acknowledged that there is no single method which would adequately cover the
diverse nature of these structures.
For example a clinician may:
1 receive both clinical supervision and be operationally managed by the same individual
of the same discipline.
2 report to an operational manager/unit head of the same discipline and have a different
clinical supervisor from the same discipline within the same unit.
3 report to a team leader from a different discipline for operational management and
receive clinical supervision from another person of the same discipline from outside
their team.
These are only three of many possible examples of supervisory relationships which can exist
in NSW Health.
Good supervision and staff management are essential to support clinicians. Whilst they can
be seen as separate processes they are in fact complementary and must coexist. Some of the
literature supports the separation of clinical supervision activities from management activities
due to the inherent power imbalances which exist within a line management relationship
(Smith 1996, 2005). This could potentially impact on a supervisory relationship if not managed
appropriately. Some suggest the two processes should be conducted independently or by
separate individuals (Country SA 2009; WACHS 2008). It is acknowledged however, in many settings
within NSW Health these roles are often performed by the same individual (SWAHS 2010). In this
situation roles can be made clear through the process of contracting (page 17). The table below
outlines some of the differences between clinical supervision and operational management.
issues such as staff development,
mandatory training and annual leave
HETI
THE SUPERGUIDE
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