Conference Proceedings - School of Nursing & Midwifery - Trinity ...

School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin: 8 th Annual Interdisciplinary Research Conference
Transforming Healthcare Through Research, Education & Technology: 7 th – 9 th November 2007
Conference Proceedings
Introduction
Clinical Supervision is viewed as a necessary part of nursing
practice as a means of encouraging reflection on practice,
developing skills and supporting staff. It has also been described
as a means of enhancing patient care and protecting both patients
and staff within the caring environment. (Mullarkey et al 2001)
Despite this the uptake of formal clinical supervision within nursing
generally remains poor although it is often carried out on an
informal basis suggesting that nurses feel in need of the support
that it can provide.
Formal supervision often takes second place to the demands of
everyday practice being viewed by many as an elitist activity
indulged in by those who are somewhat removed from ‘ordinary
practice’ and facilitated by supervisors who are ‘expert’ in their field
(Faugier, 1998). For this reason supervision is often avoided by
nurses who fear of being seen as incompetent by others or feeling
disempowered by a process with which they are unfamiliar (Bond &
Holland, 1998). Frequently, nurses view it as yet another appraisal
tool which can be used by management to monitor their clinical
performance a view reinforced by the fact that supervision is often
carried out by line managers. There is certainly a management
function in supervision (Wilkin, 1998) but this is only one aspect of
it, the other functions being educative and supportive.
It is also the case that in most instances while there is some initial
use of the skills learned there is evidence to suggest that these
skills are not maintained over a period of time (Freiheit &
Overholser 1997, Milne et al 1999). Lack of appropriate supervision
is featured as having a major impact on development and
maintenance of clinical skills (Sloan et al 2000),
This presentation will focus on the educative and supportive
functions of supervision as they are used to engage students in
educational and clinical supervision as they undertake a course in
PSI.
There are various models of clinical supervision available that focus
on its different functions. A Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
model was chosen in this instance, as it reflects the nature and
structure of the interventions that the students learn (Sloan et al
2000). This approach is acknowledged as valuable by van Ooijen
(2003) who suggests that one of the strengths of linking supervision
to the theoretical model for practice is that it allows the supervisor
to act as a role model within supervision.
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