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
All students agreed that the use of an agenda, guided by the
homework, and the structure of the sessions was a useful element
of the supervision particularly when dealing with complex issues
arising from practice. This was felt to be helpful in maintaining the
focus of the discussion which could potentially have digressed from
the topic in hand.
Follow-up data
The group of student were interviewed 6 months post-completion
with a view to identifying which, if any, skills were being utilised
and the occurrence of ongoing use of supervision. In general the
responses indicated that all students were utilising aspects of PSI,
although those working in the in-patient areas were experiencing
greater difficulties in implementing them than nurses in day
hospitals and community. The use of clinical supervision also
followed the same pattern with those staff in areas where it was
regarded as the norm and a network already existed making greater
use of supervision than those who did not.
Conclusion
It appears that, while the use of educational supervision allows
students to integrate theory into practice while they are learning
new skills, ongoing use of skills is very much influenced by the
clinical area in which they work. Those nurses who have greater
autonomy in practice are more likely to utilise new skills than those
in the in-patient areas. The availability of supervision also seems to
influence the use of new skills with this being more prevalent again
in areas where autonomous practice is the norm. This suggests that
more support is required in implementing supervision and utilising
new skills in clinical areas where this is not the norm.
References
Bond, M. & Holland, S. (1998) Skills of Clinical Supervision for
Nurses, Oxford University Press, Buckingham
Bradshaw, T. Training and Clinical Supervision in Harris, N.,
Williams, S. & Bradshaw, T. (2002) Psychosocial Interventions
for People with Schizohrenia: A Practical Guide for Mental
Health Workers, Plagrave MacMillan, Basingstoke
Faugier, J. The supervisory relationship in Butterworth, T.,
Faugier, J. & Burnard, P. (1998) Clinical Supervision and
Mentoring in Nursing (2 nd ed.) Nelson Thornes Ltd., Chelteham
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