Clinical Supervision Handbook - CAMH Knowledge Exchange ...

Clinical Supervision Handbook
In a busy inpatient unit, clinical supervision goes on all the time. The rhythm of the
day cannot be determined in advance. Beginning first thing in the morning, either
the NE or the apc can be stopped by staff with questions about client care and clinical
practice. At first they would just try to answer quickly, and that still happens at
times, but these ongoing questions provide opportunities for discussing clinical care.
It becomes clear very quickly that the NE and apc will each have slightly different
takes on what needs to happen. That might be a problem except for the respect that
each of them feels for the other—both for the unique clinical perspective that the
other brings to each issue and the trust they have in each other’s caring for clients
and staff. And they cannot stress enough that they also bring shared values for
reflective, client-centred care.
There have been times when a nurse wonders aloud to the NE about the apc’s
understanding of their workload. The message that she gives is that the apc can
appreciate and respect their contribution even if she is not a nurse. This confidence
from the NE in the abilities of a social worker to lead nurses sends a reassuring
message that they have the same goals and values in their work.
So what are the important qualities that make interdisciplinary clinical supervision
work, and even work so well as to bring qualities that are greater than the sum of
one nurse and one social worker? As already discussed, awareness and appreciation
of each other’s professional knowledge base and the trust that each brings the best
of these to her work are important. Implied in that is respect. When either one of
them speak, the other listens and they make this clear to staff. In this way they model
professional respect, including respectful communication, to their staff.
STRENGTHS OF THE CLINICAL STAFF
In planning clinical supervision, both the NE and apc spend time reviewing the
strengths of individual staff members, as well as the strengths inherent in professions
they represent. While each profession makes unique contributions to the clients,
there are large areas of overlap, especially in terms of values and goals for clients.
On this particular client care unit, the social workers are the champions of reflective
practice and the big picture of client care; the occupational therapists understand
what clients need to be able to function well in the community; the recreation therapists
are masters at getting clients active after years of inactivity; and the nurses shine
in areas that can seem like a bit of a mystery to the others—what used to be called
patient management, and is now thought of as core nursing practice. As a social
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