Background: The importance of effective clinical supervision for emerging clinicians is well recognised, not only for practice preparation, but also for reducing future attrition rates. Also recognised are the challenges faced by both students and supervisors during the supervision experience. This study aimed to identify the qualities of the "ideal" clinical supervision environment from the perspective of clinical supervisors from both nursing and allied health. Design: A qualitative study using an interview method based on action research. Methods: The convergent interview method was used with 20 clinical supervisors and educators from nursing and allied health across Victoria. Interviews were recorded and data analysis occurred at the end of each pair of interviews to develop deeper questions in line with the method. Results: 12 major themes emerged as "ideal" qualities with a range of suggestions on how these can be achieved. Conclusion: The "ideal" qualities can be used in assessing and improving current contexts, as well as designing new clinical supervision processes, models, programs and guidelines or policies. The convergent interview method allowed for deeper level analysis than previous research.

BackgroundClinical supervisors are responsible for managing many facets of clinical learning and face a range of challenges when the need for “difficult” conversations arises, including the need to manage conflict and relationships.MethodsSpotlight on Conversations Workshop was developed to improve the capacity of clinical supervisors to engage in difficult conversations. They were designed to challenge the mindset of clinical supervisors about difficult conversations with students, the consequences of avoiding difficult conversations, and to offer activities for practicing difficult conversations. Preworkshop, postworkshop, and 4-month follow-up evaluations assessed improvements in knowledge, intent to improve, and confidence along with workshop satisfaction.ResultsNine workshops were delivered in a range of locations across Victoria, Australia, involving a total of 117 clinical supervisors. Preworkshop evaluations illustrated that more than half of the participants had avoided up to two difficult conversations in the last month in their workplace. Postworkshop evaluation at 4 months showed very high levels of satisfaction with the workshop’s relevancy, content, and training, as well as participants’ intention to apply knowledge and skills. Also shown were significant changes in participants’ confidence to have difficult conversations not only with students but also with other peers and colleagues. In follow-up in-depth interviews with 20 of the 117 participants, 75% said they had made definite changes in their practice because of what they learned in the workshop and another 10% said they would make changes to their practice, but had not had the opportunity yet to do so.ConclusionWe conclude that the Spotlight on Conversations Workshop can improve the clinical supervisor–student relationship as well as build general difficult conversation capacity for a range of stakeholders in clinical settings.

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BackgroundIn December 2018 Australian paramedics and the paramedicine discipline became nationally registered under the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). Paramedics are now required to register and satisfy registration requirements in order to work as a paramedic. One of the mandatory registration standards is continuing professional development (CPD). This study examines attitudes and perceptions held by Australian paramedics in relation to CPD. MethodsA qualitative research project was undertaken using semi-structured interviews. A purposive snowballing sampling technique was employed to invite paramedics currently working in Australia to participate in telephone-based interviews. Data were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. The transcripts were read several times to determine repeated themes and these themes were then coded by two authors. Data saturation was considered to have occurred after 18 interviews. ResultsEighteen paramedics responded and were interviewed; 16 of the respondents were male with the majority coming from Victoria. Broadly, four key themes were identified from analysis of the interviews. These included: 1) identification of CPD activities and requirements, 2) motivation, 3) factors influencing choice of activity, and 4) barriers.ConclusionThere was general acceptance of the need for paramedics to stay up-to-date with current practice. Generally, this was seen as a responsibility of the employer but some individuals made the distinction between employment requirements and professional requirements. We would encourage ongoing research in this area particularly as CPD develops over time for paramedicine in Australia.