Interprofessional supervision: a matter of difference

Abstract

INTRODUCTION:With its origins grounded in the apprenticeship tradition it is perhaps not surprising that social work adheres to a model of supervision where both supervisor and supervisee are social workers and where it is common for social workers to be supervised by their line manager. Interprofessional supervision, where the participants do not share the same profession, and which is frequently external to the social worker's organisation, therefore presents a challenge to traditional social work supervision practice. METHODS:Expert stakeholders were interviewed to explore their experiences of interprofessional supervision. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and topdown analysis employed to identify themes. The views of nine supervisees and nine supervisors are reported. FINDINGS:The participants represented a range of professions but the data collected revealed common themes. Participants highlighted the importance of being able to choose a supervision partner and to establish a contract where lines of accountability were explicit. Knowledge about supervision was considered vital and supervision competence was expected of the supervisor. The key benefits were a greater understanding of one's own profession and an appreciation and respect for difference. Lack of clinical accountability was considered a limitation but not an obstacle. CONCLUSION:The reports of these participants indicate a shift from supervision as an in-house process to one which is chosen, negotiated and collaborative. Through their awareness of the need for professional development and accountability, the participants demonstrated a depth of professional responsibility and an ability to stand alongside their profession in the presence of 'other'.

Enhancing the quality of allied health clinical supervision in a regional setting: An action research study

“…In the context of this study, the manager supervision group could be described as an interprofessional group. There is emerging evidence that using interprofessional approaches to clinical supervision can be effective for experienced practitioners 29 . This challenges the predominant model of clinical supervision for allied health where clinical supervision is provided by a member of the same discipline 9–11,14 .…”

Conceptual models of clinical supervision across professions: A scoping review of the professional psychology, social work, nursing, and medicine literature in Canada.

“…They expressed specific alternate views in terms of the place of autonomy and corrective feedback in supervision that they felt set them apart from other professions. Other recent studies by Chipchase, Allen, Eley, McAllister, and Strong (2013), Davys (2017), andGillieatt, Martin, Marchant, Fielding, andDuncanson (2014) show that although participants agree on the potential merits of interprofessional supervision, challenges related to existing differences between professions related to approaches, conceptualisation, and practices can create significant challenges. A good starting point toward implementing more interprofessional training in this area may be to increase our understanding of how clinical supervision is conceptualised and how clinical supervision practices are regulated across health professions.…”