Guidelines for enhancing clinical supervision: research

Clinical supervision is widely recognised as important and constructive in nursing and other health professions, but how is it actually done? All nurses, regardless of education, experience, or area of work, are encouraged to engage in the process of supervision, yet there is little practical guidance available as to how it should be done. The aim of this article is to firstly ascertain what professional nurses understood under the term 'clinical supervision' and secondly to provide guidelines for improving the process of supervision. Reflection helps one to understand the impact of one's actions and improve one's professional skills. It is therefore important for nurses and managers to develop a reflective approach to their work in order to make contextually appropriate changes when they are required in their professional practice. A qualitative, exploratory and descriptive research design was utilised where results from narrative sketches and literature control served as the basis for deducting and describing guidelines for enhancing reflection during the process of supervision. The conclusions drawn from the related findings are that the respondents know what clinical supervision encompasses but did not indicate the necessity of applying reflective learning during the process of clinical supervision. Kliniese toesighouding word as belangrik en konstruktief beskou in verpleging en ander gesondheidsberoepe, maar hoe word dit in werklikheid gedoen? Alle verpleegkundiges, ongeag hulle opleiding en ervaring of plek van werk, word aangemoedig om betrokke te raak by toesighouding en tog is daar min riglyne beskikbaar van hoe dit uitgevoer behoort te word. Die doelstelling van hierdie artikel is om eerstens aan te dui wat verpleegkundiges onder die term 'kliniese toesighouding' verstaan, en tweedens om riglyne daar te stel vir die verbetering van die toesighoudingsproses. Refleksie help persone om die impak van hulle aksies te begryp ten einde hulle professionele vaardighede te verbeter. Dit is dus belangrik vir verpleegkundiges en bestuurders om 'n reflektiewe benadering tot hulle werk te ontwikkel ten einde toepaslike kontekstuele besluite te kan neem waar dit nodig mag wees in hulle professionele praktyke. 'n Kwalitatiewe, verkennende en beskrywende ontwerp is gebruik waartydens bevindinge, gebaseer op narratiewe sketse en 'n literatuurstudie, as basis dien vir die maak van afleidings en die voorsiening van riglyne vir die bevordering van die toesighoudingsproses. Die gevolgtrekkings toon aan dat die respondente weet wat toesighouding behels, maar dat hulle nie die noodsaaklikheid om reflektiewe leer toe te pas tydens die proses van kliniese toesighouding aangedui het nie. Keywords: Clinical supervision, Reflective thinking and learning, Support, Guidance (Health SA Gesondheid: interdisciplinary research journal: 2003 8(4): 12-23