Postmodernising clinical supervision in nursing

Grace under pressure: Mental health nurses' stories of resilience in practice

Mental health nurses experience both organizational and practice-related stressors in their work. Resilience is an interactive process of positive adaptation following stress and adversity. There is limited evidence on how personal resilience is applied to mental health nursing practice. The aim of this interpretive narrative study was to explore mental health nurses' stories of resilience in their practice for the purpose of gaining an understanding of resilience resources they draw on when dealing with challenging workplace situations. A storytelling approach was used in semistructured phone interviews with 12 mental health nurses who measured high on resilience (Workplace Resilience Inventory) and caring behaviours (Caring Behaviours Inventory). Within and across case narrative analysis produced stories of resilient practice within four themes: proactively managing the professional self; sustaining oneself through supportive relationships; engaging actively in practice, learning and self-care; and seeking positive solutions and outcomes. Nurses displayed poise in stressful situations and grace under pressure in demanding and emotionally challenging interactions, holding dignity and respect for self and others, with the aim of achieving positive outcomes for both. Resilient practice is the responsibility of organizations as well as individuals. To develop practice and support staff retention, we recommend organizations use tailored professional development to cultivate a growth mindset in new and experienced staff, develop organizational strategies to build positive team cultures, and prioritize strategies to reduce workplace stressors and strengthen staff psychological safety and well-being. The use of narrative techniques in reflective practice and clinical supervision may help build nurses' resilience and practice.

'Barriers to overcoming the barriers': A scoping review exploring 30 years of clinical supervision literature

Aims/Questions

To explore the barriers and facilitators to nurses accessing clinical supervision; explore the barriers and facilitators to organizations implementing clinical supervision and capture what skills nurses require to facilitate clinical supervision.

Design

Scoping review of peer‐reviewed research and grey literature.

Data sources

CINAHL, Medline, PsychINFO and Scopus were searched for relevant papers published between 1990 and 2020. Google, Google Scholar, OpenGrey & EThOS were used to search for grey literature.

Review Methods

PRISMA‐ScR guidelines were used during the literature review process. Eighty‐seven papers were included, and data were extracted from each paper using a standardized form. Data synthesis was undertaken using Seidel's analytical framework.

Results

Five themes were identified: Definitions and Models, (Mis) Trust and the Language of Supervision, Alternative Parallel Forums and Support Mechanisms, Time and Cost and Skills required.

Conclusion

Since its inception in the 1990s, clinical supervision has long been regarded as a supportive platform for nurses to reflect on and develop their practice. However, this review highlights that despite an awareness of the skills required for nurses to undertake clinical supervision, and the facilitators for nurses to access and organizations to implement clinical supervision, there have been persistent barriers to implementation. This review identifies these persistent factors as ‘barriers to overcoming the barriers' in the clinical supervision landscape. These require critical consideration to contribute towards moving clinical supervision forward in the spirit of its original intentions.

Impact

This review progresses the debate on clinical supervision through critically analysing the barriers to overcoming the barriers. To this end, the review is designed to stimulate critical discussions amongst nurses in different clinical spaces and key stakeholders such as policy makers and regulatory bodies for the nursing profession.

Receiving group clinical supervision: a phenomenological study

This study examined the process of group supervision as experienced by one team of biofeedback therapists working in the south of England. A phenomenological study was undertaken to examine the team's perceptions of attending group supervision over time. Ten one-to-one in-depth interviews were conducted, six of which were with biofeedback therapists currently receiving supervision, three with nurses who used to receive this supervision and one interview with the supervisor. A four-stage model detailing how supervisees' experiences changed as a consequence of continued group supervision was developed. Study data revealed how this process allowed the biofeedback therapists to examine their clinical interventions and align their approach and perspective alongside other team members. This was a valuable and safe way of learning 'on the job' for the newer members of the team. The opportunity for free-thinking and reflection on practice supported clinical decision-making and therapeutic nursing. The more experienced supervisees demonstrated how their continued attendance of the group supervision sessions not only confirmed their expertise in role, but also facilitated their colleagues' development, which enhanced role satisfaction. The data also indicated some of the essential supervisory features of this process.

Implementing clinical supervision for ICU Outreach Nurses: a case study of their journey

INTRODUCTION

Many health services with Intensive Care Units have developed ward liaison programs, managed by Outreach Nurses, to facilitate the transition for patients between the intensive care and general wards. This paper reports a case study of clinical supervision for two Outreach Nurses as they adapted to their new, largely autonomous role in an Australian tertiary hospital.

METHOD

Individual clinical supervision was provided fortnightly to two Outreach Nurses over 12 months by an experienced facilitator, and evaluated using a case study methodology. The Outreach Nurses completed a journal that captured their personal and professional growth and the supervisor also provided a reflective account. An interview was conducted with both Outreach Nurses to evaluate their experiences of clinical supervision.

FINDINGS

Key themes emerging from all the data sources included: respect for clinical supervision and the supervisor; role clarification; understanding and dealing with interpersonal issues; dedicated time for reflection; facing up to issues and letting them go.

CONCLUSION

The Outreach Nurses described the personal and professional benefits of clinical supervision and highlighted how it was successfully implemented for them in a busy clinical environment with limited available resources.

Establishing clinical supervision in acute mental health inpatient units: acknowledging the challenges

After decades of discussion about clinical supervision and mental health nursing, the reality is that many acute mental health inpatient settings continue to struggle with the notion of clinical supervision and the implementation process. In this article we delineate the key elements of clinical supervision, explore practical and dynamic difficulties associated with clinical supervision and question whether too much is being asked of this one process, especially in acute inpatient settings. For many mental health nurses, existing practices offer many of the purported benefits of clinical supervision. Ultimately, unless clinical supervision is better understood and implemented effectively, it is unlikely to meet expectations. Clinical supervision should ultimately be defined by the nurses participating in it. This article contributes to current discussions regarding the purpose of clinical supervision, the realities of its implementation, and in particular considers the role of clinical supervision relative to existing professional support opportunities.

Never the twain? Reconciling national suicide prevention strategies with the practice, educational, and policy needs of mental health nurses (Part one)

Suicide remains as a distinct global public health problem, and the reduction of rates continues to be a major concern of the governments of many countries; this has given rise to the creation of national suicide prevention strategies. As with any other mental health-related policy document, it behoves mental health nurses to juxtapose these against the realities of their practice and educational needs. To this end, this two part paper draws on national suicide prevention strategy policy directions that appear to speak directly to the practice and/or educational needs of mental health nurses and critiques these. The direction indicating more training in risk assessment is perhaps questionable given that this is already by far the most developed area of the suicidology-focused literature and that our increased knowledge has risk factors that have not so far produced widespread reductions in suicide rates. Furthermore, this additional attention, at least in part, reflects the clear move towards more coercion and control in international mental health policy. The direction indicating that practitioners should use evidence-based interventions to prevent suicide is laudable although difficult to reconcile with practice realities given that there is currently a distinct lack of evidence-based interventions for working with people who are suicidal. As a result, this paper offers some suggested amendments to the national suicide prevention strategies, and the second part of this paper focuses on three more policy directions.

The Integration of Clinical and Managerial Supervision: A Critical Literature Review

The introduction of a new development review process, the Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF), has placed a greater demand on occupational therapists within the health service to be more accountable for practice. It has been proposed that the KSF may provide a useful structure for supervision in order to ensure continual development. Therefore, this literature review looked at the appropriateness of addressing both clinical and managerial issues within the supervisory process.

The results indicate that despite many professions being unsure of how best to deliver supervision, there is a common understanding that a structure combining clinical and managerial supervision, such as the KSF, may be useful. It is, however, recommended that the roles of appraiser and supervisor remain separate, because many researchers found conflict within this duality of role as having an impact upon the effectiveness of supervision. It is also recommended that further research be undertaken in order to evaluate formally the effectiveness of integrating the KSF into supervision.

Clinical supervision revisited

AIM

The paper is a means to signpost the hazards of clinical supervision (or supervision) as it is currently understood and enacted.

BACKGROUND

The interpretation or understanding given to clinical supervision by professional groups is based on several factors namely origin/history, dynamic changes, relevance in the concept, language used and the meaning attached to this language.

EVALUATION

In this paper we take a position that clinical supervision is not a thing or a homogenous entity. We describe it as a 'multi-meaninged' phenomenon defined through the context of its use.

KEY ISSUES

Who uses it and in what circumstances leads to different versions of clinical supervision with different enactments and functions. Practitioners and managers do not necessarily recognize this state of affairs.

CONCLUSIONS

We make some suggestions for more complex versions that may be suitable as the profession develops.