A systematic review of supervisory relationships in general practitioner training

Becoming a general practice supervisor: A longitudinal multi-case study exploring key supportive factors

INTRODUCTION

Supervision of trainees in the health care professions is recognised internationally as core to safe and effective patient care. A supervisor workforce in general practice (GP) is critical to the profession and to the communities where they work and can be demanding as general practitioners incorporate workplace-based education and support of their trainees into their daily consulting work. Little is known about how this is experienced by new supervisors; therefore, this research sought to understand factors that play a significant role in the first semester of becoming a supervisor.

METHODS

An exploratory multi-case study design was used; new general practice supervisors were the unit of analysis. Four data sources were captured longitudinally: semi-structured interviews at the beginning and end of the semester, audio diaries throughout and a mid-semester focus group. Template analysis was used, sensitised by a community of practice theoretical framework.

RESULTS

Seven new supervisors participated. Five interdependent key factors played a significant role in general practitioners becoming supervisors: (1) making meaning of the role, (2) reconciling multiple roles, (3) building a relationship with the trainee, (4) receiving support from the training practice and the training programme and (5) joining peer communities of new and experienced supervisors.

CONCLUSION

Becoming a general practice supervisor is situated in the context of a workplace delivering clinical services, a training programme and personal life circumstances. It can be challenging and rewarding. Insufficient support may result in unintended attrition. Learning in this role is facilitated by enabling the new supervisor to find meaning in the role; structured allocation of time to engage effectively; a positive trainee-supervisor relationship; administrative support by practices; information, advice and remuneration from the training programme; and interactions with new and experienced supervisor peers.

Exploring the occurrence of microaggressions in the genetic counseling student-supervisor relationship: A mixed-methods study

While research has shown that genetic counseling students with minoritized racial or ethnic identities face microaggressions throughout graduate training, quantitative data regarding the frequency of these experiences have not been reported. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to investigate the frequency and types of microaggressions experienced by graduates of accredited genetic counseling programs in the United States during fieldwork rotations. A quantitative survey was administered to assess how frequently 14 different types of microaggressions occurred in interactions with supervisors. Survey responses were analyzed using situation-based coding (the number of different types of microaggressions experienced) and frequency-based coding (the sum of participants' weighted Likert answers). Select survey respondents with minoritized identities were interviewed to better contextualize and categorize microaggression experiences. Analysis of 87 survey responses revealed that participants with minoritized racial and ethnic identities experience significantly more types of microaggressions (t(61) = 2.77; p = 0.007) at a significantly higher frequency (t(55) = 2.67; p = 0.010) than their white counterparts. Participants who identified as part of the disability community were also found to experience significantly more types of microaggressions (t(10) = 3.25; p = 0.009) at a significantly higher frequency (t(9) = 2.32; p = 0.045) than those who did not. Qualitative analysis of 11 interviews revealed that microaggressions from supervisors included offensive and inappropriate comments, unequal treatment, cultural intolerance, and disparaging feedback. Overall, our data present evidence that students with minoritized racial and ethnic identities and students with disabilities are subjected to a variety of inequitable, exclusionary, and harmful interactions. As a result, we recommend that all supervisors receive training about recognizing and preventing microaggressions to ensure that students are provided with an equitable and inclusive training experience, regardless of identity.

Exploring the impact of microaggressions on the genetic counseling student-supervisor relationship: A qualitative study

Genetic counseling students with minoritized identities have reported experiencing microaggressions throughout graduate training, including from fieldwork supervisors. However, the impacts of these fieldwork experiences have not been thoroughly investigated. As supervision is known to be integral to genetic counseling students' skill development and success, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the impact of microaggressions on student training, with a specific focus on the supervisory working alliance. To achieve this goal, we conducted 11 interviews with recent genetic counseling graduates (2019-2021) who reported experiencing at least one microaggression from a fieldwork supervisor during graduate school training. Purposive sampling was used to prioritize interviewees who identified as underrepresented in the field due to race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, and/or disability status. All interviewees were initially recruited as part of a larger mixed-methods study investigating the frequency and types of microaggressions genetic counseling students experience from fieldwork supervisors. Interview questions explored the time period before a microaggression event, during the event, and after. Qualitative thematic analysis resulted in four themes, three of which are presented in this paper: (1) Impact of microaggressions, (2) Barriers to reporting microaggressions, and (3) Experience reporting microaggressions. Microaggressions from supervisors were shown to impair the psychological well-being of participants and hinder learning opportunities. These experiences led participants to question their choice of profession and avoid time in clinic, ultimately constraining the development of strong supervisory working alliances. Some participants did not report microaggressions due to fear of negative repercussions, and those who did described defensive responses which harmed students' relationships with program leadership. This study reveals opportunities for supervisors to improve student training conditions by centering students' feelings and experiences, increasing open and honest communication, and extending psychosocial tools to supervision. Additionally, graduate programs are encouraged to establish structured reporting protocols for students and evaluate current shortcomings in equity and inclusion initiatives.

Trainees' perceptions of course quality in postgraduate General Practice training in Ireland

BACKGROUND

Postgraduate General Practice (GP) training is structured around a formal curriculum set out by the training body. It also includes a "hidden curriculum" of experiential workplace learning in a heterogenous learning environment [1]. There is no formal national annual survey of GP trainees and their views in Ireland.

METHODS

The research aim was to evaluate what the trainee population think of their training environment, and to analyse the contributory factors. A mixed methods cross-sectional survey was distributed to all third- and fourth-year GP trainees (N = 404). The Manchester Clinical Placement Index was adapted for the study.

RESULTS

The response rate was 30.94% (N = 125). Questions 1 to 7 provided a description of the characteristics of the study population. The remainder of the questions focused on aspects which relate to constituents of the learning environment. The responses were broadly and convincingly positive and supportive of the good work being done in GP training and by trainers in Ireland today across both qualitative and quantitative findings. One notable exception was in the area of feedback where single handed fourth year practices were found to be underperforming.

CONCLUSIONS

The current research findings were broadly positive and supportive of the good work being done in GP training and by trainers in Ireland today. Further research will be needed to validate the study instrument and to further refine some aspects of its configuration. The implementation of such a survey on a regular basis may have merit as part of the quality assurance process in GP education alongside existing feedback structures [2].

Positioning, power and agency in postgraduate primary care supervision: a study of trainee narratives

BACKGROUND

Postgraduate supervision takes place within complex training environments, where experiences are shaped by the socio-cultural context and wider profession, and where tensions permeate. Bordin's working alliance-based model of supervision suggests that quality relationships encompass agreement on the goals and tasks of supervision, in the context of an emotional bond. However, as trainees and their supervisors navigate the demands of providing safe clinical care, alongside educational support, disagreement on expectations for supervision may emerge. By applying a critical lens, this research draws on positioning theory to explore General Practice trainees' experiences of supervision.

METHODS

In 2017-2019 a series of narrative interviews were undertaken with 13 General Practice trainees in the United Kingdom (UK). Participants were purposively sampled based on end-of-year performance, gender, training location and training status. Interviews were analysed using Brown and Gilligan's Listening Guide, which was adapted to incorporate an exploration of positioning, power and agency.

RESULTS

Trainees appeared to hold variable positions, such as 'insiders', 'outsiders', 'peers' and 'problem trainees'. Supervisors, through talk and the degree of access afforded, contributed to this positioning. Some trainees viewed their supervisors as brokers and guides as they navigated their training, whilst others were suspicious of the supervisor role. For trainees who raised concerns about their supervisor through formal channels, results were not often satisfactory. Others chose to navigate difficulty in supervision through informal means. This typically involved mastery of artefacts of training, such as the electronic appointment book or training portfolio.

CONCLUSIONS

This paper builds on Bordin's model of supervision to encourage greater clarity in supervisory discussions, exploring assumptions, and recognising the influences of environment, power, positioning, and agency. We have developed a Model of the Supervisory Alliance in Postgraduate GP Training (MSA-GP) to serve as a springboard for discussion for trainees and their supervisors.

A realist evaluation of a London general practitioner trainer course

Clinicians with teaching and training roles should be adequately trained and assessed. However, some debate exists as to what the nature of this training should be. Historically, a postgraduate certificate in education was a pre-requisite to becoming a GP trainer but this is changing with growing concern that such a pre-requisite might act as a deterrent to potential GP trainers. This research examines the impact of a scheme designed to provide an alternative, more practical and focused, pathway to becoming a GP trainer. We interviewed 26 course participants and stakeholders of the London GP Training Course (LGPTC), observed teaching sessions, and analysed course materials. We asked what elements of the course were and weren't effective, for whom, and under what circumstances. Here, we present a summary of our main findings - that GP trainers want to know practically, not theoretically, how to be a trainer; formative assessment boosts trainees' confidence in their own skills and abilities; short, practical GP training courses can help enhance the numbers of GP trainers; important questions remain about the role and value of educational theory in education faculty development.

You are in charge now: exploration of educational relationships between anaesthetic trainees and their supervising specialists

Background

Much of the education during anaesthesia training occurs in the workplace where trainees work under the close supervision of a more senior anaesthetist. Trainee anaesthetists are exposed to multiple supervisors with whom they form educational and supervisory relationships over the course of their training. Surprisingly little research has been conducted to explore the factors behind the development and maintenance of these relationships. This study explores the process of how education occurs in the workplace by examining the relationship from the perspective of both trainees and specialists.

Methods

This is an exploratory qualitative study. Eight trainee and 10 specialist anaesthetists participated in an individual semi-structured interview. The data were analysed thematically by each of the authors to generate themes.

Results

Six themes were identified in the analysis: (1) sizing up; (2) negotiated autonomy; (3) working closely together; (4) workplace practices; (5) education being valued; and (6) gender. A conceptual model to illustrate the relationships between the six themes was developed.

Conclusions

Supervisory relationships were viewed positively by participants despite impediments such as lack of continuity and busy clinical environments. But there were tensions, particularly in balancing trainee autonomy with patient safety. A nuanced 'sizing up' process, with negotiation of autonomy, was described by both supervisors and trainees. Our findings may support supervisory relationships to reach this ideal more effectively.

"What kind of doctor do you want to become?": Clinical supervisors' perceptions of their roles in the professional identity formation of General Practice residents

PURPOSE

Supporting the development of a professional identity is a primary objective in postgraduate education. Few empirical studies have explored professional identity formation (PIF) in residency, and little is known about supervisors' perceptions of their roles in residents' PIF. In this study, we sought to understand how supervisors perceive their roles in the PIF of General Practice (GP) residents.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Guided by principles of qualitative description, we conducted eight focus groups with 55 supervisors at four General Practice training institutes across the Netherlands. Informed by a conceptual framework of PIF, we performed a thematic analysis of focus group transcripts.

RESULTS

Three themes related to how GP supervisors described their roles in supporting residents' PIF: supervising with the desired goal of GP training in mind; role modeling and mentoring as key strategies to achieve that goal; and the value of developing bonds of trust to support the process.

CONCLUSIONS

To our knowledge, this study is the first to explore PIF in GP training from the perspective of clinical supervisors. The identified themes mirror the components of the therapeutic alliance between doctors and patients from a supervisor's perspective and highlight the pivotal roles of the supervisor in a resident's PIF.

Learning in a real-life escape room: an explorative study on the supervisory relationship in GP residency during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

The relationship between supervisors and residents plays a prominent role in the professional development of general practice (GP) residents. When disruptions occur in the normal course of healthcare, due to effects of e.g. war or emerging epidemics, we need to consider how this may affect the training of the next generation of general practitioners. As both supervisors and residents face new and unprecedented challenges that impact overall quality of the training. In this study, we examined the characteristics of the supervisory relationship in GP training during the disruptions early on during COVID-19. Our aim was to understand better how resident learning is affected in these circumstances, which is a first step in enabling supervisors, residents and faculty to anticipate disruptive situations better in the future.

METHODS

We conducted a qualitative case study with a constructivist approach. Seven GP residents at the start of their second placement, and their 10 supervisors participated in this study. Participants came from a University Medical Centre in the Netherlands. Semi-structured interviews were held between September 2020 and February 2021. The subjects were (1) interviewed individually about what they had learned regarding COVID-19, and (2) they were interviewed in supervisory pairs about how they had learned. Data were iteratively analysed; thematic analysis for (1) and template analysis in (2).

RESULTS

We identified notable changes in the supervisor-resident relationship attributable to COVID-19. Supervisors and residents were confronted with an all-encompassing uncertainty in the workplace, and disruptive changes in patient care and learning opportunities for residents. Supervisors and residents addressed these emerging workplace challenges through three types of collaboration, (1) getting the job done; (2) residents' learning; and (3) collective learning. Each type had a different focus and distinctive characteristics of the supervisory relationship.

CONCLUSION

With the outbreak of COVID-19, supervisors and residents were faced with disruptive uncertainty. In these circumstances, learning occurred not only between residents and their supervisors, but also with non-supervising GPs and assistants in collective learning. We propose to complement collective learning in the workplace with reflection between residents and supervisors at the training institution.

How progress evaluations are used in postgraduate education with longitudinal supervisor-trainee relationships: a mixed method study

The combination of measuring performance and giving feedback creates tension between formative and summative purposes of progress evaluations and can be challenging for supervisors. There are conflicting perspectives and evidence on the effects supervisor-trainee relationships have on assessing performance. The aim of this study was to learn how progress evaluations are used in postgraduate education with longitudinal supervisor-trainee relationships. Progress evaluations in a two-year community-pharmacy specialization program were studied with a mixed-method approach. An adapted version of the Canadian Medical Education Directives for Specialists (CanMEDS) framework was used. Validity of the performance evaluation scores of 342 trainees was analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA. Semi-structured interviews were held with fifteen supervisors to investigate their response processes, the utility of the progress evaluations, and the influence of supervisor-trainee relationships. Time and CanMEDS roles affected the three-monthly progress evaluation scores. Interviews revealed that supervisors varied in their response processes. They were more committed to stimulating development than to scoring actual performance. Progress evaluations were utilized to discuss and give feedback on trainee development and to add structure to the learning process. A positive supervisor-trainee relationship was seen as the foundation for feedback and supervisors preferred the roles of educator, mentor, and coach over the role of assessor. We found that progress evaluations are a good method for directing feedback in longitudinal supervisor-trainee relationships. The reliability of scoring performance was low. We recommend progress evaluations to be independent of formal assessments in order to minimize roles-conflicts of supervisors.

The interactional communication of feedback in clinical education: A focused ethnographic study in a hierarchical and collectivist culture

Background

The definition of feedback in clinical education has shifted from information delivery to student-teacher dialogue. However, based on Hofstede's theory, countries with large power distance or a robust social hierarchy and collectivistic cultural dimensions can reduce the feedback dialogue to a minimum. Indonesia is classified in this group, with some Asian, African, Mediterranean, and Latin American countries. This study explores the interactional communication of feedback during clinical education in a hierarchical and collectivistic context.

Methods

The focused ethnographic approach was applied to the clinical rotation program in an Indonesian teaching hospital. Data sources included observations of feedback episodes during workplace-based assessments followed by interviews with clinical supervisors and students. The data were compiled within 16 weeks of observation in 7 groups of clinical departments, consisting of 28 field notes, audiotaped interviews including nine focus group discussions of students (N = 42), and seven in-depth interviews with clinical supervisors. Data were analyzed through transcription, coding, categorization, and thematic analysis using the symbolic interactionist perspective.

Results

We identified four themes representing actual interactional communication and its 'meaning' or interpretation. The interactional communication in feedback is described in the first and second themes, such as 1) Students play the subordinate roles in a feedback dialogue; 2) The feedback content is focused on explanation and students' limitations. The third and fourth themes represent the clinical supervisors' and students' interpretation of their feedback experience, such as 3) Clinical supervisors' perspectives are mostly on dissatisfaction and teaching authority; 4) Students' acceptance of reality and negative affection.

Conclusions

This study shows that the social gap between students and clinical supervisors in Indonesia, and other countries in the same cultural classification, potentially causes communication barriers in the feedback dialogue. The adaptation of 'feedback as a dialogue' requires further effort and research to develop communication strategies in feedback that consider the national culture and context.

Teaching perspectives on the communication of difficult news of genetic conditions to medical students

Informing parents that their child has a diagnosis of Down syndrome (DS) is a common example of the delivery of unexpected or difficult news. Expectations and life planning will change, and if detected prenatally, discussions might include the option of pregnancy termination. Medical school curricula currently include training in breaking unexpected news; however, it is difficult to teach and assess. We use the perspectives of clinicians, educators, and a medical student who is the parent of a child with DS to frame a discussion on teaching, practicing, and assessing communication of difficult news in human genetics during medical school.

The influence of psychological safety on feedback conversations in general practice training

INTRODUCTION

Fostering trainee psychological safety is increasingly being recognised as necessary for effective feedback conversations. Emerging literature has explored psychological safety in peer learning, formal feedback and simulation debrief. Yet, the conditions required for psychologically safe feedback conversations in clinical contexts, and the subsequent effects on feedback, have not been explored.

METHODS

We conducted a qualitative study using interviews and longitudinal audio-diaries with 12 rural general practice trainees. The data were analysed using framework thematic analysis to identify factors across the data and as individual participant case studies with illustrative vignettes of dynamic interleaving of factors in judgements about feedback conversations.

FINDINGS

Findings identify the influence of intrapersonal (e.g. confidence and comfort to seek help), interpersonal (e.g. trust and relationship) and sociocultural factors (e.g. living and working in a rural community) that contribute to psychological safety in the context of everyday feedback conversations. Multiple factors interplayed in feedback conversations where registrars could feel safe and unsafe within one location and even at the one time.

DISCUSSION

Participants felt psychologically safe to engage their educators in sanctioned systems of conversation related to the immediate care of the patient and yet unsafe to engage in less patient related performance conversations despite the presence of multiple positive interpersonal factors. The concept of a safe 'container' (contained space) is perhaps idealised when it comes to feedback conversations about performance in the informal and emergent spaces of postgraduate training. More research is needed into understanding how clinical environments can sanction feedback conversations in clinical environments.

General practice residents’ perspectives on their professional identity formation: a qualitative study

Objectives

To move beyond professionalism as a measurable competency, medical educators have highlighted the importance of forming a professional identity, in which learners come to ‘think, act, and feel like physicians’. This socialisation process is known as professional identity formation (PIF). Few empirical studies on PIF in residency have been undertaken. None of these studies focused on PIF during the full length of GP training as well as the interplay of concurrent socialising factors. Understanding the socialisation process involved in the development of a resident’s professional identity and the roles of influencing factors and their change over time could add to a more purposeful approach to PIF. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the process of PIF during the full length of General Practice (GP) training and which factors residents perceive as influential.

Design

A qualitative descriptive study employing focus group interviews.

Setting

Four GP training institutes across the Netherlands.

Participants

Ninety-two GP residents in their final training year participated in 12 focus group interviews.

Results

Study findings indicated that identity formation occurs primarily in the workplace, as residents move from doing to becoming and negotiate perceived norms. A tapestry of interrelated influencing factors—most prominently clinical experiences, clinical supervisors and self-assessments—changed over time and were felt to exert their influence predominantly in the workplace.

Conclusions

This study provides deeper empirical insights into PIF during GP residency. Doing the work of a GP exerted a pivotal influence on residents’ shift from doing as a GP to thinking, acting and feeling like a GP, that is, becoming a GP. Clinical supervisors are of utmost importance as role models and coaches in creating an environment that supports residents’ PIF. Implications for practice include faculty development initiatives to help supervisors be aware of how they can perform their various roles across different PIF stages.

Validity evidence for summative performance evaluations in postgraduate community pharmacy education

INTRODUCTION

Workplace-based assessment of competencies is complex. In this study, the validity of summative performance evaluations (SPEs) made by supervisors in a two-year longitudinal supervisor-trainee relationship was investigated in a postgraduate community pharmacy specialization program in the Netherlands. The construct of competence was based on an adapted version of the 2005 Canadian Medical Education Directive for Specialists (CanMEDS) framework.

METHODS

The study had a case study design. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. The year 1 and year 2 SPE scores of 342 trainees were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and generalizability theory. Semi-structured interviews were held with 15 supervisors and the program director to analyze the inferences they made and the impact of SPE scores on the decision-making process.

RESULTS

A good model fit was found for the adapted CanMEDS based seven-factor construct. The reliability/precision of the SPE measurements could not be completely isolated, as every trainee was trained in one pharmacy and evaluated by one supervisor. Qualitative analysis revealed that supervisors varied in their standards for scoring competencies. Some supervisors were reluctant to fail trainees. The competency scores had little impact on the high-stakes decision made by the program director.

CONCLUSIONS

The adapted CanMEDS competency framework provided a valid structure to measure competence. The reliability/precision of SPE measurements could not be established and the SPE measurements provided limited input for the decision-making process. Indications of a shadow assessment system in the pharmacies need further investigation.

Supervisory dyads' communication and alignment regarding the use of workplace-based observations: a qualitative study in general practice residency

BACKGROUND

In medical residency, performance observations are considered an important strategy to monitor competence development, provide feedback and warrant patient safety. The aim of this study was to gain insight into whether and how supervisor-resident dyads build a working repertoire regarding the use of observations, and how they discuss and align goals and approaches to observation in particular.

METHODS

We used a qualitative, social constructivist approach to explore if and how supervisory dyads work towards alignment of goals and preferred approaches to performance observations. We conducted semi-structured interviews with supervisor-resident dyads, performing a template analysis of the data thus obtained.

RESULTS

The supervisory dyads did not frequently communicate about the use of observations, except at the start of training and unless they were triggered by internal or external factors. Their working repertoire regarding the use of observations seemed to be primarily driven by patient safety goals and institutional assessment requirements rather than by providing developmental feedback. Although intended as formative, the institutional test was perceived as summative by supervisors and residents, and led to teaching to the test rather than educating for purposes of competence development.

CONCLUSIONS

To unlock the full educational potential of performance observations, and to foster the development of an educational alliance, it is essential that supervisory dyads and the training institute communicate clearly about these observations and the role of assessment practices of- and for learning, in order to align their goals and respective approaches.

Using organisational role theory and job analysis to identify and define the roles of an effective Australian general practice supervisor

General practice (GP) supervisors - the key resource for training the future GP workforce - are often described as 'occupying a role' or enacting a series of roles. However, as much of the discourse uses a lay understanding of role, or merely hints at theory, a significant body of theoretical literature is underutilised. We reasoned that a more rigorous application of role theory might provide a conceptually clearer account of the GP-supervisor's job. To this end, we describe the use of organisational role theory and job analysis to identify and define the roles of the Australian GP-supervisor. Our search of the academic literature identified 64 role titles, which we condensed to an initial iteration of core roles, using inclusion and exclusion criteria. We analysed GP training organisations' documents to map embedded supervisory tasks against our list of roles to verify their presence, review our role titles and definitions, and look for additional roles that we may have missed. We used subject matter experts iteratively, to authenticate a final list of ten roles and their accompanying definitions, which can be used to support Australian GP-supervisors to perform effectively. We encourage those who support GP-supervisors in other countries and those who educate other health professionals in primary care settings to review the roles to judge whether they are transferable to their contexts.

Contribution of supervision to the development of advanced practitioners: a qualitative study of pharmacy learners' and supervisors' views

OBJECTIVE

To apply educational theory to explore how supervision can contribute to the development of advanced practitioners using the example of several postregistration primary care training pathways for pharmacy professionals (pharmacists and pharmacy technicians).

DESIGN

Qualitative semistructured telephone interviews applying Billet's theory of workplace pedagogy for interpretation.

SETTING

England.

PARTICIPANTS

Fifty-one learners and ten supervisors.

PRIMARY OUTCOME

Contribution of clinical and educational supervision to the development of advanced practitioners in primary care.

RESULTS

Findings were mapped against the components of Billet's theory to provide insights into the role of supervision in developing advanced practitioners. Key elements for effective supervision included supporting learners to identify their learning needs (educational supervision), guiding learners in everyday work activities (clinical supervision), and combination of regular prearranged face-to-face meetings and ad hoc contact when needed (clinical supervision), along with ongoing support as learners progressed through a learning pathway (educational supervision). Clinical supervisors supported learners in developing proficiency and confidence in translating and applying the knowledge and skills they were gaining into practice. Learners benefited from having clinical supervisors in the workplace with good understanding and experience of working in the setting, as well as receiving clinical supervision from different types of healthcare professionals. Educational supervisors supported learners to identify their learning needs and the requirements of the learning pathway, and then as an ongoing available source of support as they progressed through a pathway. Educational supervisors also filled in some of the gaps where there was a lack of local clinical supervision and in settings like community pharmacy where pharmacist learners did not have access to any clinical supervision.

CONCLUSIONS

This study drew out important elements which contributed to effective supervision of pharmacy advanced practitioners. Findings can inform the education and training of advanced practitioners from different professions to support healthcare workforce development in different healthcare settings.

Perceptions of postgraduate family medicine supervision at decentralised training sites, South Africa

Background

Specialist training in family medicine (FM) is growing rapidly in sub-Saharan Africa. The strong emphasis on workplace-based learning for speciality training makes it vital to gain in-depth insights into registrar supervision. Previous studies have explored aspects of supervision at decentralised sites in high-income countries, however, little is known about the benefits and constraints of decentralised postgraduate supervision in low- to middle-income countries, especially in Africa.

Aim

This study aimed to explore family physicians’ and registrars’ perceptions of the strengths and challenges of clinical and educational supervision across decentralised training sites.

Setting

The study was conducted across two provinces at five decentralised training sites affiliated with the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

Methods

This qualitative study involved semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 11 FPs and 11 registrars. The data were thematically analysed.

Results

Two of the four themes identified, ‘supervision is context-specific and supervisor-dependent’, and ‘the nature of engagement matters’, involved strengths and challenges. The other two, ‘supervision is not ideal’ and ‘the training environment is challenging’, focussed on challenges.

Conclusion

Supervisors and registrars described the postgraduate FM supervision as context-specific and supervisor-dependent. Supervisors displayed good clinical-teacher characteristics and supervisory relationships. However, several challenges, including registrars’ workload, resource shortages and a lack of standardisation across training sites, need to be addressed. Regular faculty development is essential for supervisors to be aware of relevant aspects of, and current trends in, postgraduate training.

Systematic Literature Review of Supply Chain Relationship Approaches amongst Business-to-Business Partners

Managing a business-to-business (B2B) supply chain relationship is an endless challenge. Many recent systematic literature review studies have discussed supply chain relationships from various perspectives. However, a comprehensive analysis, summarising the existing research, explicitly identified the implemented B2B supply chain relationships and found the effects of these relationships on supply chain performance remain lacking. To address the gap, this article presents a systematic literature review based on the PRISMA approach regarding the nature of the supply chain relationships between B2B partners and their effect on supply chain performance. Web of Science and Scopus were used in the compilation of studies published between 2000 and 2020. Findings indicate that the majority of B2B partners use a collaborative relationship approach and that the impacts are marked on the operational, financial, innovation, environmental, social and economic performance of their supply chain. This study seeks to contribute to the existing literature on B2B supply chain relationships by conducting a thorough and unbiased review of previous studies, drawing more general conclusions about the adopted supply chain relationships between B2B partners and providing insights for future research.

Institutional influences on the supervision of GP trainees: a documentary analysis

Introduction: The supervisory relationship is a key source of support for postgraduate GP trainees in the United Kingdom. This article focuses on the institutional influences on GP supervision through an analysis of training documentation.Methods: Training documents were identified through a search of key sources of institutional influence: General Medical Council, Royal College of General Practitioners, Health Education West Midlands and a local university's supervisor-training material. Searches were run from September 2016 until February 2019, and 60 documents identified. Content analysis was undertaken, and documents were considered based on audience, context, language and purpose.Results: Institutional expectations regarding the functions of trainees and supervisors were identified, and supervisory relationships appeared entangled within the broader contexts of the training practice, wider profession and political events. Collation of evidence, quality assurance and patient safety were prominent messages within the documents. The institutional hierarchy was accentuated through these messages, and through processes for trainees to raise concerns. Moving down this hierarchy, messages from within the profession changed in emphasis and content.Conclusion: With patient safety paramount, and high-quality training and supervision expected, the hierarchical system outlined by the documents is perhaps unsurprising. However, unintended messages may result: collation of evidence may be prized above quality and trainees may feel unable to raise legitimate concerns. Furthermore, conflicting messages from different institutions illustrate the tensions and complexities of GP supervision. For trainees and supervisors, these inconsistencies could lead to different perspectives and expectations as they interact within the supervisory relationship.

Learning Conversations with Trainees: An Undervalued but Useful EBM Learning Opportunity for Clinical Supervisors

Phenomenon: Supervisors and trainees can learn skills related to evidence-based medicine from each other in the workplace by collaborating and interacting, in this way benefiting from each other's strengths. This study explores supervisors' perceptions of how they currently learn evidence-based medicine by engaging in learning conversations with their trainee. Approach: Semi-structured, video-stimulated elicitation interviews were held with twenty-two Dutch and Belgian supervisors in general practice. Supervisors were shown fragments of their video-recorded learning conversations, allowing them to reflect. Recorded interviews were analyzed using a grounded theory-based approach.Findings: Supervisors did not immediately perceive workplace learning conversations as an opportunity to learn evidence-based medicine from their trainee. They mostly saw these conversations as a learning opportunity for trainees and a chance to maintain the quality of care within their practice. Nevertheless, during the interviews, supervisors did acknowledge that learning conversations help them to gain up-to-date knowledge and search skills or more awareness of their own knowledge or gaps in their knowledge. Not identified as a learning outcome was how to apply evidence-based medicine within a clinical practice by combining evidence with clinical expertise and the patient's preferences. Insights: Supervisors acknowledge that they learn elements of the three aspects of evidence-based medicine by having learning conversations with their trainee, but they currently see this as secondary to the trainee's learning process. Emphasizing opportunities for bidirectional learning could improve learning of evidence-based medicine during workplace learning conversations.

What about the supervisor? Clinical supervisors' role in student nurses' peer learning: A phenomenographic study

INTRODUCTION

Peer learning is increasingly used for healthcare students in the clinical setting. However, as peer learning between students involves students taking a teaching role, it is unclear what the supervisor's role then becomes. It is vital to determine the role of the supervisor in student peer learning to ensure high quality learning and patient safety.

METHODS

Semi-structured interviews were performed with 15 student nurse supervisors (nurses and assistant nurses) from two hospital wards that practice peer learning to investigate the different ways clinical supervisors view their role in students' peer learning. Transcribed data were coded and analysed using a phenomenographic approach.

RESULTS

Four hierarchical levels of the supervisor's understanding of their role in students' peer learning were identified: the teacher; the facilitator; the stimulator; and the team player. These categories represent an increasingly inclusive view of which people present on the ward play a role in enabling effective peer learning.

CONCLUSIONS

The various understandings of supervisor roles have implications for how supervision of peer learning could be implemented in the future.

Guidance for providing effective feedback in clinical supervision in postgraduate medical education: a systematic review

The primary aim was to systematically review the empirical evidence relating to models and guidance for providing effective feedback in clinical supervision occurring in postgraduate medical education contexts. A secondary aim was to identify the common and differentiating components of models and guidance for providing effective feedback in this context. A systematic review was conducted. Fifty-one records met the inclusion criteria, including 12 empirical studies. Empirical records meeting inclusion criteria were critically appraised. Qualitative content analysis was applied to the guidance on effective and ineffective feedback provision to identify key principles. A composite model was created synthesising the guidance identified for providing effective feedback. The evidence supporting specific models and guidance in postgraduate medical education was limited. However, there is evidence to support all of the commonly identified principles. In addition, a consensus about the principles of effective feedback in clinical supervision in postgraduate medical education was found.

A qualitative exploration of the lived experience of GP trainees failing to progress in training

Challenges facing general practice are multiple and extreme. Amongst them is the increasing difficulty of recruiting and retaining General Practitioners (GPs). GPs cite heavy workload, work-related stress, little family time and psychological ill-health as factors influencing their decisions to leave or reduce working hours. Analysis of the literature suggests that these factors, amongst others, are present in GP training and trainees have similar experiences. An in-depth understanding of the challenges trainees in difficulty face is lacking.Our research aim was to better understand the factors that trainees perceive contribute to their failure to progress in training. A qualitative approach was adopted using semi-structured interviews with GP trainees identified as failing to progress satisfactorily or failing the MRCGP examinations. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Thematic analysis was used to understand the unique experiences of GP trainees and find common themes.Twenty-three interview transcripts were analysed. Emergent themes were presented using a framework of three distinct categories to aid data organisation and allocating themes and sub-themes: professional factors, personal factors, and social factors. Difficulties with managing work-load, poor motivation, lack of family time and psychological ill-health were significant themes for many. This study supports the evidence that difficulties facing GPs take root in training. Failure to fully understand trainees' journeys and associated challenges reduces opportunities to provide bespoke packages of care and remediation that fully address their needs.

The supervisory relationship from an attachment perspective: Connections to burnout and sense of coherence in health professionals

Supervision is an essential part of the training and work environment of health professionals, especially of psychotherapists and clinical/health psychologists. However, although the supervisory process is always a relational one and may therefore be influenced by attachment dynamics, the importance of the supervisory relationship for the professional's performance and the well‐being of the supervisee has yet to be fully examined.

In this cross‐sectional observational study, the Experiences in Close Relationships‐Revised (ECR‐RD; avoidant and anxious attachment), the Supervisory Relationship Questionnaire (SRQ), the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC‐13) were analysed for 346 (81.8% female) health professionals.

Considering professional experience and number of supervision sessions as control variables, a better supervisory relationship negatively predicted burnout symptoms (β = −.31) but positively predicted sense of coherence (β = .31, both p < .01). The final model, including avoidant and anxious attachment as additional predictors, explained 30% of the variance in burnout symptoms and 41% of the variance in sense of coherence.

The results underline the importance of the supervisory relationship for the well‐being and the professional performance of health professionals. Interactions between the supervisory relationship and underlying attachment parameters should be further explored in future studies.

Toward Creating Equity in Awards Received During Medical School: Strategic Changes at One Institution

Membership in the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society (AΩA) is a widely recognized achievement valued by residency selection committees and employers. Yet research has shown selection favors students from racial/ethnic groups not underrepresented in medicine (not-UIM). The authors describe efforts to create equity in AΩA selection at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, through implementation of a holistic selection process, starting with the class of 2017, and present outcomes.Informed by the definition of holistic review, medical school leaders applied strategic changes grounded in evidence on inclusion, mitigating bias, and increasing opportunity throughout the AΩA selection process. These addressed increasing selection committee diversity, revising selection criteria and training committee members to review applications using a new instrument, broadening student eligibility and inviting applications, reviewing blinded applications, and making final selection decisions based on review and discussion of a rank-ordered list of students that equally weighted academic achievement and professional contributions.The authors compared AΩA eligibility and selection outcomes for 3 classes (2014-2016) during clerkship metric-driven selection, which prioritized academic achievement, and 3 classes (2017-2019) during holistic selection. During clerkship metric-driven selection, not-UIM students were 4 times more likely than UIM students to be eligible for AΩA (P = .001) and 3 times more likely to be selected (P = .001). During holistic selection, not-UIM students were 2 times more likely than UIM students to be eligible for AΩA (P = .001); not-UIM and UIM students were similarly likely to be selected (odds ratio = .7, P = .12)This new holistic selection process created equity in representation of UIM students among students selected for AΩA. Centered on equity pedagogy, which advocates dismantling structures that create inequity, this holistic selection process has implications for creating equity in awards selection during medical education.