Premium
Factors influencing the perceived quality of clinical supervision of occupational therapists in a large Australian state
Author(s) -
Martin Priya,
Kumar Saravana,
Lizarondo Lucylynn,
Tyack Zephanie
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
australian occupational therapy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.595
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1440-1630
pISSN - 0045-0766
DOI - 10.1111/1440-1630.12314
Subject(s) - supervisor , quality (philosophy) , clinical governance , clinical supervision , medicine , service delivery framework , mental health , clinical practice , scale (ratio) , occupational therapy , nursing , service (business) , psychology , health care , physical therapy , psychiatry , philosophy , economy , physics , epistemology , quantum mechanics , political science , law , economics , economic growth
Background/aim Clinical supervision is important for effective health service delivery, professional development and practice. Despite its importance there is a lack of evidence regarding the factors that improve its quality. This study aimed to investigate the factors that influence the quality of clinical supervision of occupational therapists employed in a large public sector health service covering mental health, paediatrics, adult physical and other practice areas. Methods A mixed method, sequential explanatory study design was used consisting of two phases. This article reports the quantitative phase (Phase One) which involved administration of the Manchester Clinical Supervision Scale ( MCSS ‐26) to 207 occupational therapists. Results Frequency of supervision sessions, choice of supervisor and the type of supervision were found to be the predictor variables with a positive and significant influence on the quality of clinical supervision. Factors such as age, length of supervision and the area of practice were found to be the predictor variables with a negative and significant influence on the quality of clinical supervision. Conclusion Factors that influence the perceived quality of clinical supervision among occupational therapists have been identified. High quality clinical supervision is an important component of clinical governance and has been shown to be beneficial to practitioners, patients and the organisation. Information on factors that make clinical supervision effective identified in this study can be added to existing supervision training and practices to improve the quality of clinical supervision.