The influence of clinical supervision and its potential for enhancing patient safety - Undergraduate nursing students’ views

Objective: The clinical learning environment and supervision are crucial for the development of a professional stance and identity as well as for ensuring patient safety. This study aims to investigate the influence of clinical supervision provided to nursing students by nurse facilitators in hospital settings. An additional objective was to report the relationship between clinical supervision and patient safety.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the sample consisted of 66 nursing students recruited after their clinical placement during the second year of the bachelor programme. Data were collected by means of questionnaires and analysed using a descriptive and explorative method.Results: Regarding the impact of clinical supervision, a moderately significant relationship was found between the three factors “Increased patient participation and problem solving”, “User involvement in terms of patient integrity” (r = 0.48) and “Enabling patient and family member participation” (r = 0.42) and the following Effects of Supervision Scale (ESS) factors; “Interpersonal skills” (r = 0.47), “Professional skills” (r = 0.50) and “Communication skills” (r = 0.59). There was also a moderately significant relationship between the factors “Trust/Rapport” and “Influence of supervision” for the item “Supportive yet challenging relationships” (r = 0.60). In addition, there was a strong correlation between the factors “Supervision advice/support issues” and “Influence of supervision” (r = 0.73). The former correlated weakly with “User involvement”, i.e., maintaining integrity (r =0.33). Conclusions: The nursing students reported increased awareness and a strong improvement related to interpersonal, professional and communication skills. These findings emphasize the potential of clinical supervision to contribute to personal growth and a caring attitude towards patients, thereby strengthening the development of skills essential for patient safety care. A practical implication of the findings is that nursing students’ clinical placement and clinical supervision can be better utilized to achieve the overall aim of nursing education, i.e., ensuring patient safety