I have always had an interest in clinical supervision. As a student at the University of Malta reading for a degree in physiotherapy, my dissertation evaluated the role of the clinical supervisor during placements for physiotherapy students. Looking back on my placement experience from a student point of view, while I have had good and dedicated role models, I have also experienced unenthusiastic supervisors, who lacked appropriate teaching and communication skills. A lack of preparation for the supervisor’s role impedes clinical education (Laitinen-Vaananen, Talvitie, & Lukka, 2007). Plack (2008) adds that a negative attitude and poor behaviour of the clinical educator is also a barrier to learning on clinical placement. As a student, I aspired
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Throughout my recent experience as a clinical educator on the neuromedical ward at Mater Dei Hospital, I applied various teaching strategies I found to be effective based on factors including my own experience, the needs of the particular student, evidence from literature, and on the experience of other health professionals carrying out the mentorship course. At the start of this clinical education experience, I asked the student what their goals and expectations were from this placement. I also asked them about their previous clinical placement experience. This would help me gauge the student’s experience and expected level of competency. In this case, it was their first placement as a final year student and as a result, had very limited prior clinical placement experience. While “there are mixed views in the literature regarding the preferred type of supervision” on clinical placement (Spence et al. 2001; Abbot at al. 2006; Clough 2003), I opted for the one-to-one model of supervision for this student. As stated by Hendersen et al. (2006) the one-to-one model of supervision is most suited for students having limited clinical …show more content…
This may have contributed to the student’s lack of enthusiasm at times. Simunovic et al. 2010 suggest a flexible schedule whereby the student learns to master a particular skill instead of mastering the skill at a specific time. I attempted to tackle this setback by asking other physiotherapists whether they had patients with a neurological condition in their ward for the student to observe, assess or treat. In an attempt to induce more interest, motivation, and to make up for a lack of real-life patients, I fostered discussion of the case studies, and made use of role-playing. Role-playing encourages problem solving skills and clinical reasoning while enabling the student to be made aware of any shortcomings (Flynn & Stack, 2006). Role-playing also ensures a controlled, safe environment for practice. The student initially lacked appropriate handling skills. Through role-playing, handling skills were practised prior to carrying out the skill on the actual patient. As discussed by Simunovic, at al., (2010), it is less overwhelming for the student to perform the skill on a model in a controlled environment until the right amount of confidence and competence is built up. Towards the end of the clinical placement it was observed that the student’s handling skills did improve and this was also noted in the final feedback
Throughout my recent experience as a clinical educator on the neuromedical ward at Mater Dei Hospital, I applied various teaching strategies I found to be effective based on factors including my own experience, the needs of the particular student, evidence from literature, and on the experience of other health professionals carrying out the mentorship course. At the start of this clinical education experience, I asked the student what their goals and expectations were from this placement. I also asked them about their previous clinical placement experience. This would help me gauge the student’s experience and expected level of competency. In this case, it was their first placement as a final year student and as a result, had very limited prior clinical placement experience. While “there are mixed views in the literature regarding the preferred type of supervision” on clinical placement (Spence et al. 2001; Abbot at al. 2006; Clough 2003), I opted for the one-to-one model of supervision for this student. As stated by Hendersen et al. (2006) the one-to-one model of supervision is most suited for students having limited clinical …show more content…
This may have contributed to the student’s lack of enthusiasm at times. Simunovic et al. 2010 suggest a flexible schedule whereby the student learns to master a particular skill instead of mastering the skill at a specific time. I attempted to tackle this setback by asking other physiotherapists whether they had patients with a neurological condition in their ward for the student to observe, assess or treat. In an attempt to induce more interest, motivation, and to make up for a lack of real-life patients, I fostered discussion of the case studies, and made use of role-playing. Role-playing encourages problem solving skills and clinical reasoning while enabling the student to be made aware of any shortcomings (Flynn & Stack, 2006). Role-playing also ensures a controlled, safe environment for practice. The student initially lacked appropriate handling skills. Through role-playing, handling skills were practised prior to carrying out the skill on the actual patient. As discussed by Simunovic, at al., (2010), it is less overwhelming for the student to perform the skill on a model in a controlled environment until the right amount of confidence and competence is built up. Towards the end of the clinical placement it was observed that the student’s handling skills did improve and this was also noted in the final feedback