Navigating the complexities of supervising challenging students in clinical education: perspectives of physiotherapy educators and departmental managers.

Background: Physiotherapy clinical educators report that supervising students who are underperforming, struggling and/or challenging is one of the most difficult aspects of their role. These situations impact the individual educator and may also have negative effects on other students, staff, and the workplace.

Objective: The aim of this project was to explore the attitudes and opinions of physiotherapy clinical educators and departmental managers regarding the impact of supervising challenging students and document their needs for support/training.

Methods: This study was a cross-sectional design employing qualitative and quantitative methods of data analysis. Participants were Australian physiotherapy clinical educators and departmental managers.

Results: There were 209 completed surveys returned (educators n = 166, managers n = 43), Overall response rate was 60%. Most respondents indicated that they had supervised (87% of educators) or worked with (93% of managers), a student they perceived to be challenging. Supervising challenging students often had a negative impact on physiotherapy clinical educators and their workplaces. It was perceived by both educators and departmental managers that these difficult situations resulted in an increased workload, additional stress, and often adversely influenced willingness to engage in further student clinical education. A need for more training and face-to-face support to assist in the management of challenging student situations was widely reported and particularly highlighted by novice educators.

Conclusion: Challenging students have a considerable impact on physiotherapy clinical educators and their workplace. Better pre-placement student preparation and improved support and training are vital to enhance educator job satisfaction, contribute to a positive workplace culture around student supervision and maintain capacity to provide high-quality physiotherapy clinical placements.