Profile of an Allied Health Clinical Supervision Workforce: Results From a Nationally Representative Australian Practice-Based Research Network

Introduction

Supervision of clinical learners by appropriately qualified and experienced health professionals is paramount to development of the health workforce. There is extensive literature on the qualities and attributes of effective clinical supervisors however we know little about the clinical practice characteristics of our supervison workforces. Our work explores these charateristics in an Australian allied health supervision context.

Methods

Australian osteopaths participating in the professions’ practice-based research network were invited to complete a 27-item practice questionnaire. Participants were asked to indicate if they had participated in clinical supervision in the 12 months prior to data collection. Unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios were calculated to identity characteristics associated with involvement in clinical supervision.

Results

15.1% of respondents indicated being involved in clinical supervision. These practitioners were more likely to be female, involved in university teaching, volunteering as an osteopath, and possess an additional qualification beyond their primary pre-professional degree, compared to their non-supervising counterparts.

Conclusions

Our work highlights a number of characteristics associated with involvement in clinical supervision. Further research is required to explore why females were more likely to participate in clinical supervision, and potentially explore the motivations for volunteering and its association with clinical supervision.