Supervision
Focus on
Be the best you can be , throughout your whole career
How is RCOT using the supervision audit data to support your development ? Here , members of the team share the reasons behind the audit and examples of projects that will use audit data to help build a toolkit of resources to support everyone to engage in effective supervision .
O
ver the past few months , RCOT has been encouraging people to complete a supervision audit . The audit aims to establish the extent to which members across the occupational therapy workforce experience key characteristics of effective supervision ( HCPC 2021 ). But what will RCOT do with the data we provide ?
Auditing the key characteristics of effective supervision
Supervision is a key professional activity . Throughout our careers , we ’ re all likely to receive and provide supervision in some format . Benefits can be wide reaching and include better outcomes for those who use our services , improved job satisfaction and retention , positive impact on our wellbeing and support for our continuing professional development ( Rothwell 2021 ).
The Health and Care Professions Council ( HCPC ) lays out its expectations of registrants in relation to supervision within its Standards of Proficiency ( HCPC 2013 ).
Although HCPC acknowledges the important role it plays , it doesn ’ t have specific requirements about how often we should receive supervision or the format it should take .
In 2015 , RCOT produced supervision guidance for occupational therapists and their managers . As Julia Roberts , RCOT Quality Programme
Manager explains , it is now time to review this guidance .
‘ Although our current supervision guidance provides useful information about factors to consider when providing supervision , we ’ re very aware of the various developments across the health and care landscape since its publication ,’ she says .
‘ We recognise the value of effective supervision and the range of benefits for our members and those who access occupational therapy services , so we want to develop resources that are contemporary , sustainable and needs led across our diverse workforce .
‘ HCPC published a suite of resources to guide registrants to make effective use of supervision . So , it ’ s our responsibility as a professional body to provide profession specific support to compliment these resources .
‘ It has used an evidence-based approach to identify the key characteristics of effective supervision . We thought this was a good place to start . By establishing the extent to which people experience these key characteristics , will help us to identify where we might need to provide support to help people engage in supervision which meets their needs .
‘ We can combine audit data with data from our recently launched workforce survey to gain further insights into the impact of supervision , for example in relation to retention .’
20 OTnews November 2022