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Members of an external reference group have used their expertise to help develop the audit tool and will support the interpretation of the audit data to identify priority needs and resources .
Venus Madden , occupational therapist and Clinical Fellow to the Chief Allied Health Professions Officer for NHS England is a member of the supervision project external reference group .
‘ I got involved in the supervision project external reference group because it ’ s a great opportunity to help influence and develop the required infrastructure and guidelines to ensure supervision is in place and is effective , as outlined in NHS People Plan and NHS Long Term Plan .
‘ The pandemic has impacted our workforce significantly and transformed our practices . Supporting effective supervision is the primary way to support staff ’ s wellbeing and development to meet the unprecedented changes facing the NHS .
‘ Research that I carried out on behalf of a trust investigated the effectiveness of supervision for allied health professions ( AHP ) staff . It concluded that further research is needed to investigate correlations between effective supervision and patient outcomes or the quality of care for those who use our services .’
Two current projects will be using audit data to provide insight into the supervision experiences and needs of specific groups .
53 %
think that supervision with their line manager improves outcomes for those they provide a service to
Supporting early career occupational therapists
Audit responses from newly qualified occupational therapists will give some insight into the supervision experiences of those in the early stages of their career .
RCOT has brought together a project group of newly qualified occupational therapists , their allies and those with experience of supporting their development . The group is closely monitoring the data to understand the needs of early career occupational therapists and those who support them and will identify resources required to meet these needs .
Dr Jonathan Crisp , RCOT Professional Development Officer , is leading this project , and says : ‘ As an early career occupational therapist myself , I know how much we still have to learn after qualifying and how much we rely on supervision to guide us through this process to become confident and independent clinicians .
‘ When supervision is available and used effectively , it ’ s such a valuable resource , but that ’ s not everybody ’ s experience .’
Supervision can take so many different forms and its effects go way beyond clinical practice . It affects wellbeing , staff retention , learning and career decisions . To be able to develop the right resources , we need to hear from more early career occupational therapists about their supervision experience .
Jonathan adds : ‘ Only 3 % of those who have completed the audit so far have been registered with HCPC for two years or less ; 75 % have been registered for 10 years or more . Let ’ s not miss this chance , as occupational therapists early in our careers , to tell our story about what ’ s working and what we need .
‘ That ’ s feedback the project group can use to develop the right resources to support us to engage in effective supervision , whatever that looks like .’
Inclusive engagement in career development opportunities
Dr Nikki Daniels , RCOT Professional Development Manager , says : ‘ All occupational therapists , irrespective of their background or their
75 %
of those completing the audit have been registered with HCPC for 10 years or more
November 2022 OTnews 21