Overview
Clinical supervision is a core component of professional support for contemporary nursing and midwifery practice. There is substantial evidence indicating its positive influence on professional development, health, and wellbeing of supervisees. The health and wellbeing of nurses and midwives is vital for effective recruitment, retention, and the sustainability of a healthy workforce. Moreover, there is emerging evidence that clinical supervision of healthcare staff positively impacts outcomes for service users.
This position statement was developed in collaboration with the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses and the Australian College of Midwives. We jointly advocate for clinical supervision for all nurses and midwives, regardless of their specific roles, practice areas, or years of experience.
Key recommendations
ACN advocates for:
- Clinical supervision is embedded in all nursing and midwifery undergraduate and vocational education as a component of professional practice.
- All nurses and midwives are fully orientated to clinical supervision upon entry to their relevant workforce and have access to clinical supervision that meets their individual needs.
- All clinical supervisors of individuals and groups undertake specific educational preparation for this role and engage in their own regular clinical supervision.
- The nursing and midwifery professional bodies advocate for a national standard for the educational preparation of clinical supervisors.
- All employers of nurses and midwives positively support and actively promote quality clinical supervision through organisational policies, procedures and workplace culture.
- Regular systematic evaluations of the quality and efficacy of clinical supervision arrangements are undertaken at the local service level, taking care not to compromise the integrity of confidentiality agreements between supervisors and supervisees.
- The nursing and midwifery professional bodies advocate for investment in robust clinical supervision programs throughout the health and aged care systems to support implementation and sustainability.
- The nursing and midwifery professional bodies advocate for investment in outcomes-related research to strengthen the clinical supervision evidence base and for continuous improvement.
- The nursing and midwifery professional bodies collaborate with industrial associations to incorporate clinical supervision within enterprise bargaining agreements.
- The nursing and midwifery professional bodies take an active role in interdisciplinary collaboration and advocacy for clinical supervision.
