Can clinical supervision sustain our workforce in the current healthcare landscape? Findings from a Queensland study of allied health professionals.

Objective: Clinical supervision is widely recognised as a mechanism for providing professional support, professional development and clinical governance for healthcare workers. There have been limited studies about the effectiveness of clinical supervision for allied health and minimal studies conducted within the Australian health context. The aim of the present study was to identify whether clinical supervision was perceived to be effective by allied health professionals and to identify components that contributed to effectiveness. Participants completed an anonymous online questionnaire, administered through the health service's intranet.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with community allied health workers (n = 82) 8 months after implementation of structured clinical supervision. Demographic data (age, gender), work-related history (profession employment level, years of experience), and supervision practice (number and length of supervision sessions) were collected through an online survey. The outcome measure, clinical supervision effectiveness, was operationalised using the Manchester Clinical Supervision Scale-26 (MCSS-26). Data were analysed with Pearson correlation (r) and independent sample t-tests (t) with significance set at 0.05 (ie the probability of significant difference set at P < 0.05).

Results: The length of the supervision sessions (r(s) ≥ 0.44), the number of sessions (r(s) ≥ 0.35) and the total period supervision had been received (r(s) ≥ 0.42) were all significantly positively correlated with the MCSS-26 domains of clinical supervision effectiveness. Three individual variables, namely 'receiving clinical supervision', 'having some choice in the allocation of clinical supervisor' and 'having a completed clinical supervision agreement', were also significantly associated with higher total MCSS-26 scores (P(s) < 0.014).

Conclusion: The results of the study demonstrate that when clinical supervision uses best practice principles, it can provide professional support for allied health workers, even during times of rapid organisational change.