Supervision is a vital part of registrar training and support. To help foster and develop quality ongoing supervision it is important that supervisors engage in regular continuing professional development that focuses on supervision.
While supervisors are free and encouraged to seek out suitable CPD wherever they can find it, the College will collate CPD opportunities here to help direct supervisors to quality resources.
These resources will be updated with new and relevant opportunities. If you have any resources you wish to share please email dpd@rnzcuc.org.nz
Peer review
There is a Supervisor Peer Review group that meets 6 times a year, held via Zoom, to which all approved supervisors will be invited. This will be an opportunity to meet with peers and share questions and answers pertaining to supervision. The DPD will also share papers and the latest resources for discussion and supervisors will be encouraged to present papers and learnings they have discovered. All supervisors should attend one session every triennium.
If you are a supervisor and are not receiving these invitations, email dpd@rnzcuc.org.nz
Peer Group Videos
When we have presentations at peer group, recordings will be available here for all to see.
Considering culture when giving feedback – presented by Dr Rain Lamdin
Connect Communications Suite
Connect Communications is a medical communications company that the College uses for communication skills training for registrars and for supervision training. They have a suite of videos relevant to supervision that are available for all supervisors to review.
Details on how to access these videos are in the link above.
Courses
Auckland University offers a postgraduate paper in clinical supervision – ClinED 713.
This can be done as a standalone, or as part of other postgraduate certificates/diplomas, and is an excellent paper.
The New Zealand Coaching and Mentoring Centre offers a Clinical Supervision course for health professionals. They also offer courses in mentoring and coaching.
Podcasts
The Medical Protection Society NZ have a Reducing Risk podcast. Episode 29 is titled Supervising other doctors: Guidance on what to do when things go pear-shaped. It is 43 minutes long and worth a listen
Journal Papers
A paper from the NZ Medical Journal, this is relevant to all NZ-based supervisors. It covers the roles of being a good supervisor and how to maximise the learning opportunities for your registrars.
Rudland J, Bagg W, Child S, de Beer W, Hazell W, Poole P, Sheehan D, Wilkinson TJ. Maximising learning through effective supervision. N Z Med J. 2010 Feb 19;123(1309):117-26. PMID: 20213957.
Maximising learning through effective supervision – PubMed (nih.gov)
This paper offers twelve tips to aid in giving quality feedback. Feedback to registrars is a vital part of the supervisor process and can be difficult, so these 12 tips are worth utilising.
Subha Ramani & Sharon K. Krackov (2012) Twelve tips for giving feedback effectively in the clinical environment, Medical Teacher, 34:10, 787-791, DOI: 10.3109/0142159X.2012.684916
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22730899/
Another paper that covers giving feedback in a clinical setting.
Burgess A, van Diggele C, Roberts C, Mellis C. Feedback in the clinical setting. BMC Med Educ. 2020 Dec 3;20(Suppl 2):460. doi: 10.1186/s12909-020-02280-5. PMID: 33272265; PMCID: PMC7712594.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7712594/
A good paper that explores identifying barriers to effective clinical supervision and looks at ways to enable effective supervision to happen.
Rothwell C, Kehoe A, Farook SF, Illing J. Enablers and barriers to effective clinical supervision in the workplace: a rapid evidence review. BMJ Open. 2021 Sep 28;11(9):e052929. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-052929. PMID: 34588261; PMCID: PMC8479981.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8479981/
This qualitative study of GP supervisors in Australia is worth reading. It discusses building a welcoming environment for supervision and modelling peer-to-peer support within your clinic. It highlights a technique of “scripting” to ensure registrars do not lose face when a supervisor reviews a patient alongside the registrar.
Sturman N, Parker M, Jorm C. Clinical supervision in general practice training: the interweaving of supervisor, trainee and patient entrustment with clinical oversight, patient safety and trainee learning. Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract. 2021 Mar;26(1):297-311. doi: 10.1007/s10459-020-09986-7. Epub 2020 Aug 24. PMID: 32833138.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32833138/
This paper looks at the issue of being a micromanaging supervisor. It discusses why this can be harmful and how to recognise it in yourself as a supervisor. It offers suggested solutions to the problem for the supervisor, trainee and organisation to consider.
Mookerjee A, Li B, Arora B, Surapaneni R, Rajput V, Van de Ridder M. Micromanagement During Clinical Supervision: Solutions to the Challenges. Cureus. 2022 Mar 26;14(3):e23523. doi: 10.7759/cureus.23523. PMID: 35495010; PMCID: PMC9038605.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9038605/
This paper was discussed at the August 2024 Peer Group and highlights how demographic differences can affect communication styles and this can impact how feedback is delivered and received.
Lee KB, Vaishnavi SN, Lau SK, Andriole DA, Jeffe DB. Cultural competency in medical education: demographic differences associated with medical student communication styles and clinical clerkship feedback. J Natl Med Assoc. 2009 Feb;101(2):116-26. doi: 10.1016/s0027-9684(15)30823-3. PMID: 19378627.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19378627/
This paper explores a model for giving and receiving feedback called Feedback Literacy and specifically looks at feedback in the medical setting. It is an interesting paper to read as it discusses some important considerations when giving feedback. It is also an important paper for registrars to read as it discusses how they can consider feedback when it is received. It is open access.
Spooner M, Pawlikowska T. Feedback literacy as a model to explore how learners respond to feedback. Br J Hosp Med (Lond). 2023 Jul 2;84(7):1-9. doi: 10.12968/hmed.2022.0446. Epub 2023 Jul 18. PMID: 37490436.