Characteristics of perceived effective telesupervision practices: A case study of supervisees and supervisors

Priya Martin; Lucylynn Lizarondo; Saravana Kumar; Esther Jie Tian; Srinivas Kondalsamy-Chennakesavan; Geoff Argus

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0288314

Characteristics of perceived effective telesupervision practices: A case study of supervisees and supervisors

PLoS One. 2023 Jul 11;18(7):e0288314. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0288314. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Priya Martin^{1

2}, Lucylynn Lizarondo³, Saravana Kumar⁴, Esther Jie Tian⁴, Srinivas Kondalsamy-Chennakesavan¹, Geoff Argus^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Medicine, Rural Clinical School, The University of Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia.
² Darling Downs Health, Baillie Henderson Hospital, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia.
³ JBI, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
⁴ Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
⁵ Southern Queensland Rural Health, The University of Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia.
⁶ School of Psychology and Wellbeing, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia.

Abstract

Introduction: Many healthcare workers have switched from face-to-face clinical supervision to telesupervision since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the rise in prevalence of telesupervision and continuing remote working arrangements, telesupervision is no longer only limited to rural areas. As this remains an under-investigated area, this study aimed to explore supervisor and supervisee first hand experiences of effective telesupervision.

Methods: A case study approach combining in-depth interviews of supervisors and supervisees, and document analysis of supervision documentation was used. De-identified interview data were analysed through a reflective thematic analysis approach.

Results: Three supervisor-supervisee pairs from occupational therapy and physiotherapy provided data. Data analysis resulted in the development of four themes: Benefits vs limitations and risks, not often a solo endeavour, importance of face-to-face contact, and characteristics of effective telesupervision.

Discussion: Findings of this study have confirmed that telesupervision is suited to supervisees and supervisors with specific characteristics, who can navigate the risks and limitations of this mode of clinical supervision. Healthcare organisations can ensure availability of evidence-informed training on effective telesupervision practices, as well as investigate the role of blended supervision models to mitigate some risks of telesupervision. Further studies could investigate the effectiveness of utilising additional professional support strategies that complement telesupervision, including in nursing and medicine, and ineffective telesupervision practices.

Copyright: © 2023 Martin et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / epidemiology
Data Analysis
Document Analysis
Documentation
Humans
Pandemics / prevention & control

Grants and funding

Declaration of funding This manuscript is a part of Dr Priya Martin's postdoctoral fellowship which was funded through an Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellowship Grant by the Queensland Government Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport; and co-funded by Darling Downs Health, Southern Queensland Rural Health, the University of Queensland Rural Clinical School, and the University of South Australia. Grant number - AQIRF115-2020-CV. The funder (i.e., Queensland Government Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport) had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.