supervision

HEALTH EDUCATION &TRAINING INSTITUTE

SupervisionA strength based addition to clinical supervision

John Merrick, Director Allied Health, Health Education and Training Institute


Can occur in a myriad of settings

One on one, face to face

Small group setting

Or in a one to one setting where one guy is decidedly underdressed.

Or at the bedside…..


Age of the NSW Health Workforce

Nursing and Midwifery. 48 Urban, Rural 54 (Baby boomers and Generation X)

Medical. Registrar, 33-35. Generation XMedical specialists, 53Allied Health. 40.


Does the age of the workforce present challenges in the supervision process?

Does the age of the Health professional affect the communication between the supervisor and supervisee?

Can we incorporate structure within the supervision process to address the potential discrepancies between the Generations within Health?

Can we in fact turn the potential difficulties in to something positive?


“The Traditional Generation” (1925–1945) Shaped by the Great Depression and World War II: • Is conservative and rule-oriented (Eisner, 2005) • Prefers consistent top-down management and long-term

employment (Eisner, 2005; Lowe, Levitt, and Wilson, 2008) • Is loyal and self-sacrificing (Lowe, Levitt, and Wilson,

2008) • Value family and patriotism (Lowe, Levitt, and Wilson,

2008) • Is respectful of authority and extremely loyal to

employers (Eisner, 2005) • Tends to “do what is right” (Eisner, 2005)


“The Baby-Boom Generation” (1946–1964) Shaped by prosperity, 1960s youth culture, and the Vietnam War: • Remains loyal to an organization (Hart, 2006) • Is idealistic, optimistic, and driven (Loomis, 2000) • Consists of diligent workers (Yu and Miller, 2003) • Values organizational power (McCrindle and Hooper, 2006). • Focuses on consensus-building (Hart, 2006) • Is filled with excellent mentors (Kupperschmidt, 2000) • Is a competitive group and advocates change and expansion

(Eisner, 2005) • Is ruthless in pursuit of material success (Eisner, 2005) • Tends to micro-manage others (Eisner, 2005) • Places work at the center of its members’ lives (Eisner, 2005)


“Generation X” (1964–1980) Shaped by dual-career and single-parent households, and by

organizational change due to globalization and technology: • Is cynical, alienated, and depressed (Strauss and Howe, 1991) • Is pessimistic and individualistic (Kupperschmidt, 2000) • Is comfortable with change and diversity, but rarely remains

loyal to a company (Hart, 2006) • Is independent and self-sufficient (Hart, 2006) • Is likely to search for more challenging work and better pay

(Loomis, 2000) • Bends the rules to get things done (Eisner, 2005) • Is skeptical of authority (Hart, 2006) • Values personal and professional lives equally (Eisner, 2005)


“Generation Y” (1981–1999) Shaped by the personal computer, economic expansion, and the uncertainty

following the 9/11 attacks: • Is comfortable with change and views job security as unimportant (Hart,

2006) • Is self-centered and narcissistic (Twenge, Konrath, Foster, Campbell and Bushman, 2008) • Is alienated, cynical, individualistic, and self-serving (Twenge, Zhang, and Im,

2004) • Is inherently social (Hart, 2006) • Values input into decisions and actions (McCrindle and Hooper, 2006) • Has high expectations, high need for praise, and difficulty with criticism; demands creative opportunities; job-hops; abhors ethics scandals; prefers

casual dress (Twenge and Campbell, 2008) • Is extremely technology-literate (Lowe, Levitt, and Wilson, 2008) • Has a strong morality and patriotism (Lowe, Levitt, and Wilson, 2008) • Favors inclusive management (Lowe, Levitt, and Wilson, 2008)


Some of the stereotypes focus on negatives, narcissism, selfishness, too individualistic.

We need to incorporate approaches within the supervisory process to accommodate generational differences.

Focus on strengths of the supervisor and the supervisee


Function Educational(Formative) Educational development of each worker in a manner that enhances their full potential. Providing knowledge and skills Developing self-awareness Reflecting on practice Integrating theory into practice Facilitating professional reasoning. Supportive (Restorative) The maintenance of harmonious working relationships with a focus on morale

and job satisfaction. Dealing with job-related stress Sustaining worker morale Developing of a sense of professional self-worth. Administrative (Normative) The promotion and maintenance of good standards of work, including ethical

practice, accountability measures and adhering to policies of administration. Clarification of roles and responsibilities Work load management Review and assessment of work Addressing organisation and practice issues.


Identifying strengths.Questions posed. “What would you say are your

strengths? What have you been successful in? What have you been praised for in the past? Questions may vary. Work out what questions elicit the best responses.

Establish a list of the strengths outlined in the answers given. Ensure these are documented clearly.

Both supervisor and supervisee respond to these questions


Establish whether some of these strengths can be incorporated within the supervisory process.

An example.Mary is an 24 year old Occupational Therapist

second year graduate working in a Hospital. Her supervisor is Jane, a 54 year old Occupational Therapist with many years of experience in the Public Sector. Mary has recently arrived at the Hospital and is working within the OT Department. In the first Clinical Supervision session, Jane has decided she might try a strength based focus in the first session.


Jane discovers in the first session that Mary is a whizz on the computer. She has loved computers since she was a child and uses a variety of programs to great effect. Rather than stereotypically thinking that all Gen Y are all technologically brilliant, Jane wants to incorporate this strength into the clinical supervision process. Together, they decide to have a shared file on the network drive at the hospital that can contain all relevant documentation pertaining to the sessions they have. Mary also suggests that she can present some of her work in a different format using a software package.


Jane has identified this strength within Mary and has used Mary’s interest and strength to further develop and maintain her interest in the clinical supervision process.

Mary identifies one of Jane’s strengths as her manner in which she seems to make patients and their families so at ease. Mary wants to learn more of this skill from Jane during the supervision sessions.

Both parties have identified a series of strengths and can use them to progress both relationship and their skillset.


The strength based approach relies on an agenda being set each time there is a session. The strength based approach should appear as a regular agenda item.

In the example, Jane begins to develop an increased understanding of technology, and Mary uses the technology to both impart knowledge she has gained in a manner that she finds comfortable. In the same manner, Mary speaks to Jane about how to make patients and families feel more at ease during the clinical work


This addition to the clinical supervision process increases the focus on individual strengths rather than focussing on negative stereotypes of generational differences.

Individual skills are then utilised to present information in a different fashion, skills are identified and nurtured with increased specificity..


Many thanks

supervision

Documents

health professional

expansion eisner

employment eisner

right eisner

employers eisner

director allied health

nsw health workforcenursing

ruleoriented eisner