Professional supervision
Mental Health Nursing and its Future: A Discussion Framework (Ministry of Health 2006) prioritises professional supervision as one of its nine recommendations and goes on to suggest that district health boards (DHBs) and non-government organisations (NGOs) implement three key actions to ensure professional supervision takes place, and has a national approach.
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A well researched and nationally-agreed model of supervision training for supervisors and supervisees. The model(s) will allow for supervision to be delivered individually, in a group or as peer supervision.
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All nurses engaged in supervision will have a nationally standardised supervision contract.
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There will be a commitment from employers that supervision takes place during work hours and, as a minimum requirement, occurs monthly.
On this page
About the project
This project will occur in six phases.
Phase 1
Te Pou contracted the Centre for Mental Health Research (CMHR) University of Auckland to scope what current approaches are in existence related to professional supervision in mental health services within DHBs and NGOs. This was completed at the end of June 2008 and the report can now be downloaded in PDF format here: Professional Supervision for Mental Health and Addiction Nurses (available only as electronic version).
Based on the research and key stakeholder consultation, Te Pou has developed six recommendations that will inform further workforce development planning. Te Pou is mindful that the recommendations that have now been developed needed to be robust and integrated with existing human resource infrastructure and the Let's get real workforce development framework.
The project's revised recommendations are outlined below (as of 1 July 2008).
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Development of National Professional Supervision Guidelines.
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Development of a national training structure for professional supervision, which aligns to Let's get real.
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Training should not be model-specific but rather focus on the structure (administration, education and support) of professional supervision.
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Accreditation processes should be developed to recognise and maintain the competency of professional supervision training and ensure alignment with Let's get real and e-learning.
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A national database of trained accredited supervisors will be developed.
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Measurable evaluation must be an integral component of the professional supervision structure. Ideally this evaluation should be framed within a research paradigm.
Phase 2
Development of National Professional Supervision Guidelines. The objective of the guidelines is to ensure greater consistency across New Zealand in all aspects of professional supervision.
Phase 3
Development of a national training structure for professional supervision, which aligns with Let's get real and is accredited by professional bodies.
Phase 4
Expressions of interest were requested from DHBs to pilot the national professional supervision training structure for approximately a seven month period. The DHB can partner with a NGO for the pilot if they wish. An evaluation process will be embedded into the pilot. The EOI was open from the end of January to 25 February 2009.
Phase 5
Northland DHB has been selected as the pilot site.
Phase 6
A national database of trained and accredited supervisors will be developed.
Progress on the project phases
Phase 2
Phase 2 began in early October 2008. Beverley Burns, a registered psychologist, was contracted to develop the National Professional Supervision Guidelines. As part of the development process Beverly:
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conducted stakeholder consultation on what nurses and other key groups believed should be included in the document
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the draft guideline document was then sent to the key stakeholders for feedback.
The professional supervision guideline document has now been completed and distributed to stakeholders. The document can be downloaded in PDF format here: National Guidelines for the Professional Supervision of Mental Health and Addiction Nurses. The document is intended to provide guidance rather than be prescriptive, and acknowledges the established supervision structures in the sector. The guidelines have been developed in a manner that enables the principles to be integrated into existing policies and procedures. The guidelines have been developed so that other professional groups can use them.
Phase 3
The development of the national training structure was completed in April 2009. The training is based on key elements from the guidelines document. Beverly Burns developed the training in partnership with Fiona Howard, who is also a registered psychologist.
Phase 4
The expression of interest (EOI) from a DHB to participate in a pilot, over approximately seven months, closed on 25 February 2009. The pilot will test the efficacy of the professional supervision training structure for mental health and addiction nurses. There was considerable interest from DHBs to pilot the training and we are please to announce that Northland DHB were the success applicants.
Phase 5
The training plan is being piloted with Northland DHB and commenced on 1 May 2009. Psychologists Bev Burns and Fiona Howard developed this training. This involved delivering an initial training package with follow-up training for selected supervisors and supervisees from Northland DHB. Through the contract between Te Pou and NDHB, the DHB made clinical nurse specialist Bernie Cameron available to act as site co-ordinator for the project. Nurse leader Jane Simperingham acted as project sponsor.
The evaluation is now complete and the report is in the editing process. It will be available on this website when completed.
Further information
A fact sheet on the professional supervision project is available to download. For more information, contact Anne McDonald, clinical lead - nursing.
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Page last updated: 12 February 2010