Student supervision in paediatric settings: How equipped are our registered nurses to support student placement?

Aim A tertiary paediatric facility undertook a review of student supervision models and subsequently adopted a Clinical Partnership Program (CPP) whereby student supervision is managed from within the organisation rather than university supplied facilitators or supervisors. This project aimed to evaluate the CPP model of student supervision from a range of perspectives; this presentation focuses on the experience of the bedside clinician, the buddy nurse. Method Following HREC approval and securing consent, all clinicians were emailed a link to an online survey hosted on Qualtrics™. The survey was comprised of simple demographic data and the Clinical Supervision Self-Assessment tool. This validated tool asks participants to self-assess their knowledge, skills and confidence with a range of tasks associated with supporting students on placement. Results To date 182 nurses have completed the survey. Most respondents rated themselves highly across most domains particularly in respect to conducting a variety of clinical education activities aimed at assisting students to achieve learning goals and assessing student performance. The domains where knowledge, skills and confidence were reduced relate to supporting different approaches to learning, providing critical feedback and managing a student who displays challenging behaviours. Conclusions Bedside clinicians have a significant role in supporting students. They are generally well positioned to develop effective relationships with students but lack confidence in some aspects of the role such as providing critical feedback. Training of the buddy role must consider these more challenging aspects of the role and the staff must have organisational support particularly regarding managing performance concerns.