Supervisees who challenge us
This chapter will explore strategies supervisors may want to use to address and resolve situations where they may find their supervisee challenging.
It will cover topics from spotting early warning signs to risk management and concerns related to the supervisee’s development.
Learning outcomes:
Recognising early warning signs and managing levels of risk and concerns
Factors that may impact a supervisee’s capabilities
Strategies supervisors can use to manage and support learners who challenge them
Chapter resources:
The following resources are available to share with your practice team or to support you to work through the workshop learning:
A narrated slide deck on the chapter is available to watch or download, so you and your team can work through it at your own pace.
Workbooks with space to complete exercises and note your reflections on key concepts and reinforce learning; one in PowerPoint format to add your own responses, and one on PDF format which can be printed.
Case studies
NCL practices have provided feedback on how changes made relating to themes in this chapter have had a positive impact on supervision and multi-professional teamwork:
What needed to change (what needed improvement)? | What changes were made? Who led and supported change? | What were the results? How has this improved daily work at the practice / within the team? |
Being able to have difficult conversations with supervisees and learners in difficulty. | One example of a change our practice has made is introducing regular “check-in” moments, where team members are encouraged to highlight challenges they are facing. This has helped normalise open communication, reduce stigma around expressing concerns, and create a more supportive and trusting team environment. | Signs of supervisees in difficulty are raised early, and supervisors are more confident to initiate effective interventions in a supportive manner. |
Enhance support for trainees and proactively identify learning challenges early. | All team members are responsible for monitoring trainees’ emotional health and wellbeing, and for reporting any concerns to the lead supervisor. Team members are also encouraged to support trainees’ development by engaging with more joint education sessions and meetings. | A safe environment has been developed to enable supervisees to discuss their challenges and raise issues including those relating to wellbeing that impact on learning. |