Managing the Obligatory Supervision of Student Radiographer’s during their Clinical Placement

Author(s):

Milka Satinovic(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2013

Network:

08. Research on Health Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

08 SES 09, Professional Competence Development in Health Education

Paper Session

Time:

2013-09-12

11:00-12:30

Room:

D-504

Chair:

Jeanette Magne Jensen

Contribution

Supervision of students in all health care education in Norway is an obligatory part of the job for all professions, as in many European countries. In Norway it is fixed by the Law of specialist health care § 3-5. In practice this responsibility for providing education and training represents various kinds of problems. In the latest report from the Norwegian Council for Higher Education (2010 p. 106) both supervisors and the practice site report that supervision of students is an overload which should be addressed by the government.

There is little systematic research on obligatory supervision at our radiology department. To our knowledge no models or concepts exist, that can help to understand different aspects of obligatory supervision in radiography education.

The purpose of the study

The purpose of the study was to explore concerns and behaviours of participants at our radiology department in order to explain the problems concerning supervison of students in the department.

Research question

The research question of the study started with a whish to conceptualize the experience of supervision at the radiology department from different points of view, in order to explain the complexity of the problem. We wanted to get the picture of where the shoes pinches and do it in a systematic way and follow the model of evidence based practice

Method

Classic Grounded theory was used to collect and analyze data from three different focus groups: junior radiographers, senior radiographers and section leaders. The interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Themes for the interviews: Experience in organizing and conducting supervision of the student radiographers Factors that inhibit / promote the supervision Suggestions for improvement What can the college do to improve the supervision Ethical consideration The project was approved by the ethic committee. Data collection and analysis Basic steps in classic GT such as: interviewing and observing, coding, constant comparison, memoing, sorting and writing the substantive theory were followed. Data and material 5 junior radiographers (1 dropout) with experience as supervisee 8 Senior radiographers with experience as supervisor during 15-31years 4 Section Leaders (1 dropout), with experience as supervisor from 3-10 years and now working as facilitators. Transcribed interviews constitute 120 p text. Data analysis was guided by the following questions: What is the participants' main concern in supervision of the students? How do they manage this concern? What inhibits and what fascilitates the process of managing the concerns of supervision? Consequences of actions and interactions involved in the process of managing the concerns of supervision?

Expected Outcomes

Findings The main challenge reported were how to manage the burden of obligatory supervision. Two patterns of lessening the burden are identified: 1. Externalizing the burden by blaming the department, the students and the educational institution. The consequences of externalizing the burden are: lack of will to supervise, perception of stress and strained workload, and sense of duty rather than motivation. 2. Embracing the burden by integrating supervision in the work of the department, creating a safe atmosphere for supervising, requesting support from the college and looking for rewards. The consequences of embracing the burden are: will to supervise, professional growth, development of professional pride, promoting of professional quality, and increased motivation for supervision. Managing the obligatory supervision of student radiographers is recognized mostly either as a burden or a resource. It is important to develop a job culture where supervision is a valued and integrated component of the work of the department, and the will to supervise is present. The developed conceptualization is used for quality improvement and development of evidence based supervision in the Department of Radiology. The conceptualization would be applicable in other European countries with similar context for supervision in practical placement.

References

Beldham-Collins, R. and D. Milinkovic (2009). "A new graduate education programs in radiation therapy." Radiography 15 (1): 26-33. Carlson, E., Wann-Hansson, C. & Pilhammar, E. (2009) Teaching during clinical practice: Strategies and techniques used by preceptors in nursing education. Nurse Education Today, 29 (5), s. 522-526. Cassidy, I., Butler, M. P., Quillinan, B., Egan, G., Mc Namara, M. C., Tuohy, D., Bradshaw, C., Fahy, A., Connor, M. O. & Tierney, C. (2012) Preceptors’ views of assessing nursing students using a competency based approach. Nurse Education in Practice, 12 (6), s. 346-351. Chapman, NA and SC Oultram (2007). "Enhancing the RT student clinical experience: Newcastle Mater Hospital Radiation Oncology Department." Radiography 13 (2): 159-163. Doughty, J. and D. Hodgson (2009). "Evaluation of a new clinical support model in radiotherapy practice." Nurse Education in Practice 9 (1): 28-35. Glaser, BG (1978). Theoretical sensitivity Advances in the methodology of grounded theory. Mill Valley, Calif.., Sociology Press. Kilminster, S., et al. (2007). "AMEE Guide No. 27: Effective educational and clinical supervision." Medical Teacher 29(1): 2-19. Löfmark, A., Thorkildsen, K., Råholm, M.-B. & Natvig, G. K. (2012) Nursing students’ satisfaction with supervision from preceptors and teachers during clinical practice. Nurse Education in Practice, 12 (3), s. 164-169. Mason, S. L. (2006) Radiography Student Perceptions Of Clinical Stressors. Radiologic Technology, 77 (6), s. 437-450. The Norwegian Association of Higher Education Institutions (2010) Focus on education in practical placement downloaded 31.01.13 http://www.uhr.no/documents/ny_kortv_m_forside_FOKUS_P__PRAKSISSTUDIENE_3.pdf Ulfvarson, J. & Oxelmark, L. (2012) Developing an assessment tool for intended learning outcomes in clinical practice for nursing students. Nurse Education Today, 32 (6), s. 703-708. Williams, PL, N. White, et al. (2006). "Clinical education and training: Using the nominal group technique in research with two Radiographers identify factors affecting quality and capacity." Radiography 12 (3): 215-224.

Author Information

Milka Satinovic (presenting / submitting)

Bergen University College

Faculty of Health and Social Sciences

Bergen

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