Exploring the benefits and challenges of administrative clinical supervision in nursing and midwifery

Abstract

Objective: To explore the benefits and challenges of administrative clinical supervision at the unit.

Methods: Clinical Supervision has been recognised as a core component of professional support for present-day nursing and midwifery practice. Effective administrative clinical supervision is beneficial to employees by providing support leading to the development of self-esteem, reducing emotional stress and improving commitment to an organisation’s vision and goals. Using aesthetic phenomenological approach, nurses' lived experience with administrative clinical supervision in a clinical unit of the hospital was explored and allowed in-depth description of administrative clinical supervision thoroughly. The participants were purposively sampled from six hospitals in Accra and comprised supervisors (n = 18) and supervisees (n = 12).

Results: The benefits of administrative clinical supervision include reduction in infection rates, improved competence, client satisfaction, reduction in negligence, efficiency, accountability and feeling of being appreciated. Challenges of administrative clinical supervision were managerial challenges, limited time, interpersonal conflict with colleagues, and increased workload.

Conclusions: Practical Implications: Administrative clinical supervision has implications for nursing and midwifery education and practice. This calls for measures that promote practitioners’ personal and professional development through fostering a supportive relationship and working alliance. Originality: This study employed the use of Aesthetic Phenomenology to tell the stories of clinical supervision from the personified interpretations unlike other studies that simply adopt descriptive phenomenology. It is the first of its kind in Ghana to the best of our knowledge.