Nurse lecturers’ perceptions of what baccalaureate nursing students could gain from clinical group supervision

Summary 

The extensive amount of studies on clinical supervision during the nursing students’ clinical programmes has shown that supervision most often is given on a one-to-one basis, and that many challenges are embedded in this kind of supervision. In some studies group supervision has been used, with mostly successful effects according to the nursing students. At a university in Sweden, a model of group supervision was included in the baccalaureate nursing programme, conducted by nurse lecturers. The purpose of this study was to describe the value of clinical group supervision to nursing students, as perceived by the nurse lecturers. Data consisted of field notes written by the nurse lecturers after 60 supervision sessions, and qualitative content analysis was performed. The findings showed how reflection in a group of equals was considered to give the nursing students opportunities to increase their understanding of themselves and others, prepare them for coming events, increase their personal and professional strengths, and inspire them for further development. On the basis of the findings and previous studies the value of using nurse lecturers as group supervisors was discussed. The impact of a contract to achieve a good learning environment in group supervision was also stressed.

Keywords: Clinical group supervision, Reflection, Nursing students, Nurse lecturer, Professional development