RCOT supervision survey
How do you know when your OT supervision sessions are top-notch – and how can you tell when they're not?
The top 10 tactics for successful occupational therapy supervision…and an appeal to the UK's OTs to share their supervision experiences.
- RCOT's 'good supervisor guide' is under review for the first time in seven years
- Steering group guided by research for the Health and Care Professions Council
- UK-wide survey to assess OTs' lived experiences of supervision
After new research revealed the top ten characteristics of effective occupational therapy supervision, it's all eyes on our occupational therapy overseers.
The Royal College of Occupational Therapy (RCOT) is overhauling its 'Supervision guidance for occupational therapists and their managers', first published in 2015.
A team led by RCOT's Professional Development Manager, Dr Nikki Daniels and Quality Programme Manager, Julia Roberts, are heading the review.
They are beginning by launching a nationwide survey to uncover the lived experiences of OTs, either as supervisors or while being supervised.
Crucially, however, these experiences are being set against a backdrop of new evidence showing what actually makes clinical and peer supervision effective – and what constitutes barriers.
The evidence was gleaned in a rapid review of ten-year literature by a Newcastle University team commissioned by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) [1].
But not only did the findings show that ten key characteristics are needed to achieve supervision success; they also revealed eight common barriers capable of impeding progress.
Referring to the key ten, an RCOT spokesperson said it was important now to find out how the lived experiences of OTs compared to the ideal scenario.
Gathering this information will help us to build up a picture of occupational therapists' supervision experiences and will allow us to identify areas of need to direct our next steps. 
So, how do your supervision experiences match up to the HCPC's telling ten? Here is what to watch out for:
- Mutual trust and respect
- Choice of supervisor is offered
- There is a shared understanding of supervised session aims based on an agreed contract
- Supervision focus is on supporting staff and their development, sharing knowledge and skills, and improving service delivery
- Supervision is regular and based on individual needs
- Supervisory models are based on individual needs, such as one-to-one, group or distance.
- The employer creates protected time, supervisor training and private session space
- Training and feedback are provided for supervisors
- Supervision is delivered flexibly
- Several supervisors deliver the training
And here are eight common barriers to effective supervision, as outlined by the research team:
- Lack of time and heavy workloads impacting on supervision quality and flexibility
- Failure to prioritise supervision
- Lack of management and organisational support and resources for supervision
- Lack of one-to-one support and training for clinical and peer supervisors
- Lack of knowledge among supervisors of professional practices and guidelines
- Lack of clarity over supervisor's role
- Lack of trust and positive relationships between supervisor and supervised
- Challenging work environments, rotas, locations, and targets
RCOT's online survey of OTs' experiences of effective supervision takes around 10 to 15 minutes to complete and is open to all RCOT members across the UK until the 15th of September.
The data will help identify where improvements need to be made and steer the next stage of RCOT's supervision guidance review.
More details about the survey and how to take part are available here: Share your stories of effective supervision - RCOT
