Clinical supervision for registered nurses
This information was updated April 2008. For further information, please contact advice@nmc-uk.org
The NHS Management Executive defined clinical supervision in 1993 as:
"….a formal process of professional support and learning which enables individual practitioners to develop knowledge and competence, assume responsibility for their own practice and enhance consumer protection and safety of care in complex situations."
Essentially, clinical supervision allows a registered nurse to receive professional supervision in the workplace by a skilled supervisor. It allows nurses and midwives to develop their skills and knowledge and helps them to improve care. Clinical supervision enables registered nurses to:
- Identify solutions to problems
- Increase understanding of professional issues
- Improve standards of patient care
- Further develop their skills and knowledge
- Enhance their understanding of their own practice.
Clinical supervision should be available to registered nurses throughout their careers so they can constantly evaluate and improve their contribution to the care of people. Along with the NMC's PREP (continuing professional development) standard, clinical supervision is an important part of clinical governance. The following information relates to registered nurses.
Midwives have their own statutory system of local supervision. Further information about this is published in the Midwives rules and standards and Modern supervision in action.
The NMC supports the principle of clinical supervision but believes that it is best developed at a local level in accordance with local needs. We do not, therefore, advocate any particular model of clinical supervision and we do not provide detailed guidance about its nature and scope. Instead, the NMC has defined a set of principles, which we believe should underpin any system of clinical supervision that is used.
The principles are
- Clinical supervision supports practice, enabling registered nurses to maintain and improve standards of care
- Clinical supervision is a practice-focused professional relationship, involving a practitioner reflecting on practice guided by a skilled supervisor
- Registered nurses and managers should develop the process of clinical supervision according to local circumstances. Ground rules should be agreed so that the supervisor and the registered nurse approach clinical supervision openly, confidently and are aware of what is involved
- Every registered nurse should have access to clinical supervision and each supervisor should supervise a realistic number of practitioners
- Preparation for supervisors should be flexible and sensitive to local circumstances. The principles and relevance of clinical supervision should be included in pre-registration and post registration education programmes
- Evaluation of clinical supervision is needed to assess how it influences care and practice standards. Evaluation systems should be determined locally
The NMC supports the establishment of clinical supervision as an important part of clinical governance and in the interests of maintaining and improving standards of care.
Further information
The code: Standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives (2008)
Prep handbook (2006)
Midwives rules and standards (2004)
Standards to support learning and assessment in practice (2008)
Advice on accountability