Interprofessional supervision in an intercultural context: a qualitative study

Our understanding of the qualities and value of clinical supervision is based on uniprofessional clinical education models. There is little research regarding the role and qualities needed in the supervisor role for supporting interprofessional placements. This paper reports the views and perceptions of medical and allied heath students and supervisors on the characteristics of clinical supervision in an interprofessional, international context. A qualitative case study was used involving semi-structured interviews of eight health professional students and four clinical supervisors before and after an interprofessional, international clinical placement. Our findings suggest that supervision from educators whose profession differs from that of the students can be a beneficial and rewarding experience leading to the use of alternative learning strategies. Although all participants valued interprofessional supervision, there was agreement that profession-specific supervision was required throughout the placement. Further research is required to understand this view as interprofessional education aims to prepare graduates for collaborative practice where they may work in teams supervised by staff whose profession may differ from their own.