PLUS Framework: guidance for practice educators.

Area of Science:

• Occupational therapy education
• Health professions education
• Clinical supervision

Background:

• The practice educator role is increasingly complex due to evolving placement configurations.
• Supervising students requires balancing clinical duties with educational responsibilities, often under time constraints.
• This study addresses the need for efficient supervision strategies in occupational therapy education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how experienced occupational therapy practice educators optimize student learning within limited supervision time.
• To develop a framework detailing effective supervisory approaches.
• To identify key strategies for enhancing the practice education experience.

Main Methods:

• Action Research methodology employed across four cycles.
• Data collection included semi-structured interviews and placement documentation.
• Template analysis was used to identify and categorize supervisory approaches.

Main Results:

• Three key focal points for effective practice educator supervision were identified: guiding learning, making explicit theory-to-practice links, and supportive challenging.
• These findings informed the development of the Professional Learning through Useful Support (PLUS) Framework.
• The PLUS Framework highlights how experienced educators focus supervision to maximize student learning.

Conclusions:

• The PLUS Framework offers guidance strategies for skilled practice educators, considering workplace and university contexts.
• The identified features provide target areas for busy educators to enhance supervision efficiency.
• Future research aims to validate the PLUS Framework across diverse international and interprofessional settings.