Exploring Physiotherapists' Perspectives of Group Clinical Supervision Effectiveness for Aquatic Physiotherapy Skill...

Participation in regular clinical supervision is recommended for health professionals to ensure quality of care. Effective clinical supervision of physiotherapists typically consists of a one-to-one model using a combination of reflective and direct approaches to supervision. However, this level of support can be difficult to provide in niche clinical specialities such as aquatic physiotherapy, where one expert clinician is tasked with the supervision of many less experienced clinicians. Group supervision is an alternative model which requires fewer resources, but its effectiveness is unknown. This study aimed to explore physiotherapists' perspectives on the effectiveness of a supervisor-led group supervision model in an aquatic physiotherapy service.

Sixteen physiotherapists at varied career stages who had experienced aquatic physiotherapy group supervision at an inpatient rehabilitation hospital, participated in an interpretive description study using focus groups.

Four themes were identified: skill development, specialised practice area, group interactivity, and structure and processes. The positioning theory and interactivity theory informed the data analysis.

Physiotherapists perceived group clinical supervision to be an effective model for clinical skill development in aquatic physiotherapy. They believed that the model was effective because it afforded them time for reflection in a highly specialised and infrequently practised clinical area. Interactivity between colleagues was viewed as the main strength of group supervision. However, they also felt that skill development would be enhanced if the content of the sessions was structured and group supervision was complemented by direct supervision.