Nurse supervisors' views of their supervisory styles in clinical supervision: a hermeneutical approach

The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse the nurse supervisors' styles with special focus on their actions in the supervision session, their expectations with regard to the 'ideal' supervisor and their 'visions' regarding effects of clinical supervision, as well as their views of ethics, rules and values that they are guided by in clinical supervision. This study used a hermeneutic approach in order to characterize nurse supervisor style. Data were collected by open-ended interviews with skilled and experienced nurse supervisors (n = 18). The interpretation is that the supervisors' actions in clinical supervision may affect their ability to understand their actions. Whether a supervisor acts as the 'real' supervisor or attains to the level of the 'ideal' supervisor depends on her/his state of preparedness reached through reflection. The nurse supervisors' perceptions of styles are: striving to perfect the art of communication in the supervision session by using selected techniques; to assist in increasing the supervisees' self-esteem and autonomy by reflecting on essential themes in the supervision dialogue; and striving to attain the level of the 'ideal' supervisor, expressing a positive attitude to and motivation for theoretical and practical knowledge, and developing the supervisees' human attitudes.