Models of pre-registration student supervision in allied health: a scoping review

Introduction: The aim of this scoping review was to identify, organise and synthesise existing evidence in relation to the supervision of allied health students on clinical placement.Methods: Five databases were searched for peer reviewed articles published from 2000 onwards. Data were extracted and analysed according to approaches to supervision, and student and/or educator outcomes for different models used. Each outcome was aligned to modified Kirkpatrick levels of evaluation.Results: 39 articles were reviewed. The terms models and approaches were poorly defined and used interchangeably in the clinical placement literature. Studies varied in the methods employed and were typically of low to moderate methodological quality with a dominance of Kirkpatrick level 2a outcomes reported.Conclusions: This review has proposed a definition of supervision models to enable future research comparisons between models and to provide clarity to placement providers’ decision making. Overall evidence for reported outcomes is mixed and not strong enough to draw conclusions in favour of any one model. Approaches to supervision, not student ratio, may well be the catalyst for positive outcomes for all stakeholders and therefore should be the focus of future research.