Towards Better Clinical Supervision in Podiatry: Insights from South African Podiatry Students, Graduates, Podiatry Clinical Educators and Supervisors

Abstract Background: Undergraduate podiatry students participate in 1,000 hours of clinical training, which is overseen by clinical supervisors at various clinical placement sites. Clinical supervision is a vital component of undergraduate training. Despite strong performance in accompanying clinical theory, students often perform poorly in practice, prompting concerns about the efficacy of current supervision. It is noteworthy that there is a scarcity of research assessing the effectiveness and examining the experiences of supervision from the perspectives of students, graduates, clinical educators, and clinical supervisors. Methods: This qualitative study employed an interpretive descriptive phenomenological approach to investigate the experiences of clinical supervision from the perspectives of students, graduates, clinical educators, and supervisors. The primary objective was to examine the human and contextual factors that influence clinical supervision. Results: The study involved 28 participants, consisting of 12 students, 4 recent graduates, 4 clinical educators, and 8 clinical supervisors. Among the students, 3 were in their second year, 4 in their third year, and 5 in their fourth year of study. It's worth noting that 4 students and 2 recent graduates had repeated their clinical practice. Most participants were female, with 22 (71%) identifying as female, and the average age was 22.5 years (SD = 6). Among the supervisors, 2 (22%) had 0 to 3 years of experience, 5 (67%) had 4 to 7 years, and 1 (11%) had 8 to 11 years of supervisory experience. A thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews identified 5 key themes: the benefits of supervision, a judgmental and fault-finding feedback style, a lack of support, inadequate preparation, and unclear learning outcomes from clinical placements. Conclusions: Despite negative experiences, all participants recognised the importance of clinical supervision. The study's findings identified key, common barriers related to supervision. These barriers highlight the urgent need for sustainable and collaborative changes to enhance clinical supervision practices.