Abstract
BackgroundFinding the best way to facilitate student learning in clinical practice can be challenging for clinical supervisors. While high levels of trust might jeopardize patient safety, low trust might hinder student learning; however, carrying out professional activities is necessary for students to develop professional competence. There is a dearth of scholarly literature regarding the concept of trust among clinical supervisors in occupational therapy education. A better understanding of how trust is created between the supervisor and student may thus aid in facilitating student learning. The aim of this study, therefore, was to explore occupational therapy clinical supervisors’ perception of trust and how it is formed.MethodsA qualitative method deploying a phenomenographic approach was chosen. Twelve clinical supervisors were interviewed, and the data were analyzed according to the seven-step phenomenographic approach.ResultsThree qualitatively different ways of thinking about trust were found: (1) that trust is about the student and is rather static; (2) trust as a dynamic process based on student performance; and (3) trust as something mutual and interrelated. The findings indicate that trust can be understood in various ways, such as being something inherent in the student or, alternatively, about the student, the supervisor, the relationship between them, and the surrounding context, including the tasks performed. Furthermore, the study shows that trust can be seen either as something static or as a dynamic process.ConclusionsThis study contributes to a deeper understanding of the variation of ways in which the concept of trust is understood among clinical supervisors in occupational therapy. The study corroborates the prior research finding that trust can be understood as a multifaceted construct. It contributes novel insights about the role of the supervisor as an influential factor in the trust-building process. A deep understanding of the possible differences in the ways of conceptualizing something can help supervisors support learning by building on this understanding. The results from this study contribute to our knowledge of the drivers behind entrusted decisions in clinical education in various professional contexts. We suggest that the results be used in the continuing professional development of clinical supervisors.
Highlights
Finding the best way to facilitate student learning in clinical practice can be challenging for clinical supervisors
This paper draws on perceptions of the meaning of trust among twelve clinical supervisors in undergraduate healthcare professional education
The analysis resulted in three different categories of the concept of trust: that trust is about the student and is rather static; trust as a dynamic process based on student performance; and trust as something mutual and interrelated
Summary
Finding the best way to facilitate student learning in clinical practice can be challenging for clinical supervisors. While high levels of trust might jeopardize patient safety, low trust might hinder student learning; carrying out professional activities is necessary for students to develop professional competence. There is a dearth of scholarly literature regarding the concept of trust among clinical supervisors in occupational therapy education. Clinical placements are considered indispensable to all healthcare students due to the noteworthy emphasis on the learning of skills and attitudes, which cannot be acquired in the absence of experience in a clinical setting. Organizing clinical supervision in a way that sufficiently takes into account student learning and patient safety can be challenging. The patient trusts the clinical supervisor and expects high quality care and optimum standards of safety. One definition was recently advanced by Damodaran et al [1]: “Trust is a judgement by the trustor, requiring the acceptance of resultant vulnerability and risk, that the trustee (individual or organization) has the competence, willingness, integrity and capacity (i.e. trustworthiness) to perform a specified task under particular conditions.”
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