Clinical Supervisors

Clinical Supervisors are qualified specialists who have responsibility for the day-to-day supervision, training and assessment of trainees who are doing a secondary care placement in their specialty.  Therefore a GP Trainer, GP Educational Supervisor or GP (Training) Programme Directors cannot be a clinical supervisor. If a trainee is in an integrated post, then they will have a clinical supervisor for each specialty. 

Guide to nMRCGP for Clinical Supervisors

The Guide for Clinical Supervisors has been produced by the RCGP in consultation with NACT and COGPED to explain the model of supervision, to provide a brief introduction to assessment and to give guidance on what a consultant providing clinical supervision for GP trainees is expected to do.

The Gold Guide (section 4.27) requires that:

each trainee should have a named clinical supervisor for each placement, usually a senior doctor, who is responsible for ensuring that appropriate clinical supervision of the trainee’s day-to-day clinical performance occurs at all times, with regular feedback. 

All clinical supervisors should:

• Understand their responsibilities for patient safety.
• Be fully trained in the specific area of clinical care.
• Offer a level of supervision necessary to the competences and experience of the trainee and tailored for the individual trainee.
• Ensure that no trainee is required to assume responsibility for or perform clinical, operative or other techniques in which they have insufficient experience and expertise.
• Ensure that trainees only perform tasks without direct supervision when the clinical supervisor is satisfied that they are competent so to do; both trainee and clinical supervisor should at all times be aware of their direct responsibilities for the safety of patients in their care.
• Consider whether it is appropriate (particularly out of hours) to delegate the role of clinical supervisor to another senior member of the healthcare team.  In these circumstances the individual must be clearly identified to both parties and understand the role of the clinical supervisor.  The named clinical supervisor remains responsible and accountable for the care of the patient and the trainee.
• Be appropriately trained to teach, provide feedback and undertake competence assessment of the trainees in the specialty.
• Be trained in equality and diversity and human rights best practice.

Responsibilities

Clinical supervisors oversee the day-to-day work of the trainee during that placement. 

They are expected to:

• hold formative meetings with their trainee at the beginning, middle and end of their placement. 
• use WPBA assessment tools as learning opportunities, formative assessments and to provide evidence towards the record of competence progression collected in the trainee’s eportfolio.
• complete a Clinical Supervisors Report (CSR) at the end of the placement.  If a trainee is in an integrated post working concurrently in more than one specialty, then each clinical supervisor will complete a CSR.