Develop a supervision plan

Develop a supervision plan

A supervision plan describes how the training site will ensure that a registrar receives support to manage patients they are not yet competent to manage alone. It’s an important document for the registrar and all members of the supervisory team. The supervision plan is developed, reviewed and revised by the supervisory team in consultation with the registrar.

A clinical supervision plan is created by answering three questions:

• When should the registrar call for help?
• Who should they call?
• How should they make contact?

The clinical supervision plan includes:

• when the registrar needs to seek supervision
• who is providing supervision and when
• how supervision is accessed
• a plan for escalating issues to an accredited supervisor if required
• a risk management plan to address difficulty in accessing supervision
• a statement of commitment by each supervisory team member to their contribution to supervision.

At all times, arrangements for offsite supervision need to be clear and known to the registrar, practice staff and other doctors in the practice.

If the training site provides visiting medical officer (VMO) support, and the registrar is included in this roster, the clinical supervision plan must include provision for supervision of the registrar as VMO. When a registrar is engaged in VMO activity arranged by the practice, the training site remains responsible for ensuring the appropriate level of supervision is provided to them.