Supervisor Accountability - Power Dynamics
Supervisors need to be mindful that power is a key component of the supervisory relationship:
The supervisory relationship
involves an imbalance of power between the supervisor and supervisee, whereby greater power is held by the supervisor because they:
- may have greater authority and influence in the workplace and wider healthcare systems
- have influence over the supervisee’s progression through the supervised practice period, and their attainment of a practice permit which allows them to practice independently.
The power imbalance
may bring up feelings of vulnerability for supervisees, for fear that a positive evaluation may be compromised or withheld for questioning or providing honest feedback to their supervisor.
Supervisors
must keep the power imbalance in mind and strive to minimize this imbalance within the supervisory relationship.
Minimizing this imbalance
can be accomplished through:
- staying mindful of the power imbalance in the relationship with the supervisee, and
- creating an environment where the supervisee feels free to ask questions and is an active participant within the supervisory relationship.
- See the ‘Strategies for Supervisors’ section of this course for strategies which may help with this.