Clinical supervision in medical education: A citation analysis

Abstract

Purpose

Medical education relies on clinical supervision for critical functions, including trainee assessment and ensuring patient safety. Yet, there is substantial variance in supervision, which has led to calls for a shared definition of the concept and guidelines to inform practice. AMEE Guide No. 27 provided these desired elements and is highly cited, suggesting that translation and utilization of the Guide’s knowledge is suboptimal. This study investigates utilization by systematically characterizing citations to the Guide and by describing translation of its recommendations in relation to supervision.

Materials and methods

Citations were identified using Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. The authors coded all citations and conducted a subanalysis of studies specific to supervision.

Results

583 studies were identified; 268 met inclusion criteria for general analysis of which 167 studies were further analyzed. Most studies reiterated the Guide’s characterization of effective supervision, but few demonstrate how these recommendations inform innovations in supervisory practice.

Conclusion

Translation of the Guide’s recommendations regarding clinical supervision appears limited. Future research should consider the extent of knowledge translation occurring in clinical supervision literature as well as AMEE Guides. Increased attention to knowledge translation in medical education may benefit the distribution of similar knowledge products.

Keywords:

• Educational and clinical supervision
• knowledge translation
• medical education

Acknowledgement

We appreciate the support of Joseph A. Costello for his assistance organizing and managing the data charting process.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Uniformed Services University, Henry M. Jackson Foundation, Department of Defense, or U.S. Government.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

M. J. Baker

Matthew J. Baker, DO, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio, and a MHPE student at the Center for Health Professions Education at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD.

L. A. Maggio

Lauren A. Maggio, PhD, is a Professor of Medicine in the Center for Health Professions Education at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD.

C. S. Dorris

C. Scott Dorris, MLIS, is the Associate Director of Research Services at Dahlgren Memorial Library at Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC.

S. Uijtdehaage

Sebastian Uijtdehaage, PhD, is a Professor Emeritus in the Center for Health Professions Education at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD.

M. Soh

Michael Soh, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Center for Health Professions Education at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD.