Group supervision in facilitating learning and teaching in mental health clinical placements: a case example of one student group.

Clinical supervision has become an essential component in nursing practice. This paper explores the experiences of two small groups of Finnish Registered General Nurse students receiving supervision during a clinical placement in mental health care (N = 23). Both groups worked in similar clinical placements, with one group receiving group supervision, the other individual supervision. Students reported that group supervision was a positive experience and a good alternative to the traditional supervision they had received earlier. Group supervision allowed students to begin to address their fears and anxieties over their ability to deal with the unfamiliar emotional and psychological demands of practice. Eighteen students reported that the staff nurse mentor was most important in helping them better understand the core concepts and practice of nursing. All the students who thought that nurse teacher was important in this regard came from the group supervision group.