Systematic clinical supervision in a child psychiatric ward: satisfaction with nursing care, tedium, burnout, and the nurses' own report on the effects of it.

The effects of systematic clinical supervision on all nurses (n = 11) at a ward for child psychiatric care was evaluated by means of open-ended questions, the tedium measure, Maslach's burnout inventory (MBI), and the satisfaction with nursing care at baseline, and after 6 and 12 months of supervision. Two main themes emerged: (1) being understood and understanding others led to improved cooperation and self-confidence and, (2) broadened and better knowledge base led to increased goal-oriented and active nursing actions in their clinical work. The nurses' satisfaction increased significantly regarding responsibility, organization, quality of care, cooperation, and comfort in the work group. The degree of tedium decreased significantly regarding mental exhaustion, whereas there were no significant changes in the degree of burnout as measured by MBI. The data point to the fact that systematic clinical supervision may be a way to show and use the knowledge embedded in practice and to improve the efficiency, the climate, and the cooperation of a work group.