Telesupervision of allied health students during work-integrated learning: a scoping review of the international evidence-base and its representation in localised professional guidelines

Background

Work-integrated learning (WIL) plays a critical role in the experiential construction and assessment of allied health students’ professional capabilities, forming a core component of allied health education programs. Innovation in work-integrated learning has many social, economic, and technological drivers. In allied health education, telesupervision, a technology-mediated clinical supervision model, is one such innovation that aims to provide accessible WIL opportunities; however, there is a pressing need to assure the quality of telesupervision WIL experiences.

Methods

This review integrated a scoping review of internationally published evidence (based on PRISMA-ScR) alongside a localised review of professional documents obtained from Australian allied health professions websites. This approach sought to synthesise the international evidence-base for telesupervision and understand how Australian allied health professions were applying this evidence to shape the education of future professionals. The review addressed three research questions: (1) What evidence exists to support and guide educational providers in assuring quality telesupervision for allied health students?; (2) What evidence exists regarding supervisors’ and allied health students’ experiences of telesupervision?; and (3) What professional requirements and/or information exists to support and guide the provision of telesupervision to allied health students by clinical supervisors in Australia?

Results

Thirty three articles were included in the review. Study designs were mainly descriptive or qualitative and thus provided limited support for assuring quality telesupervision practice. Studies identified high satisfaction with telesupervision among clinical supervisors and students, highlighting its role in developing clinical skills, confidence, and telehealth-specific competencies. The professional document review revealed a lack of profession-based guidance for implementation of telesupervision, reflecting the insufficient evidence-base to assure quality telesupervision.

Conclusions

Despite a limited evidence-base, experience studies suggest that telesupervision is a valuable work-integrated learning model for students and clinical supervisors. By overcoming geographical barriers and preparing students for contemporary healthcare practice, it offers professionally relevant opportunity for increasing accessibility of health professions education. Further research is needed to establish effectiveness of student learning through telesupervised work integrated learning and inform professional guidelines within localised contexts.