Secrets of supervision – a trainee's perspective

According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, all psychiatrists in training should receive weekly supervision from their ‘educational supervisor’ – usually their supervising consultant. College policy dictates that the educational supervisor spends a ‘protected hour per week’ with the trainee (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1999). Cottrell (1999) has suggested that good supervision should encapsulate the following topics: clinical management, teaching and research, management and pastoral care.