Commentary: Nursing issues
Reinvigorating resilience among nurses: the importance of embedding and normalising clinical supervision in everyday nursing practice 10.1136/ebnurs-2025-104445 Kathleen Markey, 1 Melissa Browne 2 1 School of Nursing and Midwifery, Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland, 2 School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Limerick Faculty of Education and Health Sciences, Limerick, Ireland
descriptive statistics, and open-ended question responses were analysed using thematic analysis.
Findings A total of 302 respondents completed the survey: 73 nurses who received RCS, 214 professional nurse advocates who facilitated it and 15 nurse leaders responsible for implementing the RCS programme within their organisations. The majority of respondents were female and identified as ‘White’ ethnicity. Across all groups, respondents reported that RCS was highly effective, highlighting its value in fostering structural and psycho- logical empowerment, resilience and professional growth. Although the low response rate among nurses who received RCS was acknowledged as a limitation, findings across all groups indicate that the programme created safe, supportive spaces that revitalised practice and strengthened engagement and well-being. Respondents also highlighted the importance of protected time and strong organisational commitment to ensure the sustainability of RCS. Commentary The findings of this study 5 concur with the wider evidence illuminating that clinical supervision provides a valued framework of support for both nurses participating in and facilitating the process. 1 Its restorative func- tion 4 creates a safe and supportive space for nurses to express emotional concerns, build confidence and strengthen their professional practice. The low response rate from nurses who availed of RCS is a limitation of this study, as it may restrict the generalisability of findings from this subgroup. Nonetheless, this study 5 underscores the importance of contextualising clin- ical supervision as a process of facilitated reflective dialogue that resonates with individual nurses’ experiences. Reflection enables nurses to step back from routine practice, make sense of their experiences and explore strate- gies to support empowerment and professional resilience. Similar findings have been reported by others, 1 3 reinforcing the value of personalised and structured approaches to clinical supervision. Despite a robust body of evidence demonstrating the value of clinical supervision, its integration into everyday nursing practice remains slow and inconsistent. This underutilisation points to challenges in implementa- tion rather than questions about its effectiveness. To realise its full poten- tial, clinical supervision must be embedded and normalised as a routine aspect of nursing practice. Achieving this requires structural supports such as protected time, managerial support, 2 5 access to facilitators who have engaged in education preparedness for the role, and a workplace culture that values clinical supervision as a means of supporting emotional well- being. 2 3 Competing interests None declared. Provenance and peer review Commissioned; internally peer reviewed. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ Group. References 1 Doody O , O’Donnell C, Murphy L, et al . The establishment and value of peer group clinical supervision: A qualitative study of stakeholders’ perspectives. J Clin Nurs 2024;33:4061–76. 2 Ryu H , Buus N, Naccarella L, et al . Factors that influence the clinical supervision implementation for nurses: A scoping review. J Adv Nurs 2025;81:7297–310. 3 Markey K , Murphy L, O’Donnell C, et al . Clinical supervision: A panacea for missed care. J Nurs Manag 2020;28:2113–7. 4 Proctor B . Supervision: A cooperative exercise in accountability. In: Marken M , Payne M, eds. Stories in mental health: Reflection, inquiry, action . Leicester: National Youth Bureau, 1986: 21–3. 5 Lees-Deutsch L , Palmer S, Rodrigues Amorim Adegboye A, et al . Professional nurse advocates and restorative clinical supervision: national survey of programme implementation and impact. BMC Nurs 2025;24:675.
Correspondence to: Dr Kathleen Markey; kathleen.markey@ul.ie
Commentary on : Lees-Deutsch L, Palmer S, Rodrigues Amorim Adegboye A, et al . Professional nurse advocates and restorative clinical supervision: national survey of programme implementation and impact. BMC Nursing 2025;24:675. https://doi.org/10.1186/ s12912-025-03415-z
Implications for practice and research
► Embedding and normalising clinical supervision is critical for empowering nurses and building resilience in complex healthcare settings. ► Further research is needed to examine the enablers and barriers to normalising clinical supervision in everyday practice.
Context There is growing recognition of the need to prioritise strategies that strengthen empowerment, build resilience and enhance well-being among nurses, particularly in response to increasing demands within evolving healthcare environments. A growing body of evidence demonstrates that clinical supervision plays a vital role in strengthening empowerment, nurturing resilience and enhancing job satisfaction among nurses. 1 2 These outcomes not only support nurses’ well-being but also contribute to higher standards of nursing care and improved patient outcomes. 3 Clinical super- vision is defined as encompassing three core functions: formative (focused on learning), normative (standards of care and accountability) and restor- ative (emotional support and promoting well-being). 4 Methods This study 5 used a cross-sectional online survey to explore the effectiveness and impact of restorative clinical supervision (RCS) on nurse empowerment and personal effectiveness. Empowerment theory, which examines relation- ships between organisational structure and empowerment and indicators of positive work feelings, informed the development of the survey. The survey comprised Likert-scale and open-ended questions and explored partici- pants’ demographics, the perceived impact of RCS on nurse empowerment, its effectiveness in improving patient care delivery and its overall benefits. The survey was distributed to nurses working in National Health Service settings across different regions in England who either received RCS, facil- itated RCS sessions or had responsibility for overseeing the implementation of RCS across their organisations. Quantitative data were analysed using
1
Evid Based Nurs Month 2025 | volume 0 | number 0 |
Powered by FlippingBook