I’m supervising two new graduate Speech and Language Therapists. They’re thoughtful and skilled clinicians who’ve taught me a lot. It’s a difficult time to be starting out in the NHS — just scheduling supervision sessions is a challenge.

When I started working as an SLT I remember feeling like I’d been thrown in the deep end while still getting support from my new colleagues. I’m trying to give my new graduates a similar experience. Learning can be uncomfortable, and that’s okay, but I don’t want them to drown.

I’ve been reflecting on how things are going and realised:

The new graduates sometimes don’t know what they don’t know – so unpicking what they’re really asking is often my first step.

They’re trying to demonstrate their independence and not make too many mistakes. I remember the internal monologue: can I ask my supervisor this question? Should I already know the answer? I’ve asked her 7 questions already this morning, is that too many? Again, it’s about balance.

They have different learning styles. Some people might find it hard to remember details about children they saw a while back. Observing their therapy sessions and feeding back immediately afterwards can work well. Other therapists are more detail focussed and benefit from support to see how decisions about individual children affect the service as a whole.

I find Brene Brown’s Engaged Feedback Checklist is a useful resource. I’ve been focussing on sitting next to, rather than across from the graduates, recognising their strengths and trying to model vulnerability.

Do you have effective strategies for supervising graduates in their first role? Can you remember what helped the most when you started out? Let me know!

Photograph by easylocum.