Roles of clinical supervisors in the clinical training of radiography students in Zambia: a qualitative study

INTRODUCTION: Clinical supervisors are responsible for the facilitation of practice-based learning for radiography students. However, literature is scarce on the roles of clinical supervisors in the clinical training of students in Zambia. OBJECTIVE: This study was aimed at identifying and exploring the roles of clinical supervisors in the clinical training of radiography students in Zambia. METHODS: A qualitative design with unstructured interviews was used in this study. Ten individual interviews were conducted in July 2018 with clinical supervisors of radiography students working at the main clinical training and placement sites of the Lusaka and Copperbelt provinces of Zambia, respectively. All digital interview recordings were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. RESULTS: Three main roles of a clinical supervisor emerged: managerial, educational, and supportive. The managerial role deals with organising and managing clinical training resources. The educational role involves imparting knowledge and skills to students. The supportive role involves supporting students with social and learning problems. Findings show the inter-relationship of these roles to each other. CONCLUSION: Clinical supervisors need to understand their roles in order to develop and maintain their competences in the facilitation of practice-based learning. This could also help stakeholders to provide appropriate support to clinical supervisors.