Beth Hudson
Capstone Project Committee: L. DiAnne Borders, PhD, Nancy Callanan, MS, CGC, Sat Gupta, PhD (Statistical Consultant), Katie Rutledge, MS, CGC
This project was designed to understand the genetic counseling students’ perspective of their clinical supervision experience, an aspect of the training of genetic counselors which has been largely unstudied to date. Using results from a previous study as well as items on Evaluation Process within Supervision Inventory (EPSI), a survey was designed to determine which aspects of clinical supervision had an impact on the supervision experience of genetic counseling graduates. The survey assessed specific supervisor behaviors, supervision process and structure, and supervisor/ supervisee feedback and goal setting. Respondents were asked to complete the survey in its entirety beginning by evaluating the supervisor they felt was their “best” supervisor and then by evaluating the supervisor they deemed their “worst” using identical survey items. Results were analyzed using paired t-tests to compare “best” and “worst” supervisors, and stepwise regression analysis was used to determine which aspects of clinical supervision had the greatest impact on the student’s perceived value of supervision. On all but two items of the 48 item survey, there were significant differences between best and worst supervisors. Supervision process, which included items on provision of feedback, had the greatest mean difference between best and worst supervisors, and was also predictive of overall best supervision value and overall worst supervision value. Other trends that may impact future research are discussed. The results of this study will be helpful in guiding the development of training curricula for the training of clinical supervisors in genetic counseling.