New supervised practice arrangements published

04 Dec 2014

The Board has released a statement outlining the new supervised practice arrangements.

The Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia has released the MRP Supervised practice program guide outlining the program requirements for 2015 supervised practice. Graduates will participate in a new 48 week (full time equivalent) supervised practice program that is administered by AHPRA on behalf of the Board. This is the only supervised practice program approved by the Board for 2015.

The Board has also updated its supervised practice webpage that includes the program guide and FAQs to describe the new arrangements for the MRP supervised practice program (SPP).

The program guide details the Board’s requirements, including supervision plans based on the Board’s Professional Capabilities for medical radiation practice statement.

The program guide contains examples of the supervision implementation plans that detail how a principal supervisor will ensure the supervised practitioner receives exposure to and experience across each domain of the capabilities. The implementation plan is designed by the principal supervisor for each practitioner and should include:

• the instrumentation (modalities), clinical settings and patient/client presentations the practitioner will undertake during each quarter of the program 
• supervision arrangements (particularly in cases where the supervised practitioner is working across more than one site), and 
• identify the elements of the capabilities that will be assessed using case discussions.

Supervisors and practitioners should note the process for commencing in the program is different to what has occurred in the past. When graduates receive their provisional registration, they apply to participate in the SPP. When they have been accepted into the program, their principal supervisor must complete a declaration and include copies of the supervision implementation plans for each supervised practitioner. Individual departments are not ‘registered’ or ‘approved’ as part of the new process.

New process for participating in supervised practice

The new process is as follows:

1. The practitioner applies for and receives provisional registration, granted following:
   1. an assessment they meet eligibility criteria, and
   2. University confirmation they have completed their program of study (occurs no earlier than early December)
2. The practitioner secures a job
3. When they have provisional registration the practitioner applies to participate in the program by:
   1. completing form APSP-91. This form includes their details, where they are working, their principal supervisor details and a declaration they will participate in accordance with the program requirements, and 
   2. emailing the completed application form to AHPRA
4. AHPRA checks:
   1. the supervised practitioner is registered, and 
   2. the principal supervisor is eligible to undertake the role (registered for 2 years in the same division and does not have any conditions that would affect their capacity to provide appropriate supervision)
5. The practitioner is notified they are confirmed in the SP program and can commence practice
6. When the practitioner is confirmed in the program, the principal supervisor:
   1. confirms the supervision implementation plan for each practitioner they are supervising 
   2. completes the declaration form PDEC-91, and 
   3. emails the declaration form and supervision implementation plans within 28 days of the practitioner commencing

Supervisors and supervised practitioners are encouraged to read the guide and FAQs and send any questions to mrpsupervisedpractice@ahpra.gov.au

Supervisor training

The Board recognises that some supervisors may not feel adequately skilled or trained to be responsible for providing an appropriate environment for a practitioner to practice safely. Because of this, the Board will provide training and resources to support supervisors prior to and during their supervision activities.

While supervisors are not required to undertake training to act as a supervisor, the Board believes supervisors will benefit from undertaking supervision and assessment training. Therefore, the Board will provide training sessions led by experienced MRP practitioners using the ‘Teaching on the Run’ program, modified to include some MRP specific examples. The facilitators have been trained to provide six modules of supervisor training to principal supervisors and other supervisors. The six modules of training are:

• for principal supervisors: ‘Clinical Supervision’, ‘Planning Learning’, ‘Assessment’ and ‘Supporting Learners’ workshops, which together make up 5½ hours of training 
• for other supervisors: ‘Clinical Teaching’ and ‘Skills Teaching’ workshops which together take around 4 hours.

At least one session for principal supervisors and one session for other supervisors will be offered in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in January or February, with other sessions offered during 2015. The Board is providing this training free of charge. Participants are only required to pay for any travel and incidental costs.

To express interest in attending a training session email mrpsupervisedpractice@ahpra.gov.au indicating your preferred session, location and timing.

For more information

• Visit the Supervised practice page 
• Email mrpsupervisedpractice@ahpra.gov.au 
• For media enquiries: (03) 8708 9200