Can restorative supervision positively impact the emotional wellbeing of HEI Lecturers in healthcare?

Staff wellbeing is crucial to providing a high standard of education for students. Restorative Supervision has been shown to have positive impacts on staff wellbeing including feeling 'valued', reductions in stress and burnout, increased job satisfaction and improved retention. It enables staff to reflect on the emotional and psychological impact of their work and explore and understand the challenges and rewards that are intrinsic to providing high quality teaching. Aim To explore whether restorative supervision can be used to support health care professionals working in a higher education setting. Methods 1. Monthly restorative supervision sessions over six months with 15 multidisciplinary health professional academic staff 2. Focus groups exploring the implications of restorative supervision on perceived and experienced stress and wellbeing Findings Participants identified numerous sources of compassion and emotional burden including self, colleagues, students, and families. Restorative supervision allowed participants to feel supported in their roles and able to reflect on the emotional and psychological impact of their multifaceted working. In particular, the challenges of moving from a clinician to an academic role were explored by several of the participants who felt that they had embarked on a second and complete