Graduates who need to undertake supervised practice must find a position as a supervised practitioner and ensure their employer has identified a principal supervisor who will be responsible for coordinating formal supervision and evaluation of the supervised practitioner. The Board and AHPRA are not involved in this part of the process.
During the program, appropriate learning experiences and opportunities will be provided by supervisors to enable the supervised practitioner to develop skills, knowledge and experience necessary for safe, independent practice. The Board’s Professional capabilities for medical radiation practice describe these requirements.
Upon successful completion of the program, in which supervised practitioners have demonstrated their capability in each of the domains relevant to their division of practice, the practitioner is eligible to apply for general registration.
The process for commencing in the program is as follows:
The supervised practice program is designed to provide clinical experience to graduate practitioners holding provisional registration before they are registered for independent practice as medical radiation practitioners.
Following the completion of their program of study, a graduate must obtain provisional registration and be confirmed as participating in the supervised practice program.
During the 48-week program the supervised practitioner must undertake sufficient procedures in a range of clinical settings and diverse patient/client presentations to satisfy the supervisor of the practitioner’s capability as described in the Supervised practice program guide above.
Teaching, supervising and mentoring practitioners and students is important for their development and for the care of patients or clients. It is part of good practice to contribute to these activities and provide support, assessment, feedback and supervision for colleagues, practitioners in training and students. It also adds value to the supervisor’s practice through engagement with the person being supervised and their learning needs.
Each practitioner in the supervised practice program must have a principal supervisor who provides or coordinates their formal supervision and evaluation, including ensuring appropriate learning experiences and opportunities are offered throughout the prescribed program of supervision.
The principal supervisor can delegate day to day supervision to any medical radiation practitioner holding general registration without conditions that would impact on the provision of supervised practice. All supervisors must provide supervision in accordance with the Supervised practice program guide.
Professional capability is a reflection of how a practitioner applies their professional judgement, decision-making skills and experiential knowledge to apply their scientific knowledge, practical skills and ability in any given situation.
Supervisors are required to provide at least four progress reports throughout a supervised practice year-long program. Guidance is provided in the Supervised practice program guide and additional support materials will be provided on the website as they become available.
The reports provide an assessment of the practitioner’s progress, measured against the professional capabilities. They are submitted by the principal supervisor at the end of each three-month period, following a discussion between the supervisor and the practitioner. Report templates are available to download and use in the discussions with the practitioner and other supervisors.
To complete and submit assessments, supervisors log-in to the supervisor services area of the Board’s website. Further instructions are provided below.