Records, competence and development
How to give, receive and use supervision well, and how to build a professional development plan that actually changes your practice in Aotearoa New Zealand
Registered health practitioners in New Zealand as supervisees and supervisors: doctors, nurses, midwives, dental professionals, pharmacists, psychologists, occupational therapists, paramedics and other allied health practitioners, plus collegial relationship providers, professional peers, verifiers, preceptors and clinical leaders.
Structured learning and a written reflection to show insight after a complaint, an investigation or a responsible authority inquiry.
Focused learning on a core standard of practice, with a certificate and reflection for your portfolio.
This course is about two tools that every recertification programme in New Zealand now leans on: supervision and the professional development plan (PDP). It untangles the many things New Zealand health care calls supervision (the statutory meaning in the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003, professional or clinical supervision, line management, training supervision, cultural and kaupapa Māori supervision, collegial relationships, professional peers and verifiers) and shows what each responsible authority actually expects. It then teaches practical skills: setting up a supervision agreement, managing confidentiality and its limits, giving and receiving feedback, supervising safely when a regulator has imposed conditions, carrying out a learning needs analysis, writing objectives that can be tested, and evidencing the impact of your learning on consumers.
It is written for doctors, nurses, midwives, dental professionals, pharmacists, psychologists, occupational therapists, paramedics and other registered health practitioners in New Zealand, whether you are a supervisee, a supervisor, a collegial relationship provider, a professional peer, a verifier, a preceptor or a clinical leader responsible for a team's development. It is equally useful for practitioners new to New Zealand practice and for experienced practitioners whose PDP has drifted into a list of courses.
Supervision and planned development are no longer optional extras. The Medical Council builds PDPs into every recertification pathway, the Psychologists Board expects all practising psychologists to engage in supervision, the Occupational Therapy Board has published supervision standards, and the Dental and Pharmacy Councils require named peers or verifiers to engage with your plan. When something goes wrong, decision makers look at whether you used supervision and development planning to keep yourself safe. This course helps you do that well, in a way that is culturally safe and honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
10 sections · 25 lessons · 3 hours (estimated) · 20-question final assessment
Final assessment
20scenario-based questions
Certificate of completion
A certificate of completion for your learning portfolio.
The course includes a structured reflective account template: guided prompts to record what you learned, how you will apply it and how the change will show in your practice. It gives you written evidence of insight after a concern, and a ready record for your CPD portfolio.
Write it in your own words and leave out anything that could identify a patient, a colleague or a case. If you have an open complaint or case, talk to your adviser before reflecting on it in writing.
Several quite different things share the name: supervision as the HPCA Act uses it, clinical or professional supervision, line management, supervision in training, cultural and kaupapa Māori supervision, collegial relationships, and recertification peers and verifiers. Knowing which one you are in tells you what can stay confidential and what must be reported.
The normative, formative and restorative functions and the seven-eyed process model, used to plan and evaluate a session. You also learn to draft a supervision agreement covering purpose, frequency, confidentiality and its limits, records, dual relationships, reporting and review. Supervisors and supervisees both use them.
The course explains how to respond when a supervisee's competence, health or conduct puts consumers at risk, including when a notification under section 34 or section 45 of the HPCA Act may be required, and how to remain fair and supportive while doing so.
It starts with a learning needs analysis from several sources, such as feedback, audit, peer review and equity data, then writes specific objectives linked to standards that can show impact on consumers, and shows how to evidence, review and adjust the PDP so it stands up at audit.
Yes, from the side of both supervisee and supervisor. The authority sets and monitors the terms, so check with it before relying on this course for an order or condition. Online, 3 hours (estimated), NZ$139, with no authority approval claimed.
Every legal and regulatory point comes from primary sources: the HPCA Act 2003, the responsible authorities' standards and the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights. Anything we cannot confirm is left out.
Lessons, scenarios and assessment questions are written by us for each edition separately, then checked for accuracy, teaching quality and fair assessment before publication.
When a code, standard or law changes, the affected courses are reviewed and updated. Reported errors in legal or regulatory facts are corrected first.
Reflect with purpose: Gibbs, Kolb and Johns models, recertification reflection requirements, reflective statements after a concern and the legal status of notes.
Turn a concern into a credible remediation plan: root-cause analysis, testable objectives, supervision and audit, and an organised evidence bundle.
Understand and show genuine insight: the four elements decision makers weigh, red flags of limited insight, and a seven-question reflection method.
