Family physician experiences with and needs for clinical supervision: Associations between work experiences, professional issues and social support at work

•Among FPs 36% had a need for CS, 35% had experience with CS and 29% expressed no need for CS.•Feeling alone at work, feeling callous toward patients and feeling uncertain of medical knowledge were associated with having a need for CS.•Feeling emotionally drained from work was associated with both needing and experience with CS.•Few work-related issues were associated with the need for CS.•Rewarding work experiences were common among FPs.

ObjectiveTo explore how work experiences, professional issues and social support at work are associated with a need for clinical supervision (CS) among family physicians (FP).MethodsWeb-based survey to FPs in Finland 2011 (response rate 68%; n = 165).ResultsAmong FPs, 36% needed CS, 35% had experience with CS, and 29% did not need CS. Feeling emotionally drained from work was associated with both needing and experience with CS. FPs needing CS felt callous and had committed a medical error in the recent past more often than those with CS experience. FPs expressing a need for CS felt greater uncertainty regarding their professional knowledge and more alone at work than FPs not needing CS. Rewarding work experiences were common.ConclusionsA large proportion of FPs expressed a need for CS. Need for CS is associated with feeling alone at work, experiences of callousness and uncertainty regarding medical knowledge. Experience of emotional drainage was associated with experience of and need for CS.Practice implicationsEmotional drainage may signal a need for CS among FPs. CS might enhance FPs' emotional well-being at work. It should be more widely available to FPs and could be integrated into continuing professional development.