Postgraduate Taught

Healthcare and Medicine

Principles of Supervision, Mentoring and Coaching

HPDM142

This module is an introduction to working as a clinical educator in a supervisory, mentoring or coaching role.

Clinical educators are practitioners who teach, guide and facilitate the learning of others in a healthcare-related context. They may work within a specialist education setting or in a clinical workplace, and will normally be responsible for teaching students, trainees and/or peers.

This module is suited to:

Suitable for healthcare practitioners wishing to develop their roles as clinical educators. It is aimed at those from a wide variety of academic and professional backgrounds including nurses, doctors, dentists, physician associates, advanced practitioners, allied healthcare and public health professionals, and academic clinical fellows.

What will I learn?

This module allows you to explore the theory, practice and evidence base concerned with supervision, mentoring and coaching. Through highly interactive talks, small group discussion and structured activities, we will: 

  • Explore what is meant by supervision, mentoring and coaching in different contexts 
  • Practise the skills involved, focussing on the giving and receiving of feedback 
  • Think through the challenges and opportunities of these approaches, especially in situations where learners are experiencing difficulties. How can we support them to move forward? 

You will be expected to engage with the education evidence base research, and critically apply it to your own professional context. Our aim is to facilitate deeper understanding of supervision, mentoring and coaching, especially through the lens of peer review and feedback. 

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this module, you should be able to:

  1. Demonstrate a theoretical understanding and practical application of the utilisation of a range of different feedback methodologies in a variety of healthcare education contexts and situations. 
  2. Explain in detail how learning characteristics and issues can be identified in practice and how a variety of interventions and strategies can be employed to encourage learner remediation and improvement. 
  3. Demonstrate a professional understanding of the roles and responsibilities of statutory and employing bodies in the provision and quality assurance of education in the health professions. 
  4. Critically appraise the importance of and your own ability to provide constructive feedback to peers within the workplace, and actively engage with feedback received on one’s own professional practice. 

How is the module assessed?

Presentation % Size/Duration
Written coursework – Reflection on peer review activity 100 2000 words

Syllabus plan

  • Theories of feedback 
  • Feedback models
  • Learners’ understanding of and responses to feedback 
  • Learners in difficulty; causes, recognition and remediation 
  • Feedback practice - giving and receiving feedback in context

Teaching format

Guided study and online discussion forums (December 2024), two on-campus contact days (January 2025), one written assignment (February 2025) 

Module staff

Jane Rowe
Senior Lecturer (Education and Scholarship)

Mrs Sarah Bradley
Associate Professor Medical Education (Education and Scholarship)

Dr Alice Osborne
Director of Student Support (Clinical Practice), BMBS

Rebecca Ledger

Rebecca Ledger
Learning and Development Manager (Personal Effectiveness)

Entry Requirements

You should hold a minimum 2.2 Honours degree (or for older qualifications a Professional Diploma) in a healthcare-related discipline. Relevant clinical experience or previous postgraduate qualifications will also be considered as part of the admissions process. 

You will be teaching and/or leading and facilitating the learning of healthcare students or colleagues, or aspiring to do so as part of your role. You will also be required to demonstrate how you take responsibility for your own continuing professional development and reflect on your performance. 

English language requirements

International students need to show they have the required level of English language to study this course. The required test scores for this course fall under Profile B. Please visit our English language requirements page to view the required test scores and equivalencies from your country.

 Starts December 2024

£1,100 (Home)
£2,500 (Intl)

Part-time
On campus

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