While supervision can be seen as a form of coaching and vice versa, they are distinct processes. Coaching tends to:

• be more structured and specific, focusing on the development of a specific skill/skill set or understanding [1]Supervision: Guidance for occupational therapists and their managers
• support people through change, promote a balanced life, accelerate personal development and enable people to realise their potential
• aims to produce optimal performance and improvement at work [2]Coaching and mentoring
• have an agenda focused on achieving specific, immediate goals [3]Mentoring and coaching

For more information visit Academi Wales Coaching and Mentoring .

Preceptorship can be defined as a period to guide and support professionals "to make the successful transition from student to accountable, independent, knowledgeable, and skilled practitioner" [8]Preceptorship Framework .

Yet for many professions it can be offered "when and where they need it, to support them at key transition moments in their careers, and to help them in providing safe, compassionate and high-quality care [9]Principles for preceptorship .

While preceptorship might not be available for all professions and may differ in how it is implemented where it is available, it remains a useful way of approaching

While coaches require skills but not experience of a particular role, for a mentor experience is essential in helping a mentee grow in their role and increase their potential capabilities. Mentoring is:

• a process of discovery of knowledge and skills to facilitate growth [4]Supervision: Guidance for occupational therapists and their managers
• assigning tasks, teaching the job, giving support, and providing inspiration and advocacy [5]Effective supervision in social work and social care
• explicitly offered by older or more senior staff except in 'reverse mentoring' by someone more junior or with less experience [6]Guide to mentoring for psychiatric trainees or those who have retired and are offering 'legacy mentoring'
• helpful at times of transition, especially when starting a new role [7]Mentoring and coaching

For more information visit Academi Wales Coaching and Mentoring .

Quality is defined as meeting everyone’s healthcare needs consistently every time and all the time.

The six domains of quality [10]Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century , are an operational framework for quality improvement set out by the Institute of Medicine:

Safety, Timely, Effective, Efficient, Equitable, Person Centred.

These can be applied to any type of supervision. As a supervisor you might consider if the supervision meets the requirements of each the domains. A supervisee could use the domains as a way of offering feedback on the quality of supervision.

For more information on the domains of quality visit Six Domains of Quality (Improvement Cymru) .