Upholding public protection

All practice supervisors are responsible for upholding public protection when supporting and supervising students. This means that they must ensure that the supervision and support they provide protects the public. It can be done in a number of ways, including:

• ensuring that students are not placed with a person or in a situation that is outside of their capability without suitable support
• understanding and making clear that a person has the right to refuse having a student observe or participate in their care
• serving as a role model for safe and effective practice in line with their professional codes of conduct (including the relevant codes as set by the regulator(s) for each profession)
• raising concerns about any impacts to public protection from student learning. This can mean risks to public protection from the student, but also any risks to people arising from the environment in which the student is placed, including if the practice supervisor has been asked to practice beyond their competence.

All practice supervisors also have a responsibility to abide by the duty of candour, as part of their role as a registered professional.