Stress dynamics between clinical supervisors and allied health students: a scoping review

Stress within clinical supervision in allied health education functions as a reciprocal and relational process that shapes both learning and professional development. This scoping review synthesizes findings from 54 studies published between 1980 and 2024 to examine how stress is experienced, transmitted, and managed between students and clinical supervisors. Four interconnected domains were identified through the synthesis: the supervisory relationship, systemic and contextual pressures, personal factors, and the placement environment. Together these domains illustrate how organizational demands and supervisory strain influence student engagement, feedback processes, and educational outcomes. The literature provides valuable descriptive insight but remains fragmented, methodologically inconsistent, and limited in theoretical integration. Few studies systematically applied established frameworks or examined how stress mechanisms relate to measurable educational or clinical outcomes. Drawing together the transactional model of stress and coping, the job demands and resources model, and the crossover process model, this review proposes an integrated conceptual foundation that positions stress as a relationally embedded and context-dependent process. Advancing this field requires theory-driven and longitudinal research that captures bidirectional stress interactions and evaluates multilevel interventions addressing both relational and systemic contributors. Conceptualizing stress as a dynamic and interdependent process strengthens understanding of supervisory relationships and informs strategies that promote educational quality, professional resilience, and the preparation of competent practitioners in health sciences education.