Supervision is not a new idea in nursing practice. However, the need for rethinking the routes to achieving standards of care has arisen, in common with other professions, from the complexities and increased pace of today's world. It is incumbent on the nursing profession to research and analyze its practice and adapt to current changes in social trends and also in the practice of the health care team. The editors have brought together contributors from every discipline in modern nursing practice. They provide a description of the history and evolution of supervision in their own field with a view to sharing their own experience with colleagues in other specialities. The aim of the book is for the profession to think out its supervisory practices and to consider some "new" ideas. The therapeutic use of self, strategies to prevent "burn out", the role of the mentor should find echoes in readers' experience.