Preparing Students for a Clinical Practicum

Community supervisors are eager to take a student for all of the benefits (i.e., giving back to the profession, help with caseload, learning new ideas). Below are tips for supervisors about preparing students for a clinical practicum.

All graduate students in Speech-Language Pathology programs must complete clinical practicums, also known as externships/internships. The exact number of practicums varies by program. Most graduate programs are 5 semesters and will require at least two off-campus practicums. Graduate programs are reliant on community placements to ensure students graduate with a well-rounded clinical experience.

How should I prepare the student for this experience?

I strongly recommend that you meet with the student prior to them beginning the externship to review your expectations and site requirements (e.g., tentative daily and weekly schedule, plans for taking over your caseload, observations, required documentation and deadlines, what to do if sick, etc.). That is also a good time to let the student know more about your supervision style and ask about what they are expecting from you. Some sites even create a written contract with the student so they written documentation.

Can my student provide services ‘virtually’?

Since the COVID-19 Pandemic began, many sites have switched over to ‘virtual’ or ‘remote’ service delivery (via Zoom / Webex), or have been providing therapy in a ‘hybrid’ format (both in-person and virtual hours). Tele-therapy is an ASHA-approved service delivery method that graduate students can partake in at this time. This does change frequently, so be sure to let your student’s program know if there are tele hours so they can track this.

Most programs will expect that the student’s schedule/workload (e.g., time spent on session planning, documentation, and other admin) should be broadly equivalent to the in-person, on-site experience, as outlined above. 

What hours do the students need?

Students will come with a knowledge of their “needs” as categories of hours required in practicum (i.e., peds vs. adults, treatment vs. diagnostic). While it would be ideal to complete all categories of hours, the populations seen and services provided at each site will vary. Therefore, students may not have the opportunity to complete all categories at one site. For example, some sites may be heavy in diagnostics while others may not have any. Remember that students are completing more than one practicum, so they will have other opportunities.

ASHA requires a minimum of 50 total hours at an externship placement but most programs will have guidelines for hours on site each week. Students should be tracking their hours needed for graduation (minimum of 375) and scheduling their time on-site accordingly. If there are any concerns regarding the clinical experience, don’t hesitate to reach out to your student’s program!

Hopefully, these tips are helpful for preparing students for a clinical practicum.