Clinical Instructor Profile
Speech Therapy and Then Some Recent Graduate Takes the Reins as Clinical Instructor
Clinical education – the hands-on learning that occurs when students leave the classroom and practice their craft in the real world – is a valuable part of students’ learning experience at SHRS. Not only does it ensure that students are putting their learning into practice, it helps students weigh what experiences and environments they value most, smoothing their transition into a career.
The Department of Communication Science and Disorders’ (CSD) 16-week clinical practicums allow students to put themselves in the shoes of the clinician, learning the intricacies of prevention, screening, evaluation, and treatment. Not only are they a learning ground for clinical competencies and core clinical skills, they also allow students to get to know the fundamentals behind clinical decision-making – the true “whys” as well as the “hows” of their future jobs.
Jennifer Black, a 2003 master’s level graduate of CSD, completed her clinical practicum like so many others while at SHRS. “It was the type of experience I needed to really understand where I could best put my skills to use,” she says of the practicum. “I experienced a wide range of settings in a short amount of time, working with adults and children. There was no better way for me to hone in on where I would fit best over the longterm. It was one of the most valuable components of my education.”
Turning the Tables
It wasn’t that long ago that Black was the student with other, more experienced, speech therapists as mentors. But now, just six years after saving graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, Black is in the role of tutor and her mentees, first-year graduate students in CSD, are learning the nuances of being speech therapists.
Black is just one of many professionals who participate as clinical instructors for SHRS. She works as a speech therapist for K-5 at Highlands School District in Natrona Heights, Pa., giving her time to more than 60 CSD students each semester.
Interestingly, it was the clinical practicum itself that set Black on her current career course. While she was confident in the fact that she had chosen the right profession, she was a bit hazy while still a student about what working environment would suit her best. Her vision for the future became clearer after her first steady dose of helping children.
“I never thought I would be working With children,” she explains, “But one of my last experiences in the practicum was in early intervention in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. It was an amazing experience – really lifechanging for me. I fell in love.”
After graduation, Black took a job almost immediately working with kids and, while she describes the experience as a big change initially, it didn’t take long for her to find a comfortable groove. “The work is more enriching than I would have ever imagined, but at first it was a big change,” she concedes. “Working with children in a school environment can be challenging.”
Winning Hearts and Minds
As part of the program, graduate students come to work with Black one day each week per semester. The main duty of both mentor and mentee is to provide therapy and guidance to the children with whom they work. But the relationships that develop and the trust that evolves between therapist, graduate student, and child can provide long-lasting lessons in and of themselves.
“I develop long-term relationships with my young students as their primary speech therapist, but the addition of a graduate student clinician into the mix leads to extra opportunities for development both with the children and with my grad students,” she notes. “Any way you look at it, it’s a win-win for everyone involved.”
She adds that her students also benefit from having two people, not just one, show interest in their progress and growth. “Their confidence is really elevated knowing that so many people are involved in their personal growth. It’s unspoken, but its there. My students really feel good about all the attention they get as part of the practicum.”
But the good feelings are far from one-sided.
“The bonds that the graduate students form with the children in my caseload are very strong. During the last day of therapy, it’s often my SHRS students who are more upset about ending the practicum and moving on than are the children. It’s notable how close the graduate students become with my students. It’s the special part of the program that can go unnoticed but, in reality, it is where a good part of personal growth occurs. Graduate students can really recognize the value of their work when it’s time for them to move on."