The first externship provides students with their first intensive opportunity to link classroom material to the clinical world. There are several areas of clinical skill that students should begin to develop at this point in their training:
• administering basic assessment procedures specific to the setting
• planning and implementing treatment for typical clients
• understanding of the role of the speech-language pathologist
• evaluating their interactions with clients, families and other professionals
• observing and describing client’s communication behaviour
• observing and differentiating techniques used by the Clinical Educator
• developing an awareness of the client as a whole person
This placement builds on the skills developed in Externship 1. Each student will be ready to move into either an adult setting or pediatric setting, having completed foundational coursework in each of these areas. At this point, students will have a good sense of their learning style, strengths and the areas they will need to develop to become professional Speech-Language Pathologists.
This placement is two days/week during the fall term and runs concurrently with coursework presented on the alternate days. Students are able to take part in any type of externship setting. Goals will be tailored to individual students according to previous experience. In some settings, because of the extended length of the placement (11 weeks), students may have the opportunity to see the same clients many times and therefore be able to achieve increased independence.
The final placement is 8 weeks in length. Students will start with observation and shared sessions but are expected to move quickly into more independence in the clinic. Rate of progress will depend on individual student’s strengths and past experiences. At the end of the placement, each student should be responsible for approximately 80% of the Clinical Educator’s caseload. Following this placement, students may need to return to UBC to complete any optional graduating requirements (e.g., essay, research project or thesis).
In addition to having acquired entry-level competence as an Audiologist or Speech-Language Pathologist, our goal is to graduate clinicians who:
• Have the knowledge base, clinical skills, and personal characteristics necessary to be capable clinicians
• Can translate classroom knowledge into clinical skills
• Have acquired the appropriate number of clinical hours to meet SAC certification requirements
• Have the ability to work as a generalist with preschool children, school-age children or adults, in a variety of different settings
• Have understanding of professional behaviours and skills that are necessary in the workplace
• Are reflective practitioners that assume responsibility for their life-long personal and professional development
• Are self-aware and able to effectively communicate with diverse groups
• Are professionals with the capacity to constructively and collaboratively approach conflict
• Are collaborative, interprofessional team members who make a positive impact