Patrick Massey

Clinical Supervision Artifact

Clinical Supervision

1. List some roles of the clinical supervisor

a. The model for clinical skills based in evidence-based prac:ces.
b. A resource for clinical inquiries
c. A support system for failures and success
d. A guide for professional development
e. A teacher, a mentor, and eventually a peer

2. Why do very busy supervisors with heavy caseloads agree to supervise student
clinicians?
a. This ques:on could have a very personal answer and could be highly dependent
on the disposi:on of the supervisor. The field is in need of SLPs that can work in
demanding heavy caseload environments. It is a service to the field to immerse
students in real world scenarios where they have to face clinical decisions on
how not just to serve all of the clients, but how to serve all clients op#mally. This
may allow a student to see how group interven:ons may be organized and run or
how to iden:fy clients that need one on one sessions. These are clinical decisions
that are not present in our normal University environment and are key learning
opportuni:es to prepare future clinicians for real world scenarios.
b. It is common knowledge that in order to teach or supervise others well one
needs to have their own mastery of content and clinical prac:ce. Supervision is
an opportunity to reinforce best prac:ces in the supervising clinician as well.
c. While this should not be the main mo:va:ng factor to take on students for
supervision, it could provide extra support for the clinician. Caseloads can be
exorbitant, especially in the school seMng. Once a student clinician has gained
more competence and confidence, they should be able to take on more of the
load which could provide extra support for the supervising clinician. With high
caseloads comes more IEPs and increased paperwork. While a student should
never be a replacement for a clinician’s work, once the student is opera:ng more
independently it may relieve some pressure on the supervising clinician that may
allow them to accomplish more work. The caveat here is that supervision should
never be compromised in order to accomplish more work.

3. What are the goals of high-quality supervision?

a. ASHA iden:fies several target goals of clinical supervision
i. Teaching students how to apply academic knowledge in a clinical seMng
ii. Progressing and sequencing a student’s development in an appropriate
way
iii. Crea:ng an environment that allows the student to learn, ask ques:ons,
and engage in difficult clinical conversa:ons
 iv. Reinforcing evidence-based founda:ons as a guide for clinical decisions
v. Helping students develop documenta:on competencies with medical
billing, note wri:ng, goal-wri:ng and progress monitoring.
vi. Providing objec:ve feedback to equip a student with prac:cal changes
vii. Iden:fying areas of improvement for the student and providing feedback
in a safe and professional manner.
viii. Encouraging professional communica:on and rela:onship building skills
within the clinical and professional seMng.
ix. Foster personal, clinical, and professional growth of the student
x. Ul:mately, the goal of high-quality supervision is to support a student’s
educa:on and clinical experience with evidence-based founda:ons
through hands on experience that allows the student to gain confidence
and competence in assessments and therapies in a real-world context
with real-:me feedback from a competent clinical professional who is
invested in the growth and development of their student clinicians.

4. What is ASHA’s recommended percentage of supervision :me?

a. 25% of a student’s total contact with a client at a minimum
b. JMU’s recommended percentage is also a minimum of 25% of total client contact
according to the handbook.

5. What clinical services count as hours?

a. Hours must be direct contact with the client or family either in assessment,
therapy, counseling, or management. Documenta:on hours do not count toward
clinical hours.

6. What are the student clinician’s final achievement goals for clinical competency?
a. For JMU it is expected that the student achieved a skill level of Refining or
Independent in the nine disorder areas of prac:ce. The student must also
complete 400 clinical hours (375 direct pa:ent contact + 25 observa:on).
Pending on the placement there may be extra site-specific competencies or
presenta:ons required.
b. Students must also demonstrate competencies in various professional and
clinical skills such as professionalism, assessment and interven:on skills,
documenta:on, progress monitoring, planning, etc

7. What supervisor supports/behaviors have you found helpful this year?

a. I have found it very helpful when a supervisor engages with my clinical ques:ons
and tries to understand the intent of my ques:on. I also have appreciated when
supervisors have asked where I am struggling and have catered feedback to my
own goals. I have found it very helpful when supervisors acknowledge clinical
competence and engage with the material which helps me reinforce what I do
know and helps me to focus more on what I do not yet know.
8. Where do you think you fall on Anderson’s Con:nuum of Clinical Compentency?
a. As a student I believe I fall close to the self-supervision stage. I feel like I have the
founda:ons and skills to address novel:es in my field, but s:ll feel like I need to
confirm somewhat infrequently with a supervisor to make sure I’m on the right
track and make sure I am doing right by my pa:ent. This may all completely
change if my clientele and work seMng ends up being different from my previous
experiences.
b. As a supervisor, I would love to respond to my student according to their needs.
Everyone responds differently to different teaching styles and modali:es of
feedback. Some need more encouragement and guidance and others may
appreciate more independence. If they need a more direc:ve style, I will gladly
provide that. Ideally, I would like to start in the transi:onal/collabora:ve stage. I
personally learn a lot when I have a chance to fail, but failing with support. I hope
to assume competence in my students and help them find the resources to
problem solve as they would in the real world. I would hope get input from the
student about when they feel like they are at the self-supervision stage
understanding that my opinion may differ from my student on that :ming. Most
importantly I would like to provide an environment where the pa:ent feels safe
to make mistakes, feels encouraged, and is able to bring their personality and
strengths to the table.