School of Communication Sciences and Disorders

Faculty of Health

Supervision Guidelines

for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Student Placements

The amount of supervision a student will need depends upon the type of task assigned, the client population, and the student’s competence and level of training (fall practicum, winter practicum, internship, or externship placement). Supervision should include direct observation, feedback, and guidance to allow the student to evaluate and improve his/her performance and ultimately develop clinical competence.

As a general rule, the School of Human Communication Disorders recommends the following guidelines for supervision of speech-language pathology and audiology students completing practicum placements:

  • Supervise at least 25% of all treatment sessions
  • Supervise at least 50% of each assessment session
  • Supervise 100% of interventions that carry significant risk of harm, including, but not limited to, taking an initial case history, communicating results and recommendations to clients and/or caregivers following an initial assessment, tracheoesophageal puncture care/voice prosthesis placement, dysphagia assessment, ear mold impressions, participating in hearing aid prescription procedures, and cerumen management

These are minimum requirements and should be adjusted upward if the student's level of knowledge, experience, and/or competence warrants such modifications. For example, 2nd year speech-language pathology students completing fall and winter practicum placements require more supervision than the minimum standards listed above. They will require direct training and active feedback during these initial practicum experiences.

Clinical educators must be available to consult with the student when he/she is providing clinical services to clients. The clinical educator should typically be on-site or delegate to an on-site alternate clinical educator who meets the requirements for student supervision if he/she plans to be away.

References