Communication Sciences & Disorders

221 Bohannon Hall, 1207 Ordean Court, Duluth, MN 55812

Phone:(218) 726–7974; Fax: (218) 726–8693

Email: cd@d.umn.edu

University of
Minnesota
Duluth

College of Education &
Human Service Professions

Part 7: Undergraduate Clinical Education: Practicum Requirements

Purpose

The undergraduate B.A.S. degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders is designed to accomplish two goals:

  1. To provide the student with a broad and comprehensive undergraduate scholastic experience.
  2. To provide the student paraprofessional preparation for eventual application and entry into a professional degree program of his/her choice.

As a part of your undergraduate education, you will complete a minimum of 25 hours of supervised observation, and you will complete a minimum of 1 clinical practicum (CSD 4197) under the supervision of Clinic Instructor. All hours must be carefully documented (See Appendix A: Clock Hours Documentation Instructions and Forms).

Only students who are CSD Majors or Graduate Students in the CSD Program are considered for practicum. Students must meet certain knowledge standards to qualify for supervised clinic practicum.

Undergraduate CSD Majors are required to take CSD 4197: Clinic Practicum (3 cr) toward their degree. As a part of CSD 4197, students participate in direct service provision under an ASHA certified and state licensed speech-pathologist or audiologist.

As supervision and client availability permit, the Department offers two elective clinic practicum courses:

Students must meet a number of prerequisites in order to qualify for any of the practicum courses (CSD 4097, CSD 4197, and CSD 4297)

  1. Successful Completion of CSD 3241: Treatment Methods
    • Admission: The student who has earned a grade of B or above in CSD 3230: Treatment Methods and meets other practicum requirements is given permission to enroll in CSD 4197.
    • Admission with Probation: Students who earn a C during in CSD 3230 will be allowed to enroll in CSD 4197, but will be considered to be on clinical probation, subject to established counsel-out procedures
    • No Admission: Students who earn a grade lower than a C in CSD 3230 will NOT be allowed to enroll in CSD 4197: Clinical Practicum. That student must retake the course and receive a grade of C or better in order to enroll in CSD 4197.
  2. Clinic Observation Completed The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) requirements for the Certificate of Clinical Competence state that an individual must have 25 hours of supervised observation. The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders requires that these observation hours be completed BEFORE beginning clinic practicum. Your goal is to complete 25 hours of observation before the end of your junior year. All Observation Hours must be properly documented and submitted for Department approval before you begin Clinic Practicum.
  3. Grade Point Average of 2.8 or higher To be in good academic standing, an undergraduate student must maintain an overall grade point average of 2.8 or higher. Any student failing to maintain the required average is considered to be on academic probation. A student on academic probation will have one semester to increase their grade point average to the minimum requirement of 2.8. Students failing to meet the grade point average requirements will not be allowed to register for further Communication Sciences and Disorders courses, including CSD 4097, CSD 4197, and CSD 4297.
  4. Completion of HIPAA Courses 1 and 4: All students, faculty, and staff who have access to Protected Health Information (PHI) must comply with the Federal Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Undergraduate students will be assigned HIPAA courses 1 and 4, which must be completed before the student is allowed to participate in practicum.
  5. Immunizations To ensure a clinic environment which minimizes the risk of the spread of serious infectious disease, all students and staff provided services in the Robert F. Pierce Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic must submit documentation of the following health requirements:
    • Mantoux Test: This test must be repeated annually, with results submitted on an annual basis to the RFP Clinic. The Mantoux Test is a tuberculin skin test which shows if a person has ever been infected by tuberculosis (TB) germs. If there is a positive test result from the Mantoux Test, follow-up care by a physician is mandatory to determine the presence of active TB.
    • Hepatitis B Vaccine: The Hepatitis B Vaccine is a series of 3 shots given over a period of months. Students may choose initiate the series or sign a waiver stating they do not wish to start the series. Students who choose to get the Hepatitis B Vaccine are responsible for initiating the series before starting clinical activity at the RFP Clinic.
  6. Malpractice Insurance: The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders carries malpractice insurance to cover staff, faculty and students who practice in the RFP Clinic. This insurance also covers students who complete internships and externships off-campus as a part of their degree through the UMD CSD Programs.
  7. Mandatory Clinic Orientation: Prospective interns must complete the mandatory Clinic Orientation before participating in practicum. In the Spring Semester of their junior year, students will receive a letter announcing the orientation date.

Practicum is different from other courses students may have taken. The RFP Clinic serves a vital role in the Duluth community, offering quality services to individuals with communication disorders and differences. When students enroll in a practicum, they become interns of a working clinic. People who come to the clinic look to their interns for help, and interns have the opportunity to expand and refine the skills they have studied and researched in the CSD Program. All interns work and learn under the guidance of clinic Instructors who hold the ASHA Certificate of Clinical Competence and are licensed by the state of Minnesota.

Students enrolled in CSD 4197 should expect to have 1-2 client assignments within the Robert F. Pierce Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic. The number of clients assigned to each student is determined by the clinic director and is based on factors such as client need, student experience, and clinic operational factors. Students also should expect to have additional practicum responsibilities such as hearing screening in the public schools, participation in health fairs, and clinic maintenance duties.

Clock Hours Documentation

Students are responsible for documenting clock hours accrual on forms provided by the Department, and clinic instructors must record their observation time on these forms for each session. Student interns record each session on the Daily Clock Hours Record (See Appendix A). At the end of the Semester, students will generate a Semester Clock Hours Form (See Appendix A) for each instructor with whom they worked. This Form must be verified and signed by the Clinic Instructor. Finally, students will update the Clock Hours Summary Form (See Appendix A) each semester, which is a running log of clock hours accrued toward their degree. Up to 50 undergraduate clock hours may be used toward the total 375 clock hours required by ASHA for certification.

Objectives of Clinic Practicum

Skills expected of senior students by the end of clinical practicum this semester

Refer to Appendix B for Course Outcomes and a sample practicum itinerary.