The speech-language pathology clinical fellowship year (CFY) is a 36-week experience where you transition from being a student to being an independent provider of speech-language pathology (SLP) clinical services. The fellowship is required as part of the American Speech and Hearing Association’s (ASHA’s) Certificate of Clinical Competence for Speech-Language Pathologists (CCC-SLP).
Goals of the CFY
Over the course of your fellowship year, you will receive mentoring from a practitioner who has already achieved the CCC-SLP in order to:
Integrate knowledge and skills from your academic program into a practice environment.
Identify your strengths and weaknesses as an SLP.
Improve your patient care and clinical skills.
Transition to working as an independent SLP practitioner from a practitioner requiring supervision.
CFY Requirements
Requirements for the CCC-SLP include:
1,260 hours of supervision. Supervision can be achieved either through full-time (35 hours per week for 36 weeks) or part-time (minimum of 5 hours per week) practice. However, you cannot shorten the 36-week internship by working more than 35 hours per week.
A mentor. You must work with a mentor who has already achieved their CCC-SLP and is approved by the ASHA.
Clinical practice. At least 80% of your time needs to be in direct patient care. This would include activities such as:
Assessment
Diagnosis
Evaluation and treatment
Family conferences
Report writing
Consultation with clients
Counseling
An evaluation. Your mentor will need to evaluate your skills prior to completion of your CFY. You must obtain a score of 3 or better on all core skills. You are graded on a 1-to-5 scale, with 5 representing “most effective performance” and 1 representing “least effective performance.” Your mentor will be asked to consider the following when making an assessment of your skills:
Accuracy. How well you perform skills without making errors.
Consistency. How well you perform a skill across all the patients you see and treat.
Independence. How well you can perform a skill without supervision or assistance.
Supervisory guidance. Whether or not you seek consultation when needed.
Areas of assessment include:
Ability to implement screening procedures
Ability to obtain and record case histories
Selecting and implementing appropriate evaluation procedures
Adapting interviews and testing to your clients’ needs
Interpretation of test results and integration to develop a diagnostic impression
Develops appropriate treatment plans
Selects appropriate interventions
Develops an appropriate plan for monitoring ongoing treatment and progress
Adapts treatment plan to meet clients’ needs
Maintains appropriate documentation
Complying with administrative regulations, such as documentation and prescription
Considers third-party regulations (e.g., insurance or Medicare) in making assessment and treatment decisions
Demonstrates appropriate communication skills (including verbal, nonverbal, written)
Makes appropriate referrals for other services
Collaborates with other professionals in the care of their patients
By Pat F. Bass III, M.D., M.S., M.P.H.
Pat Bass
Pat is a board certified General Internist and Pediatrician He has served as a reviewer for leading national publications including Pediatrics, the Journal of General Internal Medicine and the Annals of Internal Medicine. Pat is also the asthma guide to About.com, a New York Times Company. Learn more about Pat on Google+
