Clinicians make significant contributions to the profession by taking on the role of student supervisor and CASLPA is committed to highlighting this aspect of our scope of practice.

Profile of a Clinician

Tracey Findlay- University of British Columbia
by Liz MacLeod

Interviewee: Tracey Findlay, M.A.,CCC-S-LP, S-LP (C)
Practice Coordinator, Speech-Language Pathology, Vancouver Acute (G.F. Strong, Vancouver General Hospital, UBC Hospital) & Clinical Faculty Representative, Speech-Language Pathology School of Audiology and Speech Sciences University of British Columbia

Interviewer: Liz MacLeod, M.Sc., S-LP (C)
Clinical Coordinator
Speech-Language Pathology
School of Audiology and Speech Sciences
University of British Columbia

LM Why did you decide to become a clinical educator?

TF Initially I became a clinical educator because it was an expectation of my first job. It was made clear to me in the interview that I would eventually become a clinical educator.

LM Was that something that made the job more appealing?

TF Yes, I think I saw the benefit. I myself had had clinical educators and so felt it was necessary in order to perpetuate the profession. And then I really enjoyed it. I had my first student from UBC and decided to keep going because I really, really enjoyed it.

LM How do you benefit from having students?

TF Professionally, I think we as speech-language pathologists need to be
able to answer the question why we are doing something: Why am I doing this assessment this way? Why am I treating this way? Why am I talking to the family this way, or the team? A student always asks you those questions, so it keeps you on your toes and keeps you from getting in a rut... It consistently makes you evaluate what you are doing and why. I find that really beneficial. Most of the students I come in contact with become colleagues for life, and so I can call them, and they can call me. I don't supervise students directly now, but I always make sure the students know that once they have been here (G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Centre), they are part of our "family" and we invite them to stay in touch.

LM And what about for the agency, from your administrative point of view?

TF It is invaluable for recruitment! Frankly, if I think about the people we have hired at G.F. Strong most recently - our last hire was a U.B.C. grad who had done a placement with us. We have hired many of the students who have had placements with us. They have been invaluable to us as far as recruitment. That is our biggest benefit.

Also for the speech-language pathologists, if the students get up to speed and they are independent fairly quickly, it enables the clinician to spend time doing some reading or other things because the student is able to see the client. Now we typically supervise more than the guidelines suggest, but when a student is feeling independent, we may leave them and do some extra things like more contact with family, some in-servicing, or some journal readings, but that depends on the student.

LM Do you find that the clinical educators at G.F. Strong help each other with ideas about working with students?

TF Once a month we have peer mentoring sessions and student issues often come up, e.g., "My student is having a difficult time grasping .... Have you ever had that before and what have you found that helps?"

I see different tracking forms being shared, I see different feedback forms
being shared. We are very fortunate to have this on-site network. The
speech-language pathologists take a lot of pride in being good clinical educators.

LM Does it save time when you are orienting a new employee if they have done a placement with you?

TF It's easier for a new SLP who has done a placement with us to get up to speed faster. Typically, some of the challenges that often we don't think about in a new job, like where to find a light bulb, how to order a pencil, how to schedule clients, those kinds of things, are equally vital to your job. We tend to focus on the clinical and client issues, but how the site works and who to call for what and how to navigate through the various systems, it's very helpful if the student has had a placement with us. It just puts them that much further ahead and they have a better idea of what to expect.

LM What sort of university support is important?

TF I see the clinical educator, the student and the university support person as a triangle and they all work together. It is important that you have someone from the university who makes contact with the clinical educator and that there is the ability to have dialogue, to talk about the joys and the sorrows of the placement.

We are fortunate enough that most of the time our clinical educators can't wait to phone the clinical coordinators to tell them how great everything is going. But I have been in situations where we have had difficulty and I have found the university to be very responsive. I really appreciate that support. The student handbook provides some structure and some guidance, especially for the new clinical educators. The university also keeps in touch with the clinical educators about various lectures, colloquia, and other opportunities.

LM If you were talking to someone who was thinking of taking a student, what would you say to them?

TF I would strongly encourage them to do it. It is a way to give back in a very basic way - they themselves had clinical educators. Again, it's a busy, busy time, it's very intense. Students do require a little bit of extra work and your schedule can get a little busier, but it's well worth it. You get to see them develop and grow and that is really exciting! Students share recent theoretical information. It's good for recruitment. It is nothing but beneficial.

If we don't have clinical educators, the clients with communication disorders will not be served. It's as simple as that. If that's what you truly are a speech-language pathologist for, then you need to be a clinical educator. It's not one or the other as far as I'm concerned.

LM Thanks very much Tracey