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

RUTH GESSER - McGill University
by Jeanne Claessen

Ruth Gesser has a long and distinguished career in communication disorders. It can easily be said that she is the leading expert in voice disorders for the province of Quebec. In 1994 she helped establish the Voice Clinic at the Montreal General Hospital (MGH). For this accomplishment she received the Prix Germaine Huot from l'Ordre des Orthophonistes et Audiologistes du Québec (OOAQ). Ms. Gesser has been a long-term resource for voice disorders for Speech-Language Pathologists from across the province of Quebec; this includes both the francophone and the anglophone sectors.
Ms. Gesser's second area of expertise is motor speech disorders. She is a frequent presenter at Parkinson's groups (especially the Parkinson's Foundation). A third area of her expertise is in neurogenic disorders.

Ms. Gesser has presented at major conferences in North America and Europe on voice and motor speech disorders. Further, she has published articles on these disorders in professional journals and other publications. She has also been interviewed in science programs on television and has appeared on popular radio shows.

Regarding her links with academia, Ms. Gesser has made significant academic contributions since she graduated as a speech-language pathologist (SLP) from McGill University in 1980. She has been a McGill Professional Associate since 1982. She has supervised large numbers of SLP graduate students for over 20 years. Between 1992 and 1999, Ms. Gesser taught the Voice Disorders Course and Voice Disorders Lab at the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders (SCSD) at McGill. Since 1999 she has continued to teach the Voice Disorders Lab. In addition, Ms. Gesser has been teaching Voice Therapy as a guest lecturer at l'Université de Montréal for a number of years.

Ms. Gesser has also served as a mentor to McGill alumni across Canada, and in the past she has provided a SLP with two months of clinical supervision in order for this person to fulfil the OOAQ membership requirements.

Aside from being an extremely valued and dedicated mentor and teacher, Ms. Gesser is also an outstanding clinical supervisor. For two decades she has supervised McGill students year-round in her two work settings. At the Constance Lethbridge Rehabilitation Centre, second year students have an opportunity to learn the ropes with motor speech and neurogenic populations during the fall and winter terms. Each year in the spring and summer, final year students have the privilege to work with Ms. Gesser in her voice lab at the MGH. Students consistently rate Ms. Gesser's clinical supervision skills very highly. On the Supervisor Appraisal Form, almost without exception, she receives 5 out of 5 (and occasionally 6 out of 5!) on the 1-5 rating scale. Some of the students' descriptive comments relative to her superior supervision skills are mentioned here. (Note: many of these comments occurred repeatedly):

I. As a clinical supervisor:

• excellent supervisor
  
• promotes independence
  
• encourages student to participate in sessions early on, yet is ready to fill in when the student is unsure
  
• student treated as an equal
  
• adapts to student's requests
  
• made me feel at ease when I was not sure what I was doing
  
• available for supervision and case discussion time
  
• feedback is very meaningful, constructive, appropriate, excellent and abundant
  
• provides lots of additional information - readings and videos to watch
  
• conscious of student workload outside placement; takes this into consideration when giving assignments

II. As a clinician:

• an expert in the field with +++ experience
• very knowledgeable and happy to share knowledge with students
  
• very good at explaining concepts and voice problems
  
• shares her large expertise in voice disorders
  
• excellent bedside manner
  
• exciting case discussions
  
• enjoys her job as SLP and supervisor

III. As a person:

• easy to get along with
  
• very nice demeanour/flexible/relaxed/generous
  
• very approachable
  
• enthusiastic about her work
  
• loves supervising students

And feedback from a francophone student:

" Ruth est très compétente pour tout ce qui touche aux problèmes neuromoteurs et sait faire partager ses connaissances et son enthousiasme.

Not only is Ms. Gesser "kept on her toes" through continuous contact with students, she also regularly attends workshops on clinical education at McGill, as a means of honing her mentoring and clinical supervision skills. In addition, Ms. Gesser currently serves as a member of the Continuing Education Committee at SCSD.

SUMMARY:
Ms. Gesser would appear to be most deserving of the CASLPA Mentorship Award and this seems long overdue. She is to be commended for her outstanding work in her many roles as clinician, teacher, mentor and clinical supervisor in voice, motor speech and neurogenic disorders. In all these capacities, and also as a human being, Ruth is a role model and inspiration for patients, colleagues and students alike, who are able to benefit greatly from her extensive experience. We are indeed very fortunate to have Ruth Gesser in Montreal, and recommend her most highly for the CASLPA Mentorship Award 2004.

Ruth Gesser won the CASLPA Mentorship Award, and she accepted it in person at the CASLPA Conference in May 2004.