Building a Community for Clinical Fellows in Voice and Upper Airway Disorders

Abstract

Purpose: The clinical fellowship (CF) in speech-language pathology may be a challenging experience as graduate students transition to clinicians. A grassroots committee of experts in voice and upper airway disorders (VUAD)-called Pathway for Advanced Voice Education and Service (PAVES)-organized community-building groups for clinical fellows. This article assesses the opportunities that PAVES offered clinical fellows specializing in VUAD to connect and build community with each other. Method: A survey about CF experiences was administered online to individuals who completed a CF in speech-language pathology, where at least 75% of their caseload included VUAD. The questions focused on a social media group and lecture series offered by PAVES that were aimed at building a community for clinical fellows. Survey respondents included individuals who participated in PAVES activities and those who did not. Results: Thirty-two respondents completed the survey: 44% of respondents participated in the Facebook group and 75% participated in the lecture series. Using a 10-point visual analog scale, respondents who participated in both groups rated greater feelings of community (M = 5.08, SD = 1.50) than those who did not participate in the groups (M = 3.14, SD = 2.12). Ratings for overall CF experience (M = 8.16, SD = 1.95) were not associated with feelings of community (r = .067, p = .716). Several other benefits from participating in the community-building groups were also reported. Conclusions: PAVES provided new opportunities for clinical fellows to connect with each other across the United States. This article presents a survey that assessed feelings of community in clinical fellows who participated in the community-building groups and those who did not. Results indicate that the groups were successful in enhancing feelings of community, and future directions are discussed to further benefit VUAD CF cohorts. The first year of professional service in speech-language pathology is a meaningful transition period from graduate student to clinician known as the clinical fellowship (CF) year. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) regulates the CF requirements, which include clinical practice at a minimum of 36 weeks and 1,260 clinical hours under the supervision of a certified and licensed speech-language pathologist (SLP; Council