FAQs

What is clinical practicum?
The clinical practicum experience can be broken down into two parts: direct clinical observation and direct clinical experience.

What is Direct Clinical Observation?
Per ASHA requirements, all students must complete 25 hours of direct observation in speech-language pathology. The Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology expects the student to complete a variety of observation of clinical work in adults and pediatrics, evaluation and treatment in language, articulation, fluency, voice, dysphagia, cognition, pragmatic skills, hearing and augmentative/alternative communication. Observation hours may be obtained from an undergraduate communication sciences program, although once matriculated, all students are given the opportunity to broaden the variety of hours. The 25 hours of observation are not an admission requirement.

What is Direct Clinical Experience?
Clinical experience is one of the key components of the Department's curriculum. Students apply theory learned in the classroom, to practice in several clinical settings and graduate with at least 375 hours of "hand on" experience.

Settings for these experiences are spread throughout the NY Metropolitan area, offering students the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills in areas involving many populations across the lifespan, at medical and/or educational facilities.

When do I start practicum?
Students have the option of commencing an on-campus practicum experience during the fall of the first year while taking COMSC 720, Introduction to Clinic. This initial experience is meant to familiarize students with the treatment processes helping to ease them into the clinical arena. If the student so elects to start in the fall, she or he will be assigned a caseload of working with a clinical educator and one client. No matter what the student's background is, the clinical educator models treatment modalities offering readings necessary to work with the assigned client's disorder(s). This model of working with students has been very successful in preparing students for spring clinic especially for those seeking a "visual learning" experience which parallels COMSC 720.

What are the "essential functions" of a student of Speech-Language Pathologist?
To work in the field of Speech-Language Pathology, there are expectations the clinician possesses basic abilities and even traits such as compassion, empathy, resourcefulness, independence, and patience. In 2006, the Council of Academic Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders unanimously moved to establish that "clinical intervention requires essential functions in the areas of sensory, motor, cognitive, and interpersonal abilities... it is important that students contemplating study for entry into the profession understand that they be able to demonstrate these essential functions."

The Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology seeks to train and prepare future clinicians by ensuring they have acquired solid foundations of knowledge and skill, and, maintain these essential functions. Students enrolled in the Department curriculum must demonstrate throughout the program the development of academic and clinical competencies, so that upon graduation, they may seek employment. The Department not only seeks students meeting high academic standards, but also those with appropriate interpersonal skills and traits consistent with others in the health care industry.

In order to acquire the knowledge and skills requisite to the practice of speech-language pathology to function in a broad variety of clinical situations, and to render a wide spectrum of patient care, individuals must have skills and attributes in five areas: communication, motor, intellectual-cognitive sensory-observational, and behavioral-social. These skills enable a student to meet graduate and professional requirements as measured by state licensure and national certification. Many of these skills can be learned and developed during the course of the graduate program through coursework and clinical experience. The bold items, however, are skills that are more inherent and should be present when a student begins the program.

Communication: A student must possess adequate communication skills to:

• Communicate proficiently in both oral and written English language.
• Possess reading and writing skills sufficient to meet curricular and clinical demands.
• Perceive and demonstrate appropriate non-verbal communication for culture and context.
• Modify communication style to meet the communication needs of clients, caregivers, and other persons served.
• Communicate professionally and intelligibly with patients, colleagues, other healthcare professionals, and community or professional groups.
• Communicate professionally, effectively, and legibly on patient documentation, reports, and scholarly papers required as a part of course work and professional practice.
• Convey information accurately with relevance and cultural sensitivity.

Motor: A student most posses adequate motor skills to:

• Sustain necessary physical activity level in required classroom and clinical activities.
• Respond quickly to provide a safe environment for clients in emergency situations including fire, choking, etc.
• Access transportation to clinical and academic placements.
• Participate in classroom and clinical activities for the defined workday.
• Efficiently manipulate testing and treatment environment and materials without violation of testing protocol and with best therapeutic practice.
• Manipulate patient-utilized equipment (e.g., durable medical equipment to include AAC devices, hearing aids, etc.) in a safe manner.
• Access technology for clinical management (i.e., billing, charting, therapy programs, etc.).

Intellectual/Cognitive: A student must possess adequate intellectual and cognitive skills to:

• Comprehend, retain, integrate, synthesize, infer, evaluate and apply written and verbal information sufficient to meet curricular and clinical demands.
• Identify significant findings from history, evaluation, and data to formulate a diagnosis and develop a treatment plan.
• Solve problems, reason, and make sound clinical judgments in patient assessment, diagnostic and therapeutic plan and implementation.
• Self evaluate, identify, and communicate limits of one’s own knowledge and skill to appropriate professional level and be able to identify and utilize resources in order to increase knowledge.
• Utilize detailed written and verbal instruction in order to make unique and dependent decisions.

Sensory/Observational: A student must possess adequate sensory skills of vision, hearing, tactile, and smell to:

• Visually and auditorily identify normal and disordered (fluency, articulation, voice, resonance, respiration characteristics, oral and written language in the areas of semantics, pragmatics, syntax, morphology and phonology, hearing and balance disorders, swallowing cognition, social interaction related to communication).
• Identify the need for alternative modalities of communication.
• Visualize and identify anatomic structures.
• Visualize and discriminate imaging findings.
• Identify and discriminate findings on imaging studies.
• Discriminate text, numbers, tables, and graphs associated with diagnostic instruments and tests.
• Recognize when a client’s family does or does not understand the clinician’s written and or verbal communication.

Behavioral/Social: A student must possess adequate behavioral and social attributes to:

• Display mature empathetic and effective professional relationships by exhibiting compassion, integrity, and concern for others.
• Recognize and show respect for individuals with disabilities and for individuals of different ages, genders, race, religions, sexual orientation, and cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Conduct oneself in an ethical and legal manner, upholding the ASHA Code of Ethics and university and federal privacy policies.
• Maintain general good physical and mental health and self care in order not to jeopardize the health and safety of self and others in the academic and clinical setting.
• Adapt to changing and demanding environments (which includes maintaining both professional demeanor and emotional health).
• Manage the use of time effectively to complete professional and technical tasks within realistic time constraints.
• Accept appropriate suggestions and constructive criticism and respond by modification of behaviors.
• Dress appropriately and professionally.

Will the COMSC Program help me find a job after graduation?
Students are prepared for job searches, resume writing and interview skills early during their final semester's seminar. The Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology alerts all students equally about known employment availabilities, but it does not endorse any job opportunity. It is best for the graduate to explore her or his own professional goals and employment.

How can I arrange to observe speech-language pathology clients and services at the Hunter clinic?
Hunter's clinic is the hub of clinical activities at the Brookdale campus, with clients being served, students and supervisors working together to see clients, and students preparing for clinical activities. Because of privacy and liability policies, only students matriculated in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, and of them, only students enrolled in COMSC 720 and holding liability insurance, may do observations here.

Will my 25 hours of observation I completed as an undergraduate be accepted at Hunter?
Many students come to Hunter having completed 25 hours of observation in speech-language pathology, however they are often concentrated in just one or two areas of practice, e.g., pediatric articulation in a school, or autism treatment at specialized center, or cochlear implants, etc. The Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology's philosophy is to ensure students have a broad exposure across the lifespan, from culturally and linguistically diverse populations with various communication disorders and disabilities. Matriculated students will be required to submit proof of the 25 hours of previous observation, but students should also be aware that the Department may require further observation in order to comply with its philosophical mission of a broadened experience.

What should the breakdown of my observations include?
Students are encouraged to observe speech-language pathologists at work in a variety of settings: schools, hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, early intervention sites, home care, private practices, etc. Further, students should ensure they observe adults and children receiving evaluations and treatments. The observed communication disorders should include these four areas: language, articulation, fluency, and swallowing. Additionally, at least two of the following areas as well: voice, hearing, cognition, social skills, augmentative communication. Students matriculated in the Department curriculum presenting only a letter stating they completed 25 hours of observation will be required to document, in narrative form, the types of clients, communication disorders they observed and amount of designated time for each observation.

Are there research opportunities for COMSC students?
Students are encouraged to develop interests in research activities helping them to become critical thinkers in the field of Speech-Language Pathology and applying evidence-based practice in the clinical arena. Opportunities vary, running from class projects, to development of research posters, to assisting faculty in their own research. COMSC students have presented their work at ASHA's annual national convention, New York State's annual meeting, and through interdisciplinary research days sponsored by Hunter College.

What technologies are available for student learning?
Classrooms
"Smart" classrooms and "enhanced" classrooms are the norm throughout Hunter College including the Brookdale campus. For a listing of each classroom at Brookdale and the technology it has been assigned, click here Audio-visual support services.

Resources
Audio-visual support services are extensive at the Brookdale Health Science campus. Advanced technological features enable instructors to use multiple media and viewing devices for teaching as well as quickly access live internet sites during class. Many classrooms and labs have wireless internet availability and there are several computer-based labs on the campus accessible to students.

The Health Professions Education Center, located on the mezzanine level of the West Building at Brookdale, maintains an extensive library of videos. In addition, the media center offers students use of computers for technology-based instruction.

The Health Professions Library, located on the second floor of the West Building at Brookdale, has collections supporting the academic and research needs of the campus as well as its own computer lab.

Hunter College makes use of Brightspace LMS which allows for postings, discussions, uploading and downloading of files, communication, and information sharing, per registered class. It is left to each course instructor's decision as to what extent Brightspace is used. The Department encourages full-time and adjunct faculty to take advantage of Brightspace's features.

Finally, COMSC's clinic, the Hunter College Center for Communication Disorders, engages technology as a teaching tool in the clinic via secure dvd recordings, computer access, voice analysis equipment and real-ear hearing aid measurement. COMSC frequently takes advantage of available funding such as NY State Graduate Research Technology Initiative (GRTI) grants and Teaching Technology grants.

Recent technology upgrades to COMSC's clinic include:

• iPads
• Digital video recording/monitoring systems (monitoring, treatment and conference rooms)
• 46" flat screen monitor (conference room)
• Kay Elemetrics CSL (voice lab)
• Quest Sound Level equipment (booths)
• Intelligent Hearing Systems (ABR)
• HD Video Cameras (treatment rooms)
• Sennheiser HD headphones (monitoring room)
• HIPAA-compliant student review equipment (monitoring room)

What is the TSSLD?
The certificate, Teacher of Students with Speech and Language Disabilities (TSSLD) is required by New York State (NYS) for speech-language pathologists wishing to work with school-aged children in a school setting. The certificate is also necessary for individuals working in facilities receiving funding from the Department of Education.

To earn this certification, do I take extra courses?
The Speech Language Pathology MS curriculum is embedded with all coursework and externships necessary to finalize New York State teacher certification after graduation.

I am moving out of state after graduation. Will my teacher certification be transferable?
The MS degree curriculum is designed to meet New York State teacher requirements. Check with the Department of Education of the state you are moving to, in order to see their requirements. If another state has teacher certification requirements, the Department's curriculum will have you well-prepared.

Am I required to take these courses even if I want to work in a hospital?
First, there are some hospitals that require their speech-language pathologists hold the TSSLD because they may receive NYS funds for special children's programs. It's also advisable to keep your professional options open. Students are not required to apply for the certification after graduation, however, the curriculum is embedded with the necessary NYS courses; students cannot opt out of them.

How do I find out more about New York State Teacher Certification?
Requirements for the TSSLD are outlined by the New York State Education Department's Office of Teaching Initiatives.