JCPSLP Vol 15 No 2 2013

Clinical education

Speech and language therapists learning to be clinical educators Julia Stewart

This paper considers the factors which might be important to speech and language therapists (SLTs) as they learn to be clinical educators. It draws on an interpretative study that asked ten SLTs in the UK to explain how they felt they had developed the skills necessary to supervise students’ learning. The themes of talk, collaboration, reflective practice and experiential learning were central to the stories told by the participants and highlight the diverse range of skills which SLTs draw on to support the limited formal clinical education training they receive. O ver a decade ago, McAllister (2001) suggested that clinical education was underresearched in the United Kingdom. This paper addresses this gap. It explores the professional development of SLTs as clinical educators, specifically focusing on how clinicians learn to be clinical educators (CEs) once they have qualified as SLTs and are ready to supervise students themselves. Recent research in the area of clinical education has considered how language is used by both students and CEs in student–supervisor conferencing (Ferguson, 2010); the use of different placement and supervisory models in current clinical practice (Sheepway, Lincoln, & Togher, 2011) and issues and innovations in clinical education (Cruice, 2005; McAllister, 2005; Stansfield, 2005). The focus in all of these articles is typically directed towards student learning and professional development or to the teaching and assessment methods employed, rather than on the CE’s development. Within two years of graduating SLTs are often asked to act as CEs and supervise student SLTs. The role of the CE is to supervise, teach, support and assess the student in the clinical environment. As such, it is recognised as a complex and demanding role. CEs in the UK typically attend a short preparatory training day before supervising their first student. However, some previous research has suggested that the training and support provided to developing CEs does not adequately prepare them for the role (Higgs & McAllister, 2005; Stansfield, 2001). While both physiotherapists and occupational therapists in the UK have introduced accredited clinical educators’ schemes: the Accreditation of Clinical Educators Scheme (ACE) (physiotherapy) and the Accreditation of Practice Placement Educators’ Scheme (APPLE) (occupational

therapy) (Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, 2004; British Association of Occupational Therapists, 2008), there are no similar schemes in place for SLTs. Training for the latter remains unaccredited, despite recognition that this would improve the status of CEs (McAllister & Lincoln, 2004). The study The doctoral research presented in this paper used an interpretative approach, based on narrative inquiry, to explore the experiences of 10 SLTs from the south of England. The participants were SLTs who support students on clinical placement. An open invitation for participants was sent to local placement coordinators. Purposive sampling was then used to recruit participants who brought diversity through a range of factors such as: age, clinical experience and location. Each participant was given a pseudonym (see Table 1). Ethical approval was provided by Exeter University. Due to the nature of the purposive sampling all of the participants knew of the researcher and her role as a university tutor with responsibility for clinical education.

Keywords clinical education clinical educators experiential learning professional development This article has been peer- reviewed

Table 1. The participants Participant

Years experience as

Years experience as a

a SLT

clinical educator

Aida Amy Ann

32 21 18

29 12 10

Julia Stewart

Justine

7 5 3

5 0 2

Paula Rose Marie

15 25

13 21

Beatrice

Lucy Jane

5

3

14

10

Participants told their stories during semi-structured interviews which took place in a quiet room either at participants’ place of work or the researcher’s university. Interviews lasted approximately an hour and were audio recorded for later transcription. The interviewer opened the conversation with “Tell me how you learned to be a clinical educator” and then allowed each participant to tell their story as they wished with minimal prompts or further questions. A thematic analysis approach was used by the author to identify key concepts both within and across these stories.

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JCPSLP Volume 15, Number 2 2013

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