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being a CE through that sharing (Cortazzi, 1993), was, for these CEs, in the main part limited to informal chance discussions rather than through formal peer or supervisory support meetings. Yet all of the participants reported that they valued opportunities to share stories and hence reflect and learn from their experiences with their colleagues. Drawing on speech and language therapy clinical skills As skilled communicators in a clinical role that includes elements of both counselling and teaching, the SLT has specific skills that are readily and obviously of benefit in the role of the CE. These skills may be the core interpersonal and communication skills that are used in everyday clinical practice or be related to formal therapy techniques that are used with clients, for example Brief Solution Focused Therapy (Macdonald, 2007). It may be that certain techniques learnt to support clients’ communication may be transferable to the student learning situation. The most obvious of these are techniques such as scaffolding learning, modelling language use and identifying achievable goals. The participants were able to identify how they drew on those core skills in developing as CEs. They talked about using behaviours with students that they used with their clients: They [students] need more time and building up of confidence but it’s part of being a therapist. It’s part of what you have to do with all your clients, isn’t it? It’s the same sort of set of skills (Ann) In terms of developing those skills, I think most clinicians probably have them. We structure and we scaffold and we do that naturally with our clients. (Marie) Another concept, transferred from working with clients, is that of the philosophy of errorless learning (Baddeley, 1992) which was described as also being effective in supporting students’ learning: I tend to sort of take the same approach as I do with patients which is things like errorless learning and I don’t really like to allow students to flounder around and make mistakes. (Beatrice) The participants spoke of how, in supervising students, they drew on and applied the professional and clinical skills routinely used by a SLT in practice. It would seem therefore that the theory and skills learned as an under-graduate as preparation for clinical practice also contribute to preparing SLTs for the role of CE and this should perhaps be made more explicit to both students and CEs at an early stage. In summary Learning through their own experiences as both student and CE; drawing on a range of resources such as tacit clinical skills, peer support and formal training; and engaging enthusiastically with the concept of continuing professional development were core themes in these SLTs’ stories of learning to be clinical educators. The importance of experiential learning and reflection, collaboration, and talk as important factors underpinning each of these themes was also apparent. The findings of this study highlight the importance of all stakeholders in clinical placements, Higher Education tutors, CEs and the students themselves, acknowledging the lasting impact of early student placement experience and recognising the value of critical

reflection in making sense of it. The significant impact of early challenging situations on the participants in this research highlights this aspect as an area that must be fully considered both in the training of CEs and also when facilitating students’ reflective practice. Reflection on early critical incidents could perhaps be used as a tool during CE training to facilitate discussion and identify potential learning points with developing CEs. The participants’ stories also suggest that university placement organisers and other SLT colleagues should be alert to any CEs who have had challenging experiences while supervising students and should offer them follow up support. This might be in the form of a debrief meeting that allows for a critical evaluation of their experience or through the inclusion of clinical education issues as a matter of routine in peer or mentor support sessions. This might prevent de-motivation and even burnout in those CEs who otherwise would be left feeling unsupported and without an avenue for other peer discussion. However, while formal training for CEs continues to be limited in the UK, these SLTs’ stories also demonstrate that this does not mean clinicians are poorly equipped for the role. On the contrary, they are highly skilled, reflective practitioners who develop the necessary skills by drawing on a diverse range of experiences. References Baddeley, A. D. (1992) Implicit memory and errorless learning: A link between cognitive theory and neuropsychological rehabilitation? In L. R. Squire & N. Butters (Eds.), Neuropsychology of Memory (2nd ed.; pp. 309–313). New York: Guilford Press. Bluff, R., & Holloway, I. (2008). The efficacy of midwifery role models. Midwifery , 301–309. British Association of Occupational Therapists. (2008). Guidance on accreditation of practice placement educators’ scheme . Retrieved from http://www.cot.co.uk/ sites/default/files/apple/public/APPLE-Guidance.pdf Butler-Kisber, L. (2010). Qualitative inquiry: Thematic, and arts-informed perspectives . London: Sage Publications. Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. (2004). Accreditation of clinical educators scheme guidance . Retreived from http://www.csp.org.uk/professional-union/careers- development/practice-educators/accreditation-clinical- educators-ace-scheme Chivers, G. (2010). Informal learning by professionals in the United Kingdom. In H. Bradbury, N. Frost, S. Kilminster, & M. Zukas (Eds.), Beyond reflective practice. New approaches to professional lifelong learning (pp. 120–129). Abingdon, UK: Routledge. Coffey, A., & Atkinson, P. (1996). Making sense of qualitative data . London: Sage Publications. Cortazzi, M. (1993). Narrative analysis . London: The Falmer Press. Cruice, M. (2005). Common issues but alternative solutions and innovations. International Journal of Speech- Language Pathology , 7 (3), 162–166. Dreyfus, H. L., & Dreyfus, S. E. (1986). Mind over machine: the power of human intuition and expertise in the era of the computer . New York: Free Press. Ferguson, A. (2010). Appraisal in student-supervisor conferencing: A linguistic analysis. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders , 45( 2), 215–229.

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JCPSLP Volume 15, Number 2 2013

Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology