CDIS Clinical Information

This section of the site is intended for students in
clinical practicum.

Recent Announcements
Registration
Textbooks and Materials
Due Dates
Practicum Policies
Confidentiality
Required Trainings and Documents
Fingerprinting
Liability Insurance
Dress Code

Clinical forms, the Supervisor's Handbook, and the full Graduate Student Handbook are available on our CDIS Program Documents page.

Recent Announcements

• Student Survey for Program Improvement for the CDIS Program at ENMU.  All second year students are invited to provide feedback to the program about your matriculation experience.  Survey results are anonymous, but will be included among other data shared with our accreditation site visitors this fall.

  This survey will be open until October 21 , 2011.  First years will complete this survey in the spring.

• Practicum Supervisor Evaluations - Fall 2011:
  Rate your practicum supervisor! All students completing practicum or externship in the fall both on and off campus who are enrolled in CDIS 501, 502, 503, 589, or 593 are invited to provide the Program with feedback.
  
  All surveys are confidential.  Data will not be retrieved until final grades have been posted.  The survey has 10 questions and is untimed.  You may move forward and backward in the survey at will. Please submit a separate evaluation for each practicum supervisor and practicum setting. This survey will open after fall client conferences and will close on January 31, 2012. Click here to rate your supervisor!

Registration

Students are unable to register for practicum independently. Students wishing to enroll should email Dr. Suzanne Swift at Suzanne.Swift@enmu.edu. You must include your student ID# in your correspondence.

Textbooks and Materials

• CDIS 501: Hegde, M.N. (2007). Hedge's Pocket Guide to Assessment in Speech-Language Pathology, 3rd Ed. Thomson-Delmar Learning.
• CDIS 502: Flasher, L.V. & Fogle, P.T. (2004). Counseling Skills for Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists. Thomson-Delmar Learning.
• CDIS 503: Johnson, A.F, & Jacobson, B.H., (2007). Medical Speech-Language Pathology: A Practitioner’s Guide. Thieme.

• CDIS 589: Carl, L.L., & Johnson, P.R. (2006). Drugs and Dysphagia: How medications can affect eating and swallowing. Pro-Ed.

Students must additionally purchase a 3 Ring Binder (1 inch size), a tape recorder, a small flashlight, and a stopwatch (or a watch with a secondhand).

Due Dates

Students should refer to their course syllabus for more specific information.

• Second week of classes: Review assignment file, draft Plan of Care, meet with supervisor
• Third week of classes: Clinic begins, Plan for Supervision due
• Fourth week of classes: Liability insurance, TB test, and Hep B records due
• Eighth week of classes: Mid-term performance review, 1st draft of Progress Report due
• Last week in November: Final week of Clinic; Final Report draft due
• Week before finals (Monday at 12:00 pm) – Finished copy of Semester Report due; Client Conferences

Practicum Policies

The following policies have been established to provide a quality education appropriate to each individual student, to allow the Program to monitor each student's progress toward attainment of ASHA CCC standards, or to document such progress for each student. Policies listed below are in abbreviated form. Students should refer to their Graduate Student Handbook for additional detail.

Attendance at practicum meetings is required for all students enrolled in on-campus practicums. See Ms. Valenti for details.

Promotion within practicum levels

• Students must minimally complete 25 hours of supervised observations prior to degree completion. Students may be required to complete additional observations as directed by their supervisor.
• Students must minimally complete 3 credit hours of CDIS 501: Beginning Practicum with ENMU faculty/staff prior to placement with outside supervisors. Beginning Practicum assignments will include clients in the ENMU Clinic and may also include off-campus sites at which CDIS faculty/staff supervise. Students must achieve a rating score of at least 3.25 on the Clinical Practicum Student Assessment (CPSA) to advance to CDIS 502: Intermediate Practicum.
• Students must minimally complete 3 credit hours of CDIS 502: Intermediate Practicum. Assignments during enrollment in CDIS 502 may include placement in a public school or preschool setting. Students will also be required to complete assignments in the ENMU Clinic as deemed necessary by the Program. Students must achieve a rating score of at least 4.0 on the CPSA and have accrued at least 150 clock hours at the graduate level to be able to advance to CDIS 503: Advanced Practicum. It is likely that students will need more than one semester of CDIS 502 before being eligible to advance to CDIS 503.
• Students must minimally complete 3 credit hours of enrollment in CDIS 503: Advanced Practicum. Assignments during enrollment in CDIS 503 typically include placement in additional types of practicum sites, but may also include a public school or preschool setting, depending upon the needs of the student. Students will also be required to complete assignments in the ENMU Clinic. Students must achieve a rating score of at least 4.5 on the CPSA, have accrued at least 250 clock hours at the graduate level and a total of 300 clock hours (undergraduate and graduate), and have completed all KASA outcomes for 501, 502, and 503 to advance to CDIS 589: Internship.

Grading

Students' grades will be assigned according to supervisor(s) rankings/feedback of student performance across practicum parameters as listed on the Clinical Practicum Evaluation Form. Students should familiarize themselves with this form in order to know what expectations the supervisor may have. This form can be found within the CDIS Graduate Student Handbook.

Students are required to make a grade of B or better in all clinical practicum experiences. Students who are earning/have earned a C or lower in practicum must meet with the Program Director and/or Clinic Director.

Competency Rating Scale: Competencies are rated from 1.0 to 5.0. The following descriptors are used to rate each competency:

• 5.0 = Demonstrates the behavior consistently and independently; requires only occasional general  discussion
• 4.0 = Demonstrates the behavior with general guidance from supervisor; can independently problem solve
• 3.0 = Demonstrates the behavior with specific guidance from supervisor
• 2.0 = Demonstrates the behavior with excessive and repeated instruction from supervisor; needs occasional step-by-step
• 1.0 = Fails to demonstrate the behavior regardless of amount of supervisory input; needs frequent step-by-step
• N/A = Not applicable; Skill not required of student during specified practicum experience

The following scales are used to determine the letter grade to be given. Use the scale that corresponds to the number of clock hours completed by the student at the beginning of the semester.

Student Behavior

• Students must exhibit mandatory behaviors for all clinical assignments within a semester in order to count the clock hours obtained that semester. Mandatory behaviors are listed in the practicum grading form in the CDIS Graduate Student Handbook.
• Students enrolled in any practicum course are expected to understand and follow the policies and procedures established by each clinical site at which they are participating. Each supervisor, whether on or off campus, reserves the right to add additional requirements as needed.
• A maximum of 50 clock hours may be used from an undergraduate program, if they were obtained within the last five years, if clock hour logs are provided with supervisors' or program director's signatures and ASHA numbers, and if they were obtained under the auspices of an accredited program in communicative disorders.
• Students are expected to perform clinical duties within the parameters of the ASHA Code of Ethics. Failure to do so will result in the student's removal from some or all clinical assignments. Students removed from clinical assignments for ethical violations will receive an F for that assignment.

Other Policies

• Students enrolled in CDIS 501, 502, or 503 must submit a completed Practicum Availability Form to the Clinic Director each semester by noon on the first day of classes.
• Enrollment in CDIS 589: Internship requires that the student be placed in a site a minimum of 4 days per week. Students should typically expect to be at the site for 8 hours per day but this will vary somewhat according to the needs of the site. Internship sites are not often available in Portales and Clovis and so will most likely require travel and/or relocation. Each student will work with the Clinic Director to determine the location of the internship site.
• Off-campus hours may be obtained only at approved ENMU off-campus sites.
• Students will be placed at off-campus practicum sites by the Clinical Director or Program Director. Students may request specific sites, but must not contact those sites until placement has been made by the Program or instructed to do so by either the Clinical or Program Director.
• Students who are working with an ASL license may NOT complete practicum at the site at which they work as an ASL. In addition, they may only obtain practicum under the supervision of their ASL supervisors in certain circumstances as deemed appropriate by the program.

Confidentiality

• You will not discuss a client in any public setting outside the ENMU Speech and Hearing Rehabilitation Outreach Center.
• You will not take any records from the university. This includes electronic records (e.g., data cannot be saved on flash/jump drives for work at home or outside the clinic).
• You will not use a client's name or identifying information when preparing treatment plans or progress notes or any other information within working files.
• You will not place any information in working files other than supervisor feedback forms, treatment plans, and progress notes.
• You will only use audio and video tapes of clients during therapy and during report writing. You must not take these materials from the CDIS Program.
• All client evaluations and reports must be completed within the CDIS Program and may not be completed at any other location.
• You must abide by all rules and regulations set forth by each practicum setting in which you are involved.
• You will uphold the ASHA Code of Ethics, abiding by its principles and rules.

FAILURE TO ABIDE BY THE ABOVE STATEMENTS MAY RESULT IN DISCIPLINARY ACTION, INCLUDING DISMISSAL FROM A PRACTICUM, A COURSE, THE CDIS PROGRAM, AND/OR THE UNIVERSITY.

Required Trainings and Documents

Please see your Graduate Student Handbook for more detail.

• Students must provide proof of liability insurance within the first week of clinical practice.
• Students must provide proof of a current TB test. The test is current for 2 years in clinic/school settings, but must be completed annually for medical sites.
• Hepatitis vaccines are recommended for all students enrolled in practicum. Vaccines may be obtained through the Student Health Center. Students must have documentation of a completed vaccine, a signed statement verifying that the vaccines are in progress, or a signed waiver of the vaccine in their files prior to any clinical assignment. It should be noted that Hepatitis vaccines are required by many off-campus sites.
• Students must complete CPR training for certain practicum sites.
• Many sites (including public schools) require a fingerprinting procedure and background check (see below).
• Students enrolled in practicum must follow the established infection control policy. If a student is at an off-campus site that has a more stringent policy, that policy must be followed.
• Students who wish to complete practicum or intern at a specific site must meet the requirements of that site. These requirements may include but are not limited to the provision of immunization records, completion of a physical examination, administration of additional vaccinations, completion of a criminal background check/security clearance, etc.
• Students are also increasingly being asked to complete competitive on-site interviews and provide resumes and transcripts prior to being accepted by practicum sites. Preparation of these documents in advance is recommended.

Fingerprinting

Students completing practicum in the public schools must pass a background check (including fingerprinting) prior to being released for service. Effective October 1, 2007, the price for fingerprinting is $44.00. If you have questions please contact:

Vickie Aranda
Administrative Secretary
Teacher Education
575.562.2895

You may also go to Education #111 or phone 575.562.2972 for additional information.

Liability Insurance

Students completing practicum are required to acquire and maintain professional liability insurance throughout their clinical experiences. This may be purchased at the carrier of your choice. For your convenience, the following links are provided (Note: Neither ENMU nor the CDIS Program specifically endorse any particular insurance company).

• MARSH Professional Liability Insurance (online)
• MARSH Professional Liability Insurance (post mail)

Student clinicians should select the student category with ASHA being the Association. Liability limits selected should be at least $1,000,000/$3,000,000. Additional information about liability insurance is available through ASHA. Students who hold membership with the National Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association (NSSLHA) are eligible for discounts on liability insurance purchases. For information on how to be a part of ENMU's NSSLHA chapter, please contact Dr. Claudia Bird at Claudia.Bird@enmu.edu.

For additional informaiton about NSSLHA, please visit the NSSLHA website.

Dress Code

Dress code for the ENMU Speech and Hearing Rehabilitation Outreach Center requires an ENMU practicum polo shirt, khakis, closed toe shoes, and name badge.  Name badges can be purchased at the ENMU Bookstore. Name tags should be in the following format:

Name
Graduate Student Clinician
Speech and Hearing Clinic

It is strongly recommended that the ‘clinic uniform' be worn at your practicum sites unless discussed with your off-campus supervisor.  Name badges are required.

For additional information or if you have questions, please contact:

Ms. Linda Valenti, MS, CCC-SLP
ENMU Clinical Director
1500 S. Ave K
ENMU Station #3, LH 208
Portales, NM 88130
575.562.4232
fax: 575.562.2380
Linda.Valenti@enmu.edu