General Guidelines for Clinical Activities in Practicum Courses

Direct hours are clinical hours obtained in clinical service with or for clients and their family members. See the range of potential activities numbered below. Service can be performed in-person or virtually.

A. Patient/Client Service

1. Screening, Identification, Assessment
2. Intervention, Therapy, Management
3. Interviewing
4. Counselling
5. Case Conference, Case Rounds, Team Meetings
   • presentation or exchange of information related to a specific client in a one-to-one or group situation
6. Consultation with other professionals (verbal or written)
   • exchange of information related to a client/patient
7. Consultation with/supervision of support personnel
    

B. Case Discussion with Clinical Educator

1. Case Discussion with Clinical Educator
   • discussion between student clinician and clinical educator of clinical activities related to a specific client.

Simulated hours are practical learning experiences where the student clinician participates in an activity that utilizes real-life imitation of a patient/client with a set of clinical problems to be addressed. For reporting to external agencies, a maximum of 50 simulated clinical hours will be counted.

A. Simulated Clinical Activities

• may be computerized or may involve an individual who is acting as a real patient or client

Indirect hours are clinical and professional activities that count towards completion of the U of T SLP MHSc program. Please note that in most jurisdictions, these do not count towards reportable clinical hours. There are no min/max number of required hours in this category for the U of T SLP MHSc program. These hours do contribute to the required hours in a clinical practicum course.

“Clinical/Professional Activities” includes activities that are clinically relevant and meaningful learning experiences but not necessarily related to a specific client.

A. Clinical/Professional Activities

1. Promotion/Presentations: refers to those activities related to increasing awareness of and providing information about communication disorders and professions. (e.g., workshops, in-services. Clock hours include time spent in front of the group only, and do not include hours involved in preparation
2. Interprofessional Activities: refers to time spent with other, related professionals intended to increase the awareness of scope of practice of those individuals and enhance understanding of collegial relationships
3. Program Development: complex activities related to the SLP service and not pf a general client care nature
4. Planning /Analysis: refers to complex activities of a clinical nature that do not include general therapy preparation, materials development, or follow up (such as chart review in acute care to determine prioritization of newly admitted patients or development of a display for AAC devices or boards)
5. Other: must be approved by Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education

Clinical Readiness Activities are activities that prepare you for the clinical learning placement experience and support your work with clients. Ancillary clinical activities, such as report writing, record keeping, materials development, and planning for sessions are not considered clinical hours and may not be counted. It is acknowledged that these essential activities comprise an indirect component of specific client service. Time spent in supervisory conferences in which the supervisee’s clinical skill development is the focus of discussion is not counted.

1. Review of client files: This involves review of referral information, SLP reports, or other documentation in preparation for assessment planning and/or therapy planning. Typically, the client has been assigned to the student’s caseload.
2. Observation: Student observes clinical educator or other speech-language pathologist, audiologist or other qualified professional, as appropriate, carry out clinical sessions with client(s). The clinical educator will expect the student to write brief observation notes and/or record data concerning the client's communication behaviours and the techniques used by the clinical educator when interviewing, assessing, treating, or counselling clients and their families; contribute relevant comments and questions to discussion with the clinical educator following observation.
3. Planning and Analysis Activities: Student engages in independent planning for the assessment and/or treatment of a client and/or student analyses information obtained during such activities.
4. Written Reporting and Record‐Keeping: Student composes, produces, and corrects written reports of student-provided clinical services and maintains clinical records such as file notes and institutional statistics.
5. Material Development: Student prepares special materials for use in assessment and treatment.
6. Clinical Education Conferencing: Student engages in student-focused discussion with clinical educator pertaining to planning and execution of the clinical teaching process such as contracting, scheduling, performance evaluation, and orientation.

1. Orientation to Facility
2. Continuing Education activities* (e.g., education rounds, brief on-site in-service training sessions)
3. Professional Activities: (e.g., department meetings, public relations.)

_{*Please note that extended (e.g. half-day or full day) Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities are not counted. Any time spent on such CPD activities during clinical placement units is considered missed time and must be made up. In rare circumstances, the course instructor may approve CPD activities as part of clinical placement activities – prior approval must be obtained.}