DefinePK

Abstract

Background: Clinical education is an important component of an undergraduate or a graduate health sciences program. It is perceived to be crucial in the development of skills and attitudes related to clinical practice. However, many speech-language pathology (SLP) programs are facing a challenge with regards to the provision of clinical education. There appears a lack of empirical studies outlining the efficiency of clinical education in developing competency in students.
Objective: This study was conducted to determine whether clinical education is necessary in promising clinical competency amongst SLP students of Riphah International University, Pakistan.
Methodology: A comparative cross sectional study between students with practical experience and those without practical experience was conducting to determine the necessity of clinical education. Questionnaires comprised of 10 questions testing the ability to differentiate between phonological disorders and delay was handed out to semesters 1, 2, 3, 4 and 4+ of Riphah’s SLP students. Out of the collected questionnaires, 10 samples from both groups were randomly selected and analyzed via t-test statistics and Cohen’s d for determination of the effect size. Results: The obtained data showed a significant difference in the scores of experienced students (M=6.1, SD=1.37) and non-experienced students (M=4.8, SD=1.14); t (18) =2.31, p <0.05; d =1.03. The effect size, d =1.03, for this analysis was found to exceed d =0.80, Cohen’s convention for a large effect.
Conclusion: Clinical education is significantly effective in developing clinical competency amongst SLP students of Riphah. Students with knowledge of classroom-based theory and no exposure to clinical contexts show poor perception of the application of SLP concepts as oppose to their peers with exposure to clinical contexts. Consequently, institutions should ensure that the challenges facing the provision of clinical education are outlined and dealt with in order to present any form of clinical exposure to all future speech-language pathologists.
Keywords: Clinical Education, Phonological Disorder, Phonological delay.