Postgraduate speech pathology education

This paper explores the clinical practicum experience of students in their first semester of the new Master of Speech & Language Pathology program at Macquarie University. Ten students and nine clinical educators were interviewed in order to gain insight into the appropriateness of the schedule instigated as well as procedures for assessment. The interviews were semi-structured and the resultant data was analysed for common themes. Results suggested that while the students coped relatively well and made significant progress over the semester, both clinical educators and students expressed the need for clearer expectations of the students’ performance, and for more observational experience/ preparation prior to undertaking a full clinical placement. Implications of the results and changes made to the clinical practicum component of the program as a result of the evaluation are discussed.