Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-2019

Publication Title

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

Keywords

speech-language pathology, expertise, clinical education, knowledge transfer, narratives, professional stories

ISSN

2689-6443

Volume

3

Issue/No.

2

First Page

1

Last Page

20

Abstract

Clinical expertise is a component of evidence-based practice; however, relatively little attention has been paid to this phenomenon in the professional literature of speech-language pathology. This may have negative impacts on the training of pre-professional and novice speech-language pathologists. The purpose of this study was to examine professional narratives of expert Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) to consider applications for knowledge transfer between expert clinicians and novice clinicians. Collection of the professional narratives of 10 expert SLPs were obtained through in-depth interviews. Interviews were transcribed and coded for themes. Themes that impacted expertise in SLP included: training; work sites; individual and clinician traits; a holistic versus disorder-specific view; technical excellence; acknowledgment of and reflection upon mistakes; professional networking; peer and patient recognition; and, embracing the creative. Within the narratives, implications toward knowledge transfer for novice clinicians were evident. Narratives of expert SLPs may facilitate knowledge transfer of clinical expertise. Of the nine themes identified, seven were consistent with previous literature, and two were not. The themes provide an opportunity for further research and development, largely concerning knowledge transfer in clinical education.

Comments

Portions of this work were supported by a grant from the American Speech-LanguageHearing Association's Special Interest Group 11, Clinical Administration and Supervision.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.30707/TLCSD3.2Douglas

Peer Reviewed

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