What is the difference between supervising SLPA’s and Mentoring CFY’s?

Speech Language Pathologists have the option to supervise speech language pathology assistant’s (SLPA’s) or become a mentor for Clinical Fellows who are working towards their SLP License.  There are many reasons why most SLP’s decide to become supervisors, whether that is to earn an extra income on the side, or they are passionate about helping other therapists grow and succeed in the field of speech language pathology.  Now, you might wonder what some key differences between supervising SLPA’s are and CFY’s.  I will go ahead and break down the key differences between them.

Before we get started, let me clarify a few keywords for you. You will notice that I will be referring a lot to direct and In-direct supervision, so in order to better understand, let me explain to you briefly what is meant by each one.

Direct supervision refers to on-site observation of the supervisor while the SLPA if performing therapy.

In-direct supervision refers to when the supervisor is not in the same physical space as the SLPA.  Some of the supervision activities that are in-direct include:

• Demonstration
• Reviewing records
• Watching and evaluating pre-recorded therapy sessions provided by the SLPA
• Monitoring activities
• Providing feedback and guidance to the SLPA
• Discussing performance
• Answering any questions the SLPA may have
• Provide tools and resources as needed

Immediate supervision refers to when a supervisor is physically present when the SLPA is conducting therapy with the patient

SLP Supervisor for SLPA’s

Requirements:

• The SLP supervisor must be licensed in the state of practice. Ex. If SLPA is in California, the supervisor must be a licensed SLP in the state of California
• The SLP Supervisor must have a minimum of 2 years of professional experience providing direct therapy to patients
• And of course, must have a master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology or Communication Disorders and have an SLP license

Responsibilities:

• Provide appropriate amount of supervision based on the SLPA license requirements of the State
• The SLP supervisor should discuss areas of improvement
• The supervisor should co-sign/sign all formal documentations and informal progress notes.
• Supervisor must ensure compliance with all laws and regulations governing the practice of
  speech-language pathology
• The SLP supervisor cannot supervise more than two SLPA’s at the same time

Continuing Education:

• At least 6 hours of continuing education in supervision training is required before supervising the SLPA
• After the first 2 years, 3 hours of supervision training is required every 2 years.

CFY Mentoring/supervision

In this section, I will be referring to segments. Please note that a segment is referred to 1/3 of the Clinical Fellowship experience.

Qualifications:

• The mentor/supervisor has to have CCC-SLP throughout the entire Clinical Fellowship experience
• The mentor should not be related to the Clinical Fellow
• The mentor should have at least 9 months of full-time experience working as an SLP after getting their CCC-SLP.

Responsibilities:

• Meaningful mentoring and feedback
• Assisting the Clinical Fellow in developing clinical skills
• Must complete all records and feedback/ratings on time
• Must provide minimum required on-site and in-person supervision
• The minimum requirements are 6 hours of on-site in-person direct and in-direct supervision for each segment
• This equals a total of 18 hours of direct and 18 hours of indirect supervision for the entire Clinical Fellowship experience.
• There should be no more than 6 hours of observation hours completed in 1 day

**Note: some of the indirect supervision consists of reviewing reports, treatment records, plan of treatment and etc. as well as monitoring the CFY participation in meetings and conferences

Feedback Sessions:

• The mentor should provide at least one feedback session to the Clinical Fellow per segment
• The feedback session includes performance feedback (ex. Strengths and weaknesses of the Clinical Fellow, goal setting, and etc.)
• The mentor should provide written copies of the feedback to the Clinical Fellow
• The CFY must receive a score of “2” or higher on all the skills during the final segment

Completion of Clinical Fellowship Experience:

• Minimum of 36 weeks of Clinical Fellowship experience working under a CCC-SLP
• Minimum of 1, 260 hours of Clinical Experience

If you are interested in becoming a supervisor, we have opportunities available for you. If you are located in Los Angeles area, you can supervise Clinical Fellows, and if you are not local, you can still supervise SLPA’s as long as you are certified in the state of California. You can apply here:
SLP Supervisor – Speech Improvement Center

If you want to know how to become a licensed SLP in California, please visit:
How to Become a Licensed SLP in California – Speech Improvement Center

For other job opportunities with Speech Improvement Center, please visit:
Careers – Speech Improvement Center