Abstract

BACKGROUND- The US is experiencing a shortage of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) which is expected to continue and even increase in the next 10 years. In order to address this, possible causes and solutions were investigated. One possible cause is the assumed productivity drop of medical setting SLPs who are providing clinical education to a student. This study compared productivity percentages before and during the provision of clinical education to quantify the specific impact on productivity. In addition, clinical educator and facility factors were investigated to determine their potential effect on productivity during this time.

METHODS- Ninety-five participants completed a survey reporting personal and facility factors as well as mean productivity data for 5-weeks before the clinical education started and 5-weeks during the clinical education. Participants were also asked questions related to their feelings regarding productivity and clinical education as well as administrator support. A descriptive retrospective cohort within-subjects design was used to compare the mean productivity before and during the clinical education. Personal and facility factors were analyzed to determine differences in productivity changes related to these factors.

RESULTS- A comparison of mean productivity before and during the clinical education revealed a statistically significant drop in productivity (p<0.001) averaging 8.79%. The statistically significant drop in productivity lasted through week seven of the rotation. No personal or facility specific factors significantly varied across time. Qualitative responses revealed three main themes regarding why a drop in productivity was seen as well as one theme regarding administrators support of clinical education.

CONCLUSION- The results provide quantitative support to the long-held assumption that clinical educator productivity is negatively affected by clinical education. In addition, the drop in productivity only lasted through week 7 of the clinical rotation. No researched factors resulted in a significant impact on productivity, which implies other factors must be influencing productivity. Participants indicated that additional training is the main reason for the drop in productivity. This gap in student preparation may be addressed through additional training at the graduate level for those rotating through medical settings. Participants also indicated that administrators are supportive of clinical education in their facilities.

LLU Discipline

Rehabilitation Sciences

Department

Allied Health Studies

School

School of Allied Health Professions

First Advisor

Karen J. Mainess

Second Advisor

Paige Shaughnessy

Third Advisor

Benjamin Becerra

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Level

Ph.D.

Year Degree Awarded

2022

Date (Title Page)

6-2022

Language

English

Subject - Local

Speech-Language Pathology -- Education; Preceptorship

Type

Dissertation

Page Count

xiii, 112 p.

Digital Format

PDF

Digital Publisher

Loma Linda University Libraries

Usage Rights

This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Collection

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collection Website

http://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/

Repository

Loma Linda University. Del E. Webb Memorial Library. University Archives

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