Adapting to Telepractice: Views of Graduate Student Clinicians

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the initial perceptions of speech-language pathology graduate student clinicians following implementation of telepractice using survey questions. Method: The study used thematic analysis to answer three research questions: (a) How comfortable and confident are graduate student clinicians using telepractice? (b) What are the differences between in-person and telepractice service delivery? (c) What surprised graduate student clinicians about telepractice? Results: Thirty first-year graduate student clinicians completed the survey following 5 weeks of telepractice service delivery. Findings revealed that, initially, graduate student clinicians felt nervous and uncertain about administering speech-language therapy through telepractice but eventually became more comfortable and confident with the new therapy delivery model. Differences between in-person and telepractice involved more attention to clinician's facial expressions, learning technology, managing environmental distractions at home, and the necessity for caregiver involvement. Graduate student clinicians expressed mixed perceptions of treatment effectiveness through telepractice, which may be associated with the client's attention, communication severity, and clinician's motivation. In the end, graduate student clinicians shared positive reflections of this learning experience. Conclusions: As speech therapy through telepractice continues, students will require guidance about this service delivery model. This study described graduate students' perceptions of telepractice, which may be applied to academic clinical curriculum.