Internship in paediatric speech therapy

Internship

The developmental speech therapy placement is the first long practical placement for students studying for the Master's Degree in Speech and Language Therapy. Its purpose is to ensure the clinical application, in a professional environment, of the course material taught at the University of Liège in the field of developmental speech therapy. Students must do their placement with a placement supervisor who is external to the teaching team.

Internship support seminar

The placement support seminars (PSS) are based on complex situations students have encountered during their main placement. They focus on the students' reflection on their clinical work, collaboration with their peers to identify areas for further study, as well as the comparison of opinions on aspects concerning relationships and ethics associated with the practice of speech and language therapy.

Internship

The placement objectives are determined according to ULg's speech and language therapy competency framework. The placement is essentially aimed at the development of three clinical competences in students: assess, treat and assist a patient with a problem that falls under the scope of speech and language therapy. The placement also deals with the horizontal competences of collaboration, communication, professionalism, erudition. Within this scope, the justification of the clinical actions proposed by the student, based on scientific literature, and the development of appropriate professional attitudes, are the essential competences to be achieved by the end of the placement.

The levels expected by the end of the placement are explained in the assessment grid given to students and their placement supervisor at the beginning of the year.

Internship support seminar

The PSS help students to :
1) Present relevant elements of a complex situation that they encountered during their professional practice to their peers;
2) Question their practice and take into account the opinions of their peers;
3) Adopt an reflective approach, integrating the different pillars of Evidence-Based Practice, to improve the quality of their professional practice;
4) Collaborate with their peers and contribute to group discussions;
5) Integrate the ethical aspect of the professional practice of speech and language therapy.

Internship

To be accepted for the placement YSTG9028,  student must be able to demonstrate his command of the entire bachelor "Speech therapy orientation". The internship is therefore not accessible to students with residual bachelor's credits.

Note: for students who access the Master in speech therapy, via additional credits, with a prior diploma in psychology, they must demonstrate the following skills:
- regarding the assessment: identify the stages of an assessment procedure; gather information and results related to speech and language therapy; correct and interpret the results of an assessment; take decisions that are well-argued and justified in relation to the assessment, all within the areas of language (YSTG9026-1; LOGO1151) and numerical development (PSY1120);
- regarding treatment: analyse the stages of a support procedure and the professional attitudes required, including knowledge of the problems and treatments in the areas of oral language (LOGO0008) and written language.

Internship

The placement will consist of providing care for children with developmental problems regarding oral language, written language and/or mathematical cognition. This placement will be supported and supervised by a speech and language therapy placement supervisor, suggested by the teaching staff. At the beginning of the placement, the placement supervisor and the student will get in touch with each other regarding the supervision that will take place. The purpose of the supervision is to allow the student to gradually transition from an observer to a semi-autonomous player.

Internship support seminar

Students are organised into subgroups (between 10 and 12 students) for the PSS. During each PSS, the session begins with the presentation of an ethics vignette by a pair of students. Afterwards, each of these two students presents a complex situation encountered during their main placement. The instructions for this presentation are announced during the first session of the PSS. After each presentation, students are given time to discuss and share with the other students. Every session is led by a member of the teaching team (for aspects regarding content).

Internship

Face-to-face course


Additional information:

Placement

Internship support seminar

Face-to-face course


Further information:

Blended learning


Additional information:

Attendance is compulsory. Organisation of the sessions is planned by the member of the teaching team. They take place during the second semester.


Students will be asked to submit a piece of work in case of absence, even if they have a medical certificate. This piece of work will depend on the contents of the missed session. Furthermore, students who miss a session once without justification will have two points deducted from their PSS grade. Students who are absent more than once without any justification will be given a fail.

Internship support seminar

Informations about placement support seminars are available on ecampus/blackboard.

Internship

Exam(s) in session

Any session

- In-person

oral exam

Written work / report

Continuous assessment


Further information:

Exam(s) in session

Any session

- In-person

oral exam

Written work / report


Additional information:

The final placement grade is based on three main components: (1) the assessment by the placement supervisor; (2) an oral presentation of the e-portfolio (Karuta) before the teaching team; and (3) the grade obtained in the SAS sessions (see the relevant pedagogical requirements).

The assessment criteria for the placement and the oral presentation are communicated to students before the placement. Students must obtain a passing grade for each of these three components in order to obtain a passing final placement grade. When all three components are passed, the final grade is weighted as follows: 50% for the placement supervisor's assessment and 50% for the oral presentation. The resulting grade is then adjusted upwards or downwards according to the grade obtained in the SAS sessions (see the pedagogical requirements for YSTG9028-B for further details). If one of the three components is failed, the final placement grade corresponds to the grade obtained for the failed component.

(1) Regarding the placement supervisor's assessment: a grade out of 20 is awarded following a discussion between the placement coordinator and the placement supervisor. This grade is based on the end-of-placement assessment grid, which is completed and discussed with the placement supervisor.

(2) Regarding the oral presentation : the oral presentation lasts 30 minutes. It consists of a presentation of two clinical decisions integrating the four pillars of EBP, followed by a question-and-answer session aimed at exploring and justifying the choices presented and the elements included in the e-portfolio. A grade out of 20 is awarded in accordance with the criteria set out in the assessment grid, which is presented and provided to students during the academic year.

(3) Regarding the SAS sessions: see the pedagogical requirements relating to the SAS sessions (YSTG9028-B).

Note regarding spelling: Proficiency in French is considered a core professional skill for the practice of speech and language therapy. Accordingly, if the final version of the e-portfolio, submitted by the deadline specified at the beginning of the placement, contains more than 5 spelling errors (usage and/or agreement), it will receive a failing grade (5/20) in the first examination session and must be resubmitted in the second examination session. If the e-portfolio submitted in the second examination session still contains more than 5 spelling errors, 2 points will be deducted from the final grade awarded for this component (/20).

Note regarding the e-portfolio (Karuta): Students are expected to comply with the requirement to update their e-portfolio regularly, at least once a week throughout the placement. The teaching team reserves the right to deduct 2 points from the final grade in the event of failure to comply with this requirement. Students are expected to have uploaded at least 30 pieces of evidence to their e-portfolio by the end of the placement. The submission of these 30 pieces of evidence is a condition for passing the oral presentation. Failure to meet this requirement will result in a failing grade for the oral presentation.

Note regarding the second examination session: If the placement is validated by the placement supervisor but the student fails the oral presentation, a second examination session will be organised. This second session is intended to enable the student to reflect critically on their clinical reasoning, take into account the feedback received during the first examination session, and demonstrate how their thinking has evolved.

The student will be required to:

• review and further develop their e-portfolio (Karuta), taking into account the feedback received;
• submit, in the administrative section of the e-portfolio, a written report of no more than 3 pages containing: (1) an analysis of the difficulties encountered during the first examination session and identification of the factors that contributed to the failing result; (2) the definition of two or three personal development objectives and a description of the means implemented to achieve them; and (3) a detailed presentation of the clinical reasoning underlying two selected clinical decisions, explicitly explaining how the four pillars of EBP were integrated.

Internship support seminar

Exam(s) in session

Any session

- In-person

oral exam


Further information:

Additional information:

The assessment is based on the quality of:

• 1. the presentation of the ethical and professional conduct case;
• 2. the presentation of the complex situation encountered during the placement, including the integration of the different EBP pillars;
• 3. participation in the group discussions.

• if the SAS grade is lower than this average, the final grade is rounded down to the nearest whole number;
• if the SAS grade is higher than this average, the final grade is rounded up to the nearest whole number;
• if the SAS grade is at least 3 points lower than this average, an additional 1 point is deducted from the final grade;
• if the SAS grade is at least 3 points higher than this average, an additional 1 point is added to the final grade;
• if the student fails the SAS sessions, they receive a failing grade for the placement as a whole, regardless of the grades obtained for the other components.

Internship

The teaching team allocates the location of the placement.

Internship

- The placement regulations for the Faculty of Psychology, Speech and Language Therapy, and Education are applicable.

- Before beginning their placement, students must fill in the placement registration form and hand it in to the beadle's office, and hand in the placement agreement to the teaching team.

- Students must respect the code of ethics for European speech and language therapists in relation to patients, their family circle and the professionals with whom they will work.

- No second examination session is organised in the event of a failing assessment by the placement supervisor during the first examination session. In this case, the student will receive a failing grade in both the first and second examination sessions and will be required to repeat the placement during the following academic year.

Internship support seminar

Students must respect the code of ethics of European speech and language therapists during the presentation of the complex situation they encountered during their placement.

Internship

Pr. Christelle Maillart
Christelle.Maillart@uliege.be

Sandrine LEROY, assistante :
sandrine.leroy@uliege.be

Internship support seminar

Pr. Christelle MAILLART
Christelle.Maillart@uliege.be

Sandrine LEROY, assistante :
sandrine.leroy@uliege.be

Internship

ECampus
Items online