Persons who hold the CCC in audiology may supervise:
- assessment of the peripheral and central auditory system, including behavioral and physiological and electrophysiological measurements of the auditory and vestibular functions as well as intraoperative monitoring;
- selection, fitting, and dispensing of amplification, assistive devices, and other systems (e.g., implantable devices);
- conservation of auditory system function, including development and implementation of environmental and occupational hearing conservation programs;
- aural habilitative/rehabilitative services and related counseling services; and
- screening for speech or language disorders.
Persons who hold the CCC in speech-language pathology may supervise:
- assessment, rehabilitation, and prevention of disorders of speech (e.g., articulation, fluency, voice) and language;
- assessment and rehabilitation of cognitive/communication disorders;
- assessment and rehabilitation of disorders of oral-pharyngeal function (dysphagia) and related disorders;
- assessment, selection, and development of augmentative and alternative communication systems and the provision of training for their use;
- aural habilitative/rehabilitative services and related counseling services;
- enhancement of speech-language proficiency and communication effectiveness (e.g., accent reduction);
- and, pure tone air conduction hearing screening.
Return to Top
Standard III-A: Clinical Observation (25 clock hours)
Applicants for either Certificate must complete at least 25 clock hours of supervised observation prior to beginning the initial clinical practicum.
Implementation:
Observations serve as a preparatory experience before beginning direct clinical practicum with individuals who have communication disorders.
Those 25 clock hours must concern the evaluation and treatment of children and adults with disorders of speech, language, or hearing.
Implementation:
Actual observations or videotapes may be used for observation purposes.
A student clinician must observe a total of 25 clock hours of evaluation and management. These observations should be relative to, and must precede, clinical assignment with specific types of communication disorders (e.g., hearing impairment, selection and use of amplification devices articulation, language). The observation experience must be under the direct supervision of a qualified clinical supervisor who holds current ASHA certification in the appropriate area.
Supervision may include simultaneous observations with the student or the submission of written reports or summaries by the student for supervisor monitoring, review, and approval.
Return to Top
Standard III-B: Clinical Practicum (350 clock hours)
Applicants for either Certificate must complete at least 350 clock hours of supervised clinical practicum that concerns the evaluation and treatment of children and adults with disorders of speech, language, and hearing. No more than 25 of the clock hours may be obtained from participation in staffings in which evaluation, treatment, and/or recommendations are discussed or formulated, with or without the client present.
Implementation:
Direct supervised clinical practicum involves direct time spent in actual evaluation or treatment of clients who present communication disorders. Time spent with the client or caretaker giving information, counseling, or training for a home program may be counted as direct contact time if the activities are directly related to evaluation and treatment. Ancillary activities such as writing lesson plans, scoring tests, transcribing language samples, and preparing treatment activities and materials may not be counted. Meetings with practicum supervisors may not be counted under the 25 clock hours for staff meetings.
At least 250 of the 350 clock hours must be completed in the professional area for which the Certificate is sought while the applicant is engaged in graduate study.
Implementation:
At least 250 clock hours of practicum in the area of certification must be completed at the graduate level. Any clinical clock hours obtained after January 1, 1994 that are used to meet the requirement of 250 graduate clinical practicum hours in the area of certification must be initiated and completed in a CAA-accredited program. Graduate clinical clock hours obtained before January 1, 1994 may be from an unaccredited program.
At least 50 supervised clock hours must be completed in each of three types of clinical settings.
Implementation:
The three types of clinical settings may include undergraduate as well as graduate practicum sites, which, in turn, may be within the organizational structure of the training institution or its affiliates. Such settings may include separate units/settings within an institution or its affiliates (ICU/surgical units/nursing homes/classrooms for hearing impaired children), community clinics, public schools, rehabilitation centers, hospitals, and private practice settings. For the three clinical settings to be classified as different settings, the educational program must determine that the student has gained unique experiences in each one. For example, a student might have experience in an acute-care hospital as well as in a long-term care hospital. Also, the student might have experience in a school that provides pull-out services as well as in one that provides a classroom for children who present communication disorders.
The applicant must have experience in the evaluation and treatment of children and adults and with a variety of types and severities of disorders of hearing, speech, and language, and with the selection and use of amplification and assistive devices.
Implementation:
Clinical experience should prepare the applicant to practice in the audiology area according to ASHA's current scope of practice. Clinical experience should include both individual and group client contact, as well as experience with a variety of types and severity of hearing, speech, and language disorders.
Evaluation shall include collection of relevant information regarding case history (past and present status, function), selection and administration of reliable evaluation procedures, interpretation of results, and appropriate referrals for additional evaluation and/or treatment based on the evaluation. Clock hours devoted to counseling associated with the evaluation/diagnostic process may be counted in these categories.
At least 50% of each student's time in each diagnostic evaluation, including screening and identification, must be observed directly by a supervisor.
At least 250 of the 350 supervised clock hours must be in audiology. At least 40 of those 250 clock hours must be completed in each of the first two categories listed below. At least 80 hours must be completed in categories 3 and 4 with a minimum of 10 hours in each of these categories. At least 20 of those 250 clock hours must be completed in category 5.
1. Evaluation: Hearing in children
2. Evaluation: Hearing in adults
Implementation:
Applicants should demonstrate a variety of clinical experiences in screening and evaluation, including electrophysiological test measures such as ABR, intraoperative monitoring, and balance system assessment.
Observations may take place on site or by closed-circuit television. In addition to observations, it is recommended that other means of evaluating performance such as conferences, audio and video recordings, written evaluations, rating instruments, inspection of lesson plans, and written reports be used in the supervisory process.
3. Selection and use: Amplification and assistive devices for children
4. Selection and use: Amplification and assistive devices for adults
Implementation:
Applicants should have a variety of clinical experiences in evaluation, selection, and use of appropriate amplification systems and assistive devices. Applicants should have experience in electroacoustic tests of amplification systems as well as procedures for maintenance and trouble shooting of amplification systems, cochlear implants, earmolds, and assistive devices.
5. Treatment: Hearing disorders in children and adults
Implementation:
Applicants should demonstrate a variety of clinical experiences in treatment of children and adults with hearing disorders. Treatment for hearing disorders refers to clinical management and counseling, including auditory training, and speech reading, as well as speech and language services for those with hearing impairment.
At least 25% of each student's total contact time with each client in clinical treatment must be observed directly by a supervisor. These are minimum requirements and should be adjusted upward if the student's level of competence and experience warrants.
Observations may take place on site or by closed-circuit television. In addition to observations, it is recommended that other means of evaluating performance--such as conferences, audio and video recordings, written evaluations, rating instruments, inspection of lesson plans and written reports--be used in the supervisory process.
Up to 20 clock hours in the major professional area may be in related disorders.
Implementation:
These clock hours may include but are not limited to hearing conservation programs, cerumen management, and repair of hearing aids.
At least 20 of the 350 clock hours must be in speech-language pathology.
Implementation:
Clinical experience may include screening, evaluation and/or treatment of normally hearing children and adults with a variety of types and severities of speech and language disorders.
Return to Top
Standard IV: National Examination in Audiology
Applicants must pass the national examination in the area for which the Certificate is sought.
Implementation:
The national examination in audiology is designed to assess, in a comprehensive fashion, the applicant's mastery of knowledge of professional concepts and issues to which the applicant has been exposed throughout professional education and clinical practicum. The applicant must pass the examination in audiology within 2 years of the date the course work and practicum submitted by the applicant are approved by the CCB. The current passing score is 600.
An applicant who fails the examination may retake it. If the examination is not successfully passed within a 2-year period, the applicant's certification file will be closed. If the examination is passed at a later date, the individual will have to reapply for certification under the standards in effect at the time of reapplication and will be required to pay the appropriate application fees.
Return to Top
Standard V: The Clinical Fellowship
After completion of academic course work (Standard II) and clinical practicum (Standard III), the applicant then must successfully complete a Clinical Fellowship.
Implementation:
The clinical fellowship is designed to foster the continued growth and integration of the knowledge, skills, and tasks of clinical practice in audiology consistent with ASHA's current Scope of Practice.
The clinical fellowship must be completed within 4 years of the date the academic course work and practicum were completed. Otherwise, the individual must reapply for certification and must meet the standards in effect at the time of reapplication.
Once initiated, the clinical fellowship must be completed within a maximum of 36 consecutive months.
Because standards may change, it is to the applicant's advantage to initiate the clinical fellowship experience as soon as possible after the academic course work and practicum have been completed.
The Fellowship will consist of at least 36 weeks of full-time professional experience or its part-time equivalent.
Implementation:
Full-time employment is defined as a minimum of 30 hours per week in direct patient/client contact, consultations, record-keeping, and administrative duties relevant to a bona fide program of clinical work. Part-time equivalency is defined as follows:
15 19 hours/week over 72 weeks
20 24 hours/week over 60 weeks
25 29 hours/week over 48 weeks
Note: Professional experience of less than 15 hours/week does not meet the requirement and may not be counted toward the clinical fellowship. Similarly, experience of more than 30 hours/week may not be used to shorten the clinical fellowship to less than 36 weeks.
The Fellowship must be completed under the supervision of an individual who holds the Certificate of Clinical Competence in the area for which certification is sought.
Implementation:
It is the applicant's responsibility to locate and obtain a qualified clinical fellowship supervisor for the clinical fellowship. A family member or individual related in any way to the clinical fellow may not serve as a clinical fellowship supervisor. In the case of multiple clinical fellowship supervisors, a primary clinical fellowship supervisor must be designated, and each clinical fellowship supervisor must hold the Certificate of Clinical Competence in speech-language pathology.
It is incumbent upon the clinical fellow to ascertain the current certification status of the clinical fellowship supervisor at the initiation of the clinical fellowship and periodically throughout the clinical fellowship experience.
Clinical fellowship supervision must include the personal and direct involvement of the clinical fellowship supervisor in any and all ways that will permit the clinical fellowship supervisor to monitor, evaluate, and improve the clinical fellow's performance. Therefore, it is important to set goals initially and to revise them as needed.
The clinical fellowship experience should be divided into three segments, each representing one third of the total time spent in employment (e.g., a 36-week clinical fellowship would be divided into three 12-week segments; a 72-week clinical fellowship would be divided into three 24-week segments).
The clinical fellowship supervisor must engage in no fewer than 36 supervisory activities during the clinical fellowship experience. This supervision must include 18 on-site observations of direct client contact at the clinical fellow's work site (one hour equals 1 on-site observation; a maximum of 6 on-site observations may be accrued in one day). At least 6 on-site observations must be accrued during each third of the experience. These on-site observations must be of the clinical fellow providing screening, evaluation, assessment, habilitation, and rehabilitation.
In addition, the supervision must include 18 other monitoring activities. At least 6 other monitoring activities must be completed during each of the three segments of the clinical fellowship. These other monitoring activities may be executed by correspondence, review of video tapes and/or audio tapes, evaluation of written reports, phone conferences with the clinical fellow, evaluations by professional colleagues, and so forth.
The CCB may allow the supervisory process to be conducted in other ways; however, a request to do so must be submitted in written form to the CCB for prior approval, and the request must include a description of the supervision that would be provided. The proposed mechanism for supervision should not be initiated until the CCB has approved the submitted plan. (See "Alternate Mechanism for Supervision" for additional information.)
The professional experience shall involve primarily clinical activities.
Implementation:
Eighty percent (80%) of the work week must be in direct clinical activities (i.e., assessment, diagnosis, evaluation, screening, treatment, report writing, family/client consultation, and/or counseling) related to the management process of individuals who exhibit communication disabilities. For example, in a 30-hour work week, at least 24 hours must consist of direct clinical activities; in a 15-hour work week, at least 12 hours must consist of direct clinical activities.
The supervisor periodically shall conduct a formal evaluation of the applicant's progress in the development of professional skills.
Implementation:
The clinical fellowship supervisor must use the Clinical Fellowship Skills Inventory Audiology at least once during each of the three segments of the fellowship to evaluate the clinical fellow's clinical skills. This evaluation must be shared and discussed with the clinical fellow, and the form must be signed and dated by both. All clinical fellowship evaluations must be carried out by the primary clinical fellowship supervisor, who must sign the final report.
Within 4 weeks of the completion of the clinical fellowship experience, the clinical fellow and the clinical fellowship supervisor must complete, sign, and submit a Clinical Fellowship Report form and the Clinical Fellowship Skills Inventory Rating Form to the National Office for review by the CCB.
If the clinical fellowship is initiated and successfully completed in a program accredited by the Professional Services Board (PSB) of ASHA, approval of the clinical fellowship is automatic. In such instances, the director of the PSB program must sign the Clinical Fellowship Report verifying compliance with the clinical fellowship requirements as stated above.
If the clinical fellowship supervisor does not recommend approval of the clinical fellowship experience at its completion, he/she must so indicate on the appropriate section of the Clinical Fellowship Report, sign the report, and provide a rationale and documentation for why the fellow is not being recommended for certification. Then, within 30 days, the clinical fellowship supervisor must submit the signed Clinical Fellowship Report and the Clinical Fellowship Skills Inventory Rating Form, as well as a letter of explanation and supporting documentation, to the CCB.
Following a negative recommendation, the clinical fellow may complete an entirely new clinical fellowship experience and/or request a Special Review by the CCB.
In order to request a Special Review, the clinical fellow must submit the signed Clinical Fellowship Report and the signed Clinical Fellowship Skills Inventory Rating Form (if not already submitted), a letter of explanation, and supporting documentation of current clinical skills within 30 days of completing the experience. The supporting documentation attesting to current clinical skills must be provided by individuals who hold a current CCC. It may be necessary for the CCB to share this information with the clinical fellowship supervisor and to solicit any additional information the clinical fellowship supervisor wishes to provide. The CCB will then review all information submitted to determine whether the clinical fellowship experience will be approved.
Return to Top