CBS Therapy

5 Goals for Your Clinical Fellowship Year (CFY)

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CBS Therapy
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2 min read

This 36-week program prepares students to move into real-life career opportunities, with ongoing application and training that will support their future. This fellowship is required to achieve your Certificate of Clinical Competence for Speech Language Pathologist (CCC-SLP) through ASHA, the American Speech and Hearing Association.

While it’s essential to complete the requirements to gain certification, there are other goals you will achieve through this program:

  1. Integrate Academic Learning: After spending years in the classroom, it’s time to implement your education and skills. Moving into a practice environment helps you see real-world examples of how your new knowledge is essential for your ongoing career.

  2. Hone in Areas of Opportunity: This hands-on experience provides clarity to help you identify your strong points as well as areas of improvement. The opportunity to work under supervision is a great way to receive feedback and advice to improve your skills and approach as an SLP.

  3. Improve Clinical Skills: Understanding the textbook principles is just the first step in your education. Your CFY is the time to learn the clinical skills and techniques to use for patient care. Integrating the concepts and stratigies you learned in graduate school into managing a full-time SLP caseload will be a key goal of your CFY.

  4. Transition to Independence: During your CFY, you will spend a lot of time working under the supervision of a certified SLP. This supervision creates the opportunity for transition to start working as an independent Speech-Language Pathology practitioner. By the end of your CFY you should have the tools and confidence to practice independently.

  5. Complete Certification Requirements: The CCC-SLP requires you to meet specific requirements before earning certification, such as 1,260 hours of supervision, 80% of your time focused on patient care, supervision from an approved mentor, and an evaluation to measure core skills.