Perceptions of telepractice pedagogy in speech-language pathology: A quantitative analysis

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Education
• Telecommunication in Medicine
• Speech-Language Pathology/Therapy

Background:

• Telecommunication applications are increasingly used for clinical healthcare services.
• There is a notable gap in pedagogical frameworks for training healthcare students in delivering these services.
• Speech-language pathology/therapy (SLP/SLT) is a field where telepractice is gaining traction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the pedagogical importance of skills for telepractice compared to face-to-face (f2f) service delivery.
• To assess the relative pedagogical value of skills and competencies unique to telepractice.
• To identify specific training needs for SLP/SLT students entering the telepractice marketplace.

Main Methods:

• An exploratory investigation using a 15-item survey.
• Examined perceptions of SLP/SLT faculty (n=31), graduate students (n=16), and telepractice clinicians (n=16).
• Assessed comparative importance of common skills and relative value of unique telepractice skills.

Main Results:

• Nonverbal communication skills and knowledge of service delivery literature were deemed more important in telepractice than f2f.
• Solving Internet-related problems was identified as the most crucial unique telepractice skill.
• Recommended at least two hours of instruction in telepractice technology, patient confidentiality, and role-playing telepractice.

Conclusions:

• SLP/SLT students require enhanced academic training in nonverbal communication and telepractice literature.
• Focused instruction is needed for addressing connectivity issues in telepractice.
• Further research should explore effective pedagogical strategies for healthcare telepractice training programs.