Ala. Admin. Code r. 870-X-2-.05 - Clinical Fellowship Or Fourth-Year Internship And Requirements

(1) Persons fulfilling the clinical experience (Clinical Fellowship or Fourth-Year Internship) are required to apply for a provisional license with the Board within thirty (30) days of beginning employment or an internship. The application process must be completed within sixty (60) days of receipt of application. If requirements listed below are not met within sixty (60) days the applicant will lose the application fee and must reapply. A license will not be granted until the applicant has successfully applied with the Board and the supervised clinical experience is complete. The following apply to both Clinical Fellowship and Fourth-Year Internship:

(a) Provisional license application.

(b) $200 application fee.

(c) A notarized statement from the applicant's Clinical Fellowship or Fourth-Year Internship supervisor which must include:

(i) Beginning date of Clinical Fellowship or Fourth-Year Internship.

(ii) Expected completion date

(iii) Number of hours to be worked each week.

(iv) Place of employment.

(v) Supervisor's name and Alabama license number.

(d) ALL official undergraduate and graduate transcripts.

(2) The applicant must notify the Board within ten (10) days of any changes in employer or supervisor.

(3) Following approval of the Clinical Fellowship or Fourth-Year Internship, the Board shall issue a provisional license. This provisional license shall reveal the full name of the Clinical Fellowship/Fourth-Year Internship, the beginning date of the clinical experience, the expected completion date, the number of hours worked per week, the number of weeks worked, supervisor's name, supervisor's license number (supervision to be provided in accordance with the accrediting Association or Academy guidelines), and shall bear a serial number. The provisional license shall be signed by the chair of the Board or the executive secretary under the seal of the Board. The purpose of the provisional license is to indicate to the general public legal compliance by the Clinical Fellowship/Fourth-Year Internship with the Board rules and regulations for the period of time indicated on the provisional license. The provisional license shall contain the following statement: "This is to certify that (Clinical Fellowship/Fourth-Year Internship's name) is engaged in the completion of his/her clinical experience and to further certify that (Clinical Fellowship/Fourth-Year Internship's name) is under the supervision of (supervisor's name) a licensed (speech-language pathologist or audiologist) (license number)".

(4) Applicant has thirty (30) days to complete the process to obtain a license in Speech-Language Pathology and/or Audiology following the supervised clinical experience.

(5) The Clinical Fellowship must be completed within a maximum of 36 months. The following is a suggested work schedule that may be used to meet Clinical Fellowship year requirements:

(a) Full-time Clinical Fellowship: 30 hours or more per week for 9 months

(b) Part-time Clinical Fellowship: 25-29 hours per week for 12 months 20-24 hours per week for 15 months 15-19 hours per week for 18 months Professional employment of any less than 15 hours per week will not fulfill any part of this requirement.

(6) For the Fourth-Year Internship, the acquisition of a total 1,820 hours (that include hours obtained prior to the commencement of the Fourth-Year Internship). Total number of clinical practicum hours may vary based on current academic requirements.

(7) Roles and Responsibilities of the Clinical Fellowship/Fourth-Year Internship Supervisor.

(a) Provide meaningful mentoring and feedback to the Clinical Fellow/Fourth-Year Internship to assist the Clinical Fellow/Fourth-Year Intern in developing independent clinical skills.

(b) Conduct the required minimum supervisory obligations. Supervisory obligations are specified for each segment of the Clinical Fellowship or Fourth-Year Internship period. Each segment is one-third the length of the Clinical Fellowship/Fourth-Year Internship; for the Clinical Fellowship, a nine month fellowship would be broken into three segments, each three months in duration, a thirty-six month Clinical Fellowship would be broken into three segment of twelve months each. For the Fourth-Year Internship, the length of the internship period and the consequent length of each one-third interval is determined by the academic institution under whose authority the intern is completing the internship.

(c) Supervisory obligations include 6 hours of direct supervision per segment and 6 indirect monitoring activities per segment. Indirect monitoring might include reviewing diagnostic report/treatment records/plans of treatment, monitoring the Clinical Fellowship/Fourth-Year Intern's work by consulting with colleagues or clients and their families. These requirements are not intended to supplant or supersede supervisory requirements of appropriate accrediting or certifying entities or academic programs.

(d) The main purpose of the clinical Fellowship/Fourth-Year Internship is to improve the clinical effectiveness of the Clinical Fellowship/Fourth-Year Intern. The mentoring SLP or Audiologist must provide performance feedback to the Clinical Fellowship/Fourth-Year Intern throughout the Clinical Fellowship/Fourth-Year Internship. Feedback and goal-setting require two-way communication whereby both the Clinical Fellowship/Fourth-Year Intern mentoring SLP or Audiologist and the Clinical Fellow/Fourth-Year Intern share important information about the Clinical Fellow's/Fourth-Year Internship's performance of clinical activities. A specific time should be set aside for each performance feedback session at the end of each of the three segments of the Clinical Fellowship/Fourth-Year Internship. This session should be used to identify performance strengths and weaknesses and through discussion and goal-setting, to assist the Clinical Fellow/4^th Year Intern in developing necessary clinical skills for appropriate and effective clinical practice.

(e) If the Clinical Fellowship/Fourth-Year Internship supervisor anticipates at any time during the Clinical Fellowship/Fourth-Year Internship that the Clinical Fellow under supervision will fail to satisfactorily complete the Clinical Fellowship/Fourth-Year Internship, the supervising SLP or Audiologist must counsel the Clinical Fellowship/Fourth-Year Intern (both verbally and in writing) and maintain written records of all contract and conferences over the ensuing months.

(f) Submit a notarized statement indicating satisfactory completion of the Clinical Fellowship/Fourth-submission of the academic transcript showing completion of the doctoral program is required to indicate completion of the Fourth-Year Internship.

Notes

Ala. Admin. Code r. 870-X-2-.05

New Rule: Filed October 25, 2000; effective November 29, 2000. Amended: Filed September 24, 2002; effective October 29, 2002. Amended: Filed September 14, 2006; effective October 19, 2006. Amended: Filed June 21, 2010; effective July 26, 2010. Amended: Filed July 19, 2013; effective August 23, 2 013. Amended by Alabama Administrative Monthly Volume XXXV, Issue No. 12, September 29, 2017, eff. 10/27/2017.

Authors: Martha Paxton, Susan Grigsby, Florence Cuneo, Amanda Blaszczynski, Florence Cuneo' Lana Langley

Statutory Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, §§ 34-28A-l, et seq.