An integral part of being a speech therapy major at Nazareth College are the clinical opportunities. Naz offers a variety of clinical opportunities at the undergraduate level that give students hands-on experience early on. Along with on-campus clinics, Naz has many partnerships with off-campus organizations. These clinics provide language and speech therapy to a diverse population while building a student’s clinical skills.
On-Campus Clinics
First semester of clinic begins junior year and kicks off with no more than two clients. During the first semester experience, each student clinician is paired with a clinical supervisor for each client. These clients and supervisors are assigned based on the availability of each student’s schedules. Each supervisor works closely with their student clinicians to administer assessment, create therapy goals, and write formal documentation. The therapy rooms are located in the new Wellness and Rehabilitation Institute. The rooms are equipped with the latest observation technology. As the student clinician conducts their therapy sessions, the clinical supervisor can observe from a separate monitor room and step in as needed. Each supervisor provides feedback to ensure the growth and improvement of each student clinician. Clients that students work with can be any age, from pre-school to the geriatric population. The clients have a wide range of speech, language, and cognitive needs. The on-campus Naz clinics provide services to a truly diverse group of individuals.
Off-Campus Clinics
Second semester junior year clinic comes with an off-campus opportunity. Opportunities are available with a Montessori School, Mary’s Place Refugee Outreach Center, and Norman Howard School.
In the Montessori School setting, a team of clinicians works with a pre-school population to build foundational literacy skills. The clinician focus their therapy goals around growing literacy.
At Mary’s Place Refugee Outreach Center, students work with the prominent refugee population of Rochester, NY. A team of student clinicians works with individuals from all over the world to work on developing writing skills, reading skills, resume writing abilities, and other language skills required for obtaining long-term employment and success in day-to-day tasks as they begin their lives in America.
The Norman Howard school provides a curriculum for kids with various cognitive needs. Student clinicians placed at Norman Howard school work with a group of school-age students that have a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. The focus of this group is to build and apply necessary social skills in various social settings.
Why are clinics so important?
Having so many opportunities to work with clients in my undergraduate career has enhanced my experience as a speech therapy major. I have gained experience, refined my clinical skills, and built an extensive resume. Having so many clinical hours has made me a competitive candidate for graduate schools and future employment opportunities. These clinical opportunities place speech therapy students at Nazareth College a step above other speech therapy programs.
We also run on-campus occupational therapy and physical therapy clinics on campus here at Nazareth.