The Marquette Speech and Hearing Clinic is offering opportunities to audiology and speech pathology students to work in a professional environment with the Milwaukee community.
Jaqueline Podewils, director of clinical services at the Speech and Hearing Clinic, said the clinic usually employs 35 undergraduate students to work as both cooperating clinicians and primary clinicians. The undergraduate students take clinical methods courses and a clinical practicum, where students act as cooperating clinicians, assisting graduate level clinicians with various duties.
Podewils said students usually begin the program in their junior or senior year. She explained the typical job of a cooperating clinician is to take data, act as a communication partner, gather therapy materials and prepare a therapy room. Podewils also mentioned that after they complete this class, students have the option to take an undergraduate clinical practicum, which lets them practice as primary clinicians.
Podewils said there are typically 20 undergraduate cooperating clinicians and 15 undergraduate primary clinicians.
Podewils said a group of about 30 to 40 students are in a two-year graduate program, where they serve as primary clinicians in the clinic. In this first year of this program, graduate students will work in the clinic under faculty supervision, treating patients of all ages with a variety of disorders, such as aphasia, delayed speech and stuttering.
Joseph Peddicord, an office assistant in the Speech and Hearing Clinic, said students who participate in the program will treat clients that are assigned to their supervisors. The supervisors then strategize with students to help construct a specialized therapy plan for each client. The students conduct treatment by utilizing one-on-one sessions.
Podewils said that graduate students also partake in a variety of community service events under a professional’s guidance. These events include “City on a Hill” and “Repairers of the Breach,” community hearing screenings which provide service to uninsured and underinsured individuals.
There are also events on campus, like the free hearing screenings for Marquette students Oct. 26, which was in recognition of Audiology Awareness Month.
Emily Patterson, a clinical assistant professor, said in an email, the clinic always has free hearing screenings, but this event allowed individuals to walk in without appointments.
Patterson also discussed a recent program. “One notable program that we started since I came on board in August 2015 is hearing screening outreach,” she said. “We work in conjunction with several medical clinics in the area. Our students come in to these clinics and provide hearing screenings to the uninsured and medically underserved population. If a patient receives a referring result on the screening, they are provided with a voucher to have a full diagnostic audiological evaluation at our clinic for no charge.”
“We have also provided hearing screenings to pediatric populations in schools who don’t have an established hearing screening programs,” she said. “Through these programs, we are working to provide our students with valuable clinical experiences while serving the Milwaukee community.”
