Building a Community for Clinical Fellows in Voice and Upper Airway Disorders

Purpose: The clinical fellowship (CF) in speech-language pathology may be a challenging experience as graduate students transition to clinicians. A grassroots committee of experts in voice and upper airway disorders (VUAD)—called Pathway for Advanced Voice Education and Service (PAVES)—organized community-building groups for clinical fellows. This article assesses the opportunities that PAVES offered clinical fellows specializing in VUAD to connect and build community with each other. Method: A survey about CF experiences was administered online to individuals who completed a CF in speech-language pathology, where at least 75% of their caseload included VUAD. The questions focused on a social media group and lecture series offered by PAVES that were aimed at building a community for clinical fellows. Survey respondents included individuals who participated in PAVES activities and those who did not. Results: Thirty-two respondents completed the survey: 44% of respondents participated in the Facebook group and 75% participated in the lecture series. Using a 10-point visual analog scale, respondents who participated in both groups rated greater feelings of community ( M = 5.08, SD = 1.50) than those who did not participate in the groups ( M = 3.14, SD = 2.12). Ratings for overall CF experience ( M = 8.16, SD = 1.95) were not associated with feelings of community ( r = .067, p = .716). Several other benefits from participating in the community-building groups were also reported. Conclusions: PAVES provided new opportunities for clinical fellows to connect with each other across the United States. This article presents a survey that assessed feelings of community in clinical fellows who participated in the community-building groups and those who did not. Results indicate that the groups were successful in enhancing feelings of community, and future directions are discussed to further benefit VUAD CF cohorts.