MSSLP Program Fosters Community Partnerships Through Innovative Clinical Approach
Gwynedd Mercy University’s Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology (MSSLP) program offers an innovative approach to clinical education by bringing the clinic to the community.
MSSLP students provide speech and language services in community placements while guided by GMercyU faculty who are licensed and certified SLPs.
This unique approach provides first-year students with the opportunity to actively engage in the evaluation and intervention process, including administering comprehensive assessments and delivering personalized therapy sessions.
Throughout this experience, students receive valuable feedback and mentorship as they begin to develop their clinical skills. These services are provided at no cost to the community partner.
"By bringing clinical placements to the community, it not only gives our students the hands-on, real-world learning that is the hallmark of a GMercyU education, but it also is a wonderful application of our Mercy mission,” Director of Clinical Education for GMercyU’s SLP program Alison Boyle, MS, CCC-SLP said.
“Our students are making a meaningful difference in the lives of those they serve, right from their first semester."
This semester's partners included Bucks County Intermediate Unit at Lower SouthamptonEarly Learning Center (ELC); Greater Harleysville and North Penn Senior Services (GHNPSS)'s Encore Experiences in Harleysville and The PEAK Center in Lansdale; and Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health's Community Adult Autism Partnership Program (CAAPP).
"The graduate students provided a supportive and safe space for our participants to work on developing social skills in a fun and meaningful way. The participants left the group feeling more confident in their ability to generalize those skills to community and employment settings," a representative from Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health: CAAPP said.
"The goal of the Devereux Community Adult Autism Partnership Program (CAAPP) is to help our individuals integrate and connect within their communities and this collaboration with Gwynedd Mercy helped to continue that mission. We are very grateful for the partnership and the rapport that our individuals built with the graduate students in the MSSLP program."
Second-year students take the skills they gained during this experience to the next level through externships. Clinical supervision is provided by an on-site certified and state licensed speech-language pathologist who is an employee of the clinical practicum site.
During this phase, students deepen their expertise, expand their professional networks, and transition seamlessly from graduate education to independent practice.
Interested in becoming a Community Partner?
Questions? Contact Alison Boyle, MS, CCC-SLP, Director of Clinical Education of GMercyU’s Speech-Language Pathology Program at boyle.a1@gmercyu.edu.