Student perceptions of factors that influence clinical competency in voice

Purpose: This study aimed to explore factors, perceived by students themselves, that help or hinder development of competency in voice.

Method: Focus group interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 14 speech pathology students (93% female, mean age 22 years). Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using template analysis.

Result: Students' perceptions of influencing factors were grouped into two major themes: (1) personal factors, and (2) educational factors. A key finding was that many participants perceived a student's own voice to be a major factor impacting their development and attainment of clinical competency in voice, and that mindsets towards the (un)changeability of students' own voices varied across participants. Students with a performance background were considered to be at an advantage in terms of performing vocal tasks and suitability to work with specific populations. Key facilitatory educational factors included access to and experience of demonstrations (face-to-face and video), additional training workshops, peer learning, and simulation.

Conclusion: This study identified a number of personal and educational factors that students perceive to impact the development of competency in voice. Consideration of these holistic factors may assist speech-language pathology educators to deliver optimally effective voice-related curricula.