Communication Sciences and Disorders graduate students recently participated in advanced clinical training in tracheostomy and artificial airways using specialized equipment funded through a WE CARE experiential learning grant.

Although most speech-language pathologists (SLPs) practice in pediatric and educational settings, over 35% of Arkansan SLPs work in healthcare facilities treating individuals with medically complex needs. The Communication Sciences and Disorders program offers an application-based medical speech-language pathology elective to fulfill an increased need for healthcare-specific training. Clinical instructor Jessica Danley, a board-certified specialist in swallowing and swallowing disorders and a certified brain injury specialist, leads the graduate course. She also offers voice and swallowing wellness services and supervises graduate students at the U of A Speech and Hearing Clinic.

Each year, local medical SLPs are invited to serve as elective guest speakers and provide perspectives on real-life clinical practice. For example, in March, a panel of inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation practitioners attended the elective to discuss first-hand experiences working with patients with dementia, traumatic brain injury and Parkinson's Disease.

Through WE CARE funding, Danley recently acquired tracheostomy models for the course, known as "Pocket T.O.M.s." The "Pocket T.O.M.s" are miniature head models that allow students to visualize and handle a tracheostomy tube's components in the upper airway without risking patient discomfort or an adverse event.

"They are great educational tools that reinforce upper airway anatomy and physiology and physically train tracheostomy cuff procedures in a low-stakes environment," Danley said. "We are grateful to the College of Education and Health Professions for funding endeavors that support these experiential learning opportunities."

This year, Molly Barens, a medical SLP at Mercy Hospital in Rogers, co-led students through the clinical training necessary for an intensive care unit. Barens is also U of A CSDI program alumna and a clinical supervisor for U of A graduate students, making her uniquely familiar with the learning needs of the participants. Under her direction, students used the "Pocket T.O.M.s" to practice cuff inflation and deflation techniques needed to facilitate speaking valve trials in acute care.

Thanks to the generous interdisciplinary support of the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing, the tracheostomy workshop concluded with hands-on activities with tracheostomized mannikins in the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Skills Lab. In the Skills Lab, students engaged in positioning activities used to reduce a patient's risk of respiratory distress and role-played to recognize a patient's readiness for speaking valve trials after a tracheostomy procedure.