ASHA Leadership

2007 Annual Report from the Vice President for Quality of Service in Speech-Language Pathology

Tommie L. Robinson, Jr.

Speech-Language Pathology Summit

The Subject is Change: Creating a Vision for the Future Education of Speech-Language Pathologists was held February 2-3, 2007 in New Orleans, Louisiana. There were 100 participants representing the academic, clinical (schools, early intervention and health care) and research communities. The proceedings from the summit will be made available soon. It was a pleasure to develop, create and chair this event.

Council for Clinical Certification

Theresa Rodgers, Chair

The Council For Clinical Certification (CFCC) held two three-day, face-to-face meetings at the ASHA National Office during 2007 and a one-day meeting (committee day) at the ASHA Convention in Boston, Massachusetts. Other business was ongoing and conducted at board meetings, through e-mail, and telephone conferencing.

During 2007, the CFCC was engaged in numerous activities that were related to the receiving and processing of applications from new graduates, the reinstatement policies for previous certificate holders, the certification maintenance process, and the review of current audiology certification standards. Those activities are noted below:

New and Reinstating Applicants

• In 2007, there were a total of 5,921 applications for certification received. Of these, 529 were from individuals applying for certification in audiology and 5,392 were for certification in speech-language pathology. This represents an increase of almost 1,000 more applications received in 2007 versus 2006.
• In February, a mailing was sent to all audiologists on ASHA's database who previously held certification but permitted it to lapse. The mailing informed audiologists of the change in ASHA's certification reinstatement policies that would become effective January 1, 2008, and urged those who were interested to apply for reinstatement before the end of 2007. While there was not an overwhelming response to the mailing, we did see a slight increase in the number of audiology reinstatement applications that were submitted.

Certification Maintenance

• 2007 marked the last year for the final interval for audiologists who were certified between January 1, 1990 and December 31, 2002 and also marked the end of the first interval for speech-language pathologists who were certified prior to January 1, 1980. Due to a change in how figures were collected, the number that we have for individuals in compliance is from August 2007 through the end of the year. Letters notifying certificate holders that they are in compliance with the maintenance requirement have been sent to over 4,000 audiologists and almost 10,000 speech-language pathologists since August of 2007.
• There have been 1,270 requests for exemptions to the maintenance requirement either due to individuals having permanently retired from practice but still wishing to hold the CCC status or due to their temporary unemployment/retirement from practice. Since the majority of these requests were received very late in 2007, these requests are still being processed but 184 of the requested exemptions have been approved and the individuals notified. The remaining notifications will occur during the first quarter of 2008.
• The Council has received 6 requests for Further Consideration (i.e., did not meet the requirement and was requesting an exception or additional time to comply) and has approved 5 and denied 1 request.
• The Council spent a considerable amount of time discussing the need for additional technological support to the maintenance program and how this might be accomplished. As a result of the Council input, resources were identified and staff is working on the development and launch of an on-line maintenance compliance form. This should occur in late 2008.

Review of Certification Standards

• At each meeting the CFCC spends time responding to questions from applicants, program directors, employers, and supervisors about the certification standards and implementation procedures. These activities continued in 2007 with the Council providing clarification to over 20 individuals in such areas as amount of supervision required during the Clinical Fellowship, who is permitted to supervise individuals in practicum, what courses are acceptable in the areas of biological science, physical science, mathematics, and behavioral/social sciences, etc.
• The Council did a substantial revision to the implementation language in speech-language pathology for the Clinical Fellowship.
• The Council began the Practice Analysis for Audiology, the first step in the substantial review of audiology standards. This entailed assembling a Subject Matter Expert Panel to work with an outside consultant in developing and fielding a comprehensive survey to certified audiologists. The results of the survey will serve to inform the Audiology Subcommittee on any changes that may need to be made to the current audiology standards. The work of the Subcommittee will continue into 2008.

Board of Ethics

Shelly Chabon, Chair

The Board of Ethics held two three-day, face-to-face meetings at the ASHA National Office during 2007 and a third, two-day meeting (committee day and one additional day) at the ASHA Convention in Boston, Massachusetts. All ethics complaint adjudication took place at face-to-face meetings. Other business was ongoing and conducted at board meetings, and through e-mail and telephone conferencing. Highlights of the Board's activities during the past year are summarized below.

Ethics Complaint Adjudication

During the three meetings of the Board of Ethics the Board adjudicated seventeen Initial Consideration Hearings and conducted six first level appeal Further Consideration Hearings and one Request for Reinstatement. In January 2007, an Executive Board Appeals Panel heard an appeal of a Board of Ethics decision.

Administrative Matters

The Board discussed several administrative matters related to its activities including:

• Revision of the BOE adjudication procedures
• Review of the ASHA bylaws
• Revision of the BOE Operation Manual
• Creation of a joint BOE/Publications Board Subcommittee to address issues related to research integrity in the publication process
• Involvement of former BOE members in select BOE activities
• Plans for a BOE 10th anniversary gathering
• BOE members use of SharePoint
• Request from the Committee on Honors regarding use of ASHA Fellow designation which was referred to the Vice President's Coordinating Committee
• Creation of a joint CFCC/BOE Subcommittee to address issues related to disclosure requirements

Issues in Ethics Statements

The Executive Board approved the following Issues in Ethics Statements in 2007:

• Public Announcements and Public Statements
• Prescription
• Clinical Fellowship Supervisors' Responsibilities
• Patient Abandonment

The Board is continuing with its process of reviewing and updating Issues in Ethics Statements. Statements currently under review/revision are:

• Conflict of Interest
• Drawing Cases for Private Practice from Primary Place of Employment
• Ethics in Research and Professional Practice
• Ethical Practice Inquiries: ASHA Jurisdictions
• Fees for Clinical Service Provided by Students
• Business Practices (new)
• Providing Clinical Services Via Telepractice (new)
• Evidence-Based Practice for Clinicians (new)

Ethics Education Activities

• The Board of Ethics affirmed the importance of ethics education and discussed ways to ensure that sufficient time at each meeting is devoted to ethics education.
• Members of the Board of Ethics presented a two-hour session at the 2007 ASHA Convention entitled "Ethics for Real."
• ASHA and NSSLHA continued the student ethics essay writing contest. BOE members reviewed submissions and participated in the selection of three winning essays.
• "Ethics Education," a resource for ethics educators in academic and other settings, was published.
• Members of the Board of Ethics completed an article entitled "Triangulated Ethics" about the supervisor/student/patient relationship for publication in The ASHA Leader or posting on ASHA's Web site.
• A telephone seminar on Ethics and Reimbursement for Services was conducted in August 2007. Presenters were William Mustain (past BOE member) and Paul Rao (current BOE member and 2008 BOE Chair).
• The Director of Ethics has participated in and presented at local, state and national conferences on issues related to ethics, ethical decision making and ethics education.
• The Chair of the Board of Ethics participated in the 2007 ASHA Convention session and also was a co-presenter at the 2007 ASHA Schools Conference on the topic of ethics and diversity.
• BOE members agreed that they would develop a bank of case scenarios illustrating a variety of ethical questions and dilemmas.

Board Membership

The Board of Ethics welcomed four new members and acknowledged the hard work and commitment of departing members.

Council for Clinical Specialty Recognition (CCSR)

Mary Ruth Sizer, Chair

The CCSR held two three-day, face-to-face meetings at the ASHA National Office during 2007 and a third, one-day meeting (committee day) at the ASHA Convention in Boston, Massachusetts. Ongoing business was conducted at board meetings and through e-mail and telephone conferencing. Highlights of the Board's activities during the past year are summarized below.

• Completed annual report reviews of the three Specialty Boards in accordance with CCSR standards and operational procedures
• Continued to facilitate/monitor the work of petitioning groups, and fielded inquiries from individuals and clinical groups regarding establishment of a specialty recognition area
• Continued work to obtain trademark of BRS designator
• Continued twice annual confirmation (April and October) of current Board Recognized Specialists (BRS) for inclusion as an external credential field within ASHA's netFORUM member directory
• Began to use a Web-based group collaboration site (collaborate.asha.org) to conduct some CCSR business and to house active and archived CCSR documents in a central location that is accessible to Council members via Web technology
• Fielded phone and email communications with ASHA members regarding specialty recognition program
• Reviewed on-going assignments of CCSR internal work groups
• Facilitated SB Chair reporting and networking at Committee of Chairs meeting in April 2007 (in conjunction with CAPCSD)
• Presented a well-attended lunch session on Specialty Recognition at the ASHA 2007 Convention; all three Specialty Boards attended the session and talked with members interested in specialty recognition
• Completed a two-year evaluation (2006-2007) of the effectiveness of the grassroots model for clinical specialty recognition for a report to the Board of Directors

Council Membership

Meetings and Conferences

As Vice President, I attended several activities on behalf of the association which included: the Council for Academic Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders held in Palm Springs, California, the Health Care and Business Institute held in Rockville, Maryland, and the annual convention of the Mississippi Speech-Language Hearing Association held in Jackson, Mississippi.

Other Activities

• Served on various subcommittees of the Executive Board
• Served as chair of the legacy committee
• Revised Operational Procedures of the Board of Ethics approved