The School of Audiology and Speech Sciences is grateful for the support and contribution of all our Clinical Faculty. In 2009, the School established the Clinical Faculty Awards to recognize exceptional Clinical Faculty who demonstrate excellence in and commitment to the clinical education of our students. These student nominated awards include the Noelle Lamb Award for Excellence in Clinical Education (Audiology) and the Elizabeth MacLeod Award for Excellence in Clinical Education (Speech-Language Pathology). Among the many outstanding nominations, we are proud to announce the recipients for the 2022 and 2023 years.
The Noelle Lamb Award for Excellence in Clinical Education (Audiology)
Rachel Jordan is the awardee of the Noelle Lamb Award for Excellence in Clinical Education (Audiology) for 2022. She practices at Costco in Burnaby. Her students describe her as incredibly patient, considerate, tactful yet direct, and she is an effective communicator with everyone she comes into contact with. Rachel demonstrates empathy with her clients while teaching students to consider why a certain method is important for best practices in amplification or counseling. Client-centered care and the importance of accessibility for the client is always forefront in her teaching. Rachel allows students the opportunities to self-correct and learn from their mistakes: “With Rachel’s encouragement and education, I felt that I was able to set and achieve ambitious learning goals from the midterm to the final evaluation.” Rachel’s support and dedication to SASS’s Audiology students have made a significant difference in their clinical learning. Thank you Rachel.
Maxine Fok and Maybelle Santos are the awardees of the Noelle Lamb Award for Excellence in Clinical Education (Audiology) for 2023 and they work with pediatric clients at the Burnaby Health Unit. Nominees say that “Both Maybelle and Maxine’s outstanding qualities as Clinical Educators make them exceptional candidates for this award. We have experienced phenomenal education from both of these Audiologists.”
Maxine Fok’s students describe her mentoring style as collaborative and inclusive. Maxine challenges students beyond their comfort zone in a way that allows them to generalize clinical skills they have learned in previous placements with adults to the pediatric population. Maxine does a phenomenal job of valuing student’s knowledge and perspectives and allows the students to experiment with their clinical reasoning skills in a safe learning environment. Students have described her learning approach as, ‘’Read one, watch one, do one’’ which was appreciated when learning new clinical skills. Thank you Maxine for your dedicated contributions to the Clinical Education program of our Audiology students.
Maybelle Santos’ students describe her as experienced, kind, and knowledgeable. Maybelle answers all of the student’s questions in a respectful manner, never making them feel that their questions are inconsequential. Maybelle shows open-mindedness when listening to student’s interpretations of case results and asks for the student’s opinion with a genuine interest in their recommendations. She provides extraordinary feedback and balances constructive feedback with praise effortlessly, which only increases student confidence: “I truly felt like a colleague at the clinic, not just a student, but an Audiologist.” We want to extend our sincerest gratitude to Maybelle for her unwavering support of our Audiology students.
The Elizabeth MacLeod Award for Excellence in Clinical Education (Speech-Language Pathology)
Rhea Lazar and Lisa Langford are the awardees of the Elizabeth MacLeod Award for Excellence in Clinical Education (Speech-Language Pathology) for 2022. Rhea and Lisa practice at the Robert and Lily Lee Family Community Health Centre in Vancouver. They have consistently supervised SLP students since 2018 at the Singing Frog and Eagle’s Nest Aboriginal Head Start Preschools and always mentor two SLP students in their final placement. Students have stated, “Together, they demonstrate how to maintain a fun and healthy workplace team environment. Our education was enhanced incredibly thanks to the partnership between these two SLPs.”
Students describe Lisa Langford as focused and flexible. What makes Lisa stand out the most as a Clinical Educator is her attitude towards students – she treats her students with respect, mutual benefit, and assumes they have competence when they enter the placement, which makes students feel more confident in their clinical knowledge and skills. Lisa incorporates current research and training into her practice and is actively involved in her community, striving to create a work environment where everyone is comfortable and feels like they belong. She allows students to be independent, while at the same time, provides the appropriate amount of support when needed. The nominator shared: “Lisa is an excellent example of the kind of clinician and human that I want to become. I am grateful for the chance I had to observe her work and be mentored by her.” Lisa’s unwavering support and dedication to our SLP students is greatly appreciated. Thank you Lisa.
Students define Rhea Lazar as respectful, supportive and passionate about the field of Speech-Language Pathology. From the first day students walk into the externship, Rhea treats them as a colleague, respecting their clinical impressions, provides them with space to attempt elements of clinical practice independently, while providing supportive mentorship and a safe space to ask questions: “She asked for my observations and opinions before sharing her own”. Rhea sparks student’s enthusiasm for entering the SLP professional world by modelling how much of an impact one can make as an SLP by meeting families where they are at. Rhea goes above and beyond to provide clients and families with services and resources in a way that is comfortable and meaningful and shares her “tips and tricks” she has learned over her years with her students. Rhea’s dedication and support to our SLP students have been instrumental in their success and we could not be more thankful.
Curtis Fischer is the awardee of the Elizabeth MacLeod Award for Excellence in Clinical Education (Speech-Language Pathology) for 2023. He currently practices at the Royal Jubilee Hospital and has practiced at Victoria General Hospital in adult acute care. Curtis creates a safe environment for learning, providing skill-driven feedback through open dialogue, encouraging ongoing critical thinking, while being incredibly passionate about the field of Speech-Language Pathology: “Curtis made me feel like I could be successful in the field of acute care dysphagia. I am incredibly lucky and grateful to have learned from him.” Curtis provides different methods of feedback by taking into consideration the student’s learning styles. During the placement, students are given the opportunity to analyze problems and create hypotheses independently before discussing their interpretations with him. We want to express our heartfelt thanks to Curtis for his invaluable support and dedication to our SLP students.
The faculty and administration of School of Audiology and Speech Sciences are pleased to have the opportunity to recognize our 2022 and 2023 recipients for their many contributions to the School’s clinical education program, and would like to extend sincere congratulations.