clicomm is a digital learning and teaching system designed to help students develop clinical communication skills.

Background

Communication skills are a core competency for healthcare professionals, especially for speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Effective communication is essential for providing professional assessment and treatment services to individuals with communication disorders. It involves building trust with patients of different ages and backgrounds, understanding their concerns, gathering medical histories, conducting assessments, explaining results and treatment plans, answering questions, and coordinating referrals to other professionals.

Additionally, individuals with communication disorders may face challenges due to various conditions, such as degenerative speech issues caused by Parkinson’s disease, language delays due to intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, or language impairments resulting from strokes or cognitive decline. SLPs must adapt their communication strategies to suit each patient’s unique needs and progress. This requires flexibility and the ability to employ specific communication techniques to support rehabilitation or recovery. For students in the “iGeneration,” these challenges are even greater. Previous studies have shown that SLP students often feel particularly unconfident in their ability to communicate with patients with aphasia (Finch et al., 2013). Fortunately, communication skills can be improved through learning and practice (Kurtz & Silverman, 1996; Silverman et al., 1995).

Traditionally, clinical communication skills are developed through internships, where students interact with real patients, identify their shortcomings, and learn through supervision and guidance. In addition to general communication skills for interacting with individuals of different ages and cultural backgrounds, SLP students must also develop clinical communication skills to effectively engage with individuals with various communication disorders. These skills enhance clinical judgment, reduce stress during internships, and improve professional competence. However, such dynamic and adaptive skills are difficult to cultivate in traditional lecture-based classrooms. Ideally, these skills are developed through hands-on clinical internships in hospitals. However, due to limited internship opportunities and disruptions caused by events like pandemics, there is a need for innovative teaching methods that simulate real-world clinical scenarios to supplement traditional internships and prepare students for clinical communication challenges.

To address these needs, a cloud-based learning platform focused on clinical communication has been developed. This platform integrates case-based learning, role-playing, and simulation-based teaching methods to enhance students’ interpersonal and clinical communication skills. By bridging the gap between theory and practice, the platform aims to improve students’ confidence and communication abilities during their senior-year internships and beyond, ultimately strengthening their ability to interact effectively with patients and their families in clinical settings.

System Architecture

This teaching system consists of the following three subsystems:

  1. Frontend Application (Web Version)
  2. Backend Management Platform (Admin Website)
  3. Learning Bulletin Board

Website

• Clinical Communication Learning Platform

Acknowledgments

The concepts and research behind clicomm were developed by a collaborative team of professors from the Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology at Mackay Medical College, including Wei-Chun Che, Jinyi Hung, and Li-Li Yeh (listed in alphabetical order by surname).

Contact

Feel free to reach out to discuss how to use this platform or potential collaborations.

Email: support@cmssds.org

Clinical Management of Speech and Language Disorders