Oklahoma Administrative Code
Title 690 - Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology
Chapter 10 - Licensure and Fees
Subchapter 7 - Licensure of Speech-Language Pathology Assistants and Audiology Assistants
Section 690:10-7-3 - Supervision required

(a) The speech-language pathology assistant must be supervised by a speech- language pathologist who has been licensed for two years. Licensure as a clinical fellow does not count toward the two-year license requirement. Each supervisor shall accept no more than the equivalent of two FTE (full-time employee) assistants. Each practitioner licensed in both speech-language pathology and audiology is likewise restricted to two FTE assistants in aggregate. Further, the total number of licensees supervised by a single supervisor shall not exceed two FTE.

(b) The supervising speech-language pathologist must have successfully completed at least six hours of Board approved training in clinical supervision within ten years prior to requesting approval to supervise. Three hours must include instruction in the knowledge and skills areas necessary for speech language pathology assistant's supervisors as identified by the American Speech- Language Hearing Association (ASHA), other organization or entity the Board deems acceptable. The remaining three hours may consist of other topics related to clinical supervision, including instruction specific to the supervision of clinical fellows. A speech-language pathologist who has completed six hours of training is eligible to supervise both clinical fellows and speech-language pathology assistants, provided that the six-hour training includes three hours, specific to supervision of clinical fellows and three hours specific to supervision of assistants.

(c) For the first 90 workdays following the first day of employment, a speech-language pathology assistant shall practice under a minimum of 20% direct supervision with a minimum of 8 indirect supervising activities per month. After successful completion of the first 90 workdays the amount of supervision may be adjusted if the supervising speech-language pathologist determines the speech-language pathology assistant has met the necessary competencies and skill levels with a variety of communication and related disorders. All supervision must include documentation of direct and/or indirect supervision provided by the supervising speech-language pathologist to each client/patient at least every 90 calendar days. For full-time speech-language pathology assistants (full-time is defined as 30 hours or more per week) a minimum of four hours of direct supervision per month and as much indirect supervision as needed to facilitate the delivery of quality services must be maintained. For part-time speech-language pathology assistants (part-time is defined as less than 30 hours per week) a minimum of two hours of direct supervision per month and as much indirect supervision as needed to facilitate the delivery of quality services must be maintained. The supervising speech-language pathologist must be available in person or by electronic means when the speech-language pathology assistant is implementing a treatment program. The supervision must be documented on a supervision log signed by the supervisor and the assistant. Direct supervision must also be documented on the client/patient session note. Records of supervision are subject to inspection by the Board.

(d) The supervising speech-language pathologist is responsible for exercising his or her professional judgment to determine the appropriate level of supervision at or above the required minimum necessary to ensure that each client/patient receives competent services. The supervising speech-language pathologist should consider:

(e) For audiology assistants, direct supervision is required when the assistant is performing activities involving direct patient care. Direct supervision requires the supervising audiologist to be present on-site for supervision and guidance of the assistant. Indirect supervision of the audiology assistant is permissible when the audiology assistant is performing duties or activities that do not involve direct patient care. Indirect supervision requires the supervising audiologist to be available for instruction or guidance but does not require the supervising audiologist to be present on-site. The audiology assistant must be supervised by an audiologist who has been licensed for two years. Each supervisor shall accept no more than two assistants.