Effect of Clinical Expertise on Efficacy of Vocal Function Exercises in Individuals With Typical Voice.
Maria Bane, Vrushali Angadi, Richard Andreatta and 1 others
PMID 37996344WHAT IT FOUND
Novice clinicians achieved the same voice improvement as an expert with 40 years' experience in people with typical voices.
You do not need to be a voice specialist to deliver these exercises effectively, but this does not prove it for patients with voice disorders.
Key findings
01Change in maximum phonation time was not significantly different between the expert and novice groups.
02Both groups significantly improved their percent of maximum phonation time goal attained.
03Novice clinicians were master's students trained for one week, while the expert had over 40 years of experience.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study used a very small sample (17 completers), which limits statistical power. Participants had typical voices, so the results cannot be generalized to patients with voice disorders or pathology. The novice clinicians were master's students, not fully licensed practitioners, which may not reflect the skill level of a generalist SLP in the workforce. Home practice compliance was self-reported and could not be verified.
Declared interests
The first two authors declared no conflicts. The third author receives textbook royalties from Plural Publishing. The last author receives textbook and educational product royalties from Plural Publishing and Medbridge. The authors stated they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the work.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that novice clinicians can effectively treat patients with voice disorders. The study participants had typical voices, and the authors explicitly state that clinical expertise may be much more critical in a clinical population where evaluation and psychosocial support are required.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →