Dudding selected for Distinguished Fellowship for Speech-Language Pathology
JMU News
SUMMARY: Each year, the National Academies of Practice (NAP) inducts Distinguished Fellows from various disciplines who have had significant achievements in education or research that contributed to their practice.
By: Lauren Mitchell '19
Creative Services
Each year, the National Academies of Practice (NAP) inducts Distinguished Fellows from various disciplines who have had significant achievements in education or research that contributed to their practice. The NAP is made up of 14 different health professions. Dr. Carol Dudding, the director of the Speech-Language Pathology program, has been inducted as a Distinguished Scholar and Fellow.
Dudding began her tenure at JMU in December 2006. She earned her masters in speech-language pathology from the University of Massachusetts and then went on to earn her Ph.D. in Instructional Technology from the University of Virginia.
Dudding was nominated for the NAP Distinguished Fellowship by Dr. Loretta Nunez, the Director of Academic Affairs for the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA). “It means a lot to me knowing that I was nominated by someone at my national association. I am looking forward to working with a group of leaders to advance the principles of interprofessional education and practice within Speech-Language Pathology,” said Dudding. Through this fellowship, she will be working within both the SLP Academy and the NAP at large. She will be focused on promoting and advocating for interprofessional practice in healthcare. Part of the work being done at the NAP is to inform policy makers on health care issues using the Academy’s perspective that expert practitioners and scholars should join together for interdisciplinary dialogue. This helps to ensure access to affordable, quality healthcare. Since the SLP field is relatively small, Dudding is also focused on ensuring that the Speech-Language Pathologists are involved in the interprofessional discussion due to the fact that they are a valuable part of the healthcare team. She will have the opportunity to promote all of the interprofessional education work that is being done at JMU through this fellowship.
Dudding is a part of a team composed of faculty from the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences and the School of Art, Design, and Art History that has helped to develop virtual clinical case studies in the simulation program, SecondLife. SecondLife is a virtual-reality platform that students and teachers can use to create communities, play games, or pursue educational opportunities that would otherwise be impossible. Dudding saw this program as an opportunity to collaborate with other disciplines on a single case in a way that would allow for interdisciplinary work. “Students from programs within CHBS work together to develop effective communication, values and ethics, role awareness and teamwork skills necessary for interprofessional practice,” Dudding explained. Most CHBS professionals work in interprofessional teams, so SecondLife is a perfect way to expose students to this type of work. “This has proven to be a safe and effective way of allowing students to practice working on a team to develop patient-focused treatment plans,” she said. It allows students to work together in the virtual space, even if they cannot meet in the physical space. Dudding looks forward to using other forms of virtual reality for this purpose in the future.
Membership in the NAP is an honor only extended to those who have excelled in their profession and are dedicated to furthering practice and policy of interprofessional care. Dr. Dudding is a perfect addition to the NAP due to her out-of-the-box thinking and drive to advance her field.
