ASHA-IIE-CF-MENTORING — ASHA Issues in Ethics: Responsibilities of Clinical Fellowship Mentors (2025)
What does ASHA-IIE-CF-MENTORING say?
Clinical Fellowship (CF) mentors have significant ethical responsibilities. Key guidance: (1) Mentors must hold current CCC and have appropriate competence in both the clinical area and supervision/mentoring practices. (2) Mentors assess whether the Clinical Fellow can demonstrate skills appropriate for independent practice. (3) Mentors must provide adequate direct observation — not all mentoring can be done remotely or through record review. (4) If a mentor determines the CF is not performing competently, they have an obligation to provide additional training, extend the fellowship, or if necessary, fail the fellow. (5) Honest evaluation is critical — passing a fellow who is not competent puts future clients at risk. (6) Mentors should model ethical behavior and discuss ethical decision-making throughout the fellowship. (7) The mentor-fellow relationship involves a power differential that must be managed ethically — the mentor should not exploit this relationship. (8) Documentation of all mentoring activities, evaluations, and feedback must be maintained. (9) When the mentor and CF have different cultural or clinical backgrounds, mentors should seek to understand and respect those differences. Relevant Code sections: Principle I Rules A, B (client welfare, competent services); Principle II Rules A, B, G (competence, professional development, adequate supervision); Principle IV Rules A, H (professional relationships, adequate supervision).
Official source: read the full text in the ASHA Code of Ethics (2023) (official document).