BBIVAR Intern Program
Winter 2011-2012-January Start-May
(Applications Closed beginning of October, 2011)
Summer 2012 – June Start-Mid-August
(Applications Closed beginning of March 2012)
Fall 2012-August Start-Mid December
(Applications Closed end of May, 2012)
The Blaine Block Institute for Voice Analysis and Rehabilitation (BBIVAR) includes a competitive and intensive internship program for graduate level speech pathology students interested in pursuing a career in voice disorders. Typically, students maintain a full time (40 hours per week) internship/practicum experience for ten to fifteen weeks in a busy, clinical practice.
Due to the intensive nature of the BBIVAR internship, interested students should be prepared to undergo an initial interview. If accepted as a BBIVAR intern, students may be expected to increase the depth of their knowledge related to voice and voice disorders through required readings. At the conclusion of the internship, students will give a brief presentation (30-45 minutes) to the BBIVAR staff on a relevant research topic. Pitch matching skills, confidence, and a general eagerness to learn are positive attributes when considering a BBIVAR internship.
Students who complete an internship at BBIVAR will be competent in:
- Taking patient histories
- Performing and rating stroboscopic examinations
- Completing and analyzing aerodynamic and acoustic measures
- Sizing, changing and assessing voice prostheses in laryngectomee patients
- Independently writing reports and letters to physicians
- Learning, refining, and teaching Vocal Function Exercises, Resonant Voice Therapy, and LSVT to patients
- Evaluation and treatment of patients with Vocal Cord Dysfunction
Additionally, students are exposed to many different aspects of voice pathology including:
- FEES Evaluations
- Singing Voice Evaluations & Therapy
- Observation of Botox Injections
- Attending Laryngectomee Support Group Meetings, Head and Neck Cancer Grand Rounds, and Strobe Review
- Possible observations of Laryngeal Surgery including: Thyroplasty & Total Laryngectomy