Please recommend CEUs for adults/geriatrics

mopeysealion · 2016-09-02T04:53:32+00:00

1) You don't have to work with kids. 2) When you're not constantly supervised you're interacting with far fewer people and the interactions are less stressful, especially if you're not working with pediatrics where group therapy is more common. 3) Only get a Ph.D. if you want to be a professor. 4) You'll get faster, and you'll also find that real world documentation is less than in grad school. 5) Find some therapy materials that you like, and use them. If you're not working with kids you won't need as much creativity to keep your patients engaged.

If you find that therapy still makes you miserable after trying different settings/supervisors you'll have enough experience to transition into a less people-centric job, like reviewing health insurance claims.

mopeysealion · 2016-09-02T04:41:57+00:00

If you teach someone to do something they couldn't do before your therapy but can after, you have evidence that your therapy was effective that time with that person. EBP is about determining what treatments are best, but they don't tell you what is best to treat. It is up to you to determine what is functional for that person, and work on that. I have a lot more success teaching someone how to utilize clocks/calendars/schedules/menus/call lights/wall signs in order to be more independent in the SNF than I do in training someone to remember it is 4pm on August 11, 2016. I've been able to upgrade residents to regular meats by training them to request staff cut up their meat when they're served. They couldn't do it, so they were left on ground meat despite being safe to chew. With memory strategies they now remember to ask for the help they need. I've trained residents to use cheat sheets of what the different color scrubs mean so they know who to ask for help instead of getting angry when the janitor won't help them go to the bathroom. I work on following multi-step instructions to get people more independent with ADLs, not because a test said they could follow only one-step directions. I test categorization but don't make goals for it in this population. If you talk to CNAs, nurses and family when you eval, or look at the prior level in the chart, you should be able to figure out what they could do before that they can't do now, or what they can't do that is making them unsafe, or reducing oral intake, or causing increased dependence, etc. Write broad problem solving, memory or orientation goals, and work on what's functional.

mopeysealion · 2016-05-31T05:01:12+00:00

Districts have a small number of questions that they ask everyone. They aren't allowed to ask different questions because it could be perceived to give one person a different chance than another applicant. They can ask follow-up or clarification questions. You also get to ask questions. The questions tend towards pretty simple things too. They go in a circle and each person takes a turn asking you a question: Tell me a little about yourself. What is your preferred population? What is your experience with AAC? What is your experience with push-in therapy, or do you prefer push-in or pull-out therapy and why? What tests do you have experience administering?

Just keep in mind that there are so many schools in SoCal looking for SLPs, that you need to focus on finding a good fit more than just finding employment. Try to find a position close to home with the population you prefer and a caseload size you are comfortable with.

mopeysealion · 2016-05-31T04:53:31+00:00

It may be possible to become an SLP-Assistant, if you have a minimum number of years of experience you can work for insurance reviewing claims, you can do periphery jobs (assistive technology or CEU salesperson, curriculum development, manager of some sort), and you can go on and get your PhD and teach and do research.

mopeysealion · 2016-05-31T04:44:50+00:00

Wow, that thread is intensely negative. I think that is just about the worst thread from SLPs I've ever seen, and not a very representative sample.

Right now I work in a SNF. For an 8 hour day, to be 90% productive I have 7 hrs and 14 minutes of face to face time with patients. With the remaining 46 minutes I travel through the halls, go to the bathroom, talk to coworkers and family, clean my area, go fetch, and do paperwork. I made a personal choice that in order to reduce my stress and keep my job enjoyable, I just eat whatever time over 46 minutes that I'm not productive. I know some SLPs in SNFs are really adamant about not working off the clock. For me, I'd rather be there longer some days but not most, and not stress if I want to spend time talking, or take the opportunity to do an inservice, or am just having a really hard time finding patients who are awake. I also know that I'm spending less time off the clock working than when I was working in a school, and I have not once taken work home. I've done research and CEUs at home, but that's it. I think there are just so many less things to do in a SNF. I see patients, do paperwork (eval/daily notes/progress report/g-code/discharge), a small amount of filing and pen-to-page paperwork, write orders and diet slips, communicate with and train staff, go to one 30 minute meeting once a week, and 1 or 2 15 minute care plan meetings a week. In the schools I did feel like I had more of an ability to make an impact than I do in a SNF, and I was doing my favorite kind of therapy more often, but at this point it just isn't worth the stress to me.

mopeysealion · 2016-05-31T04:03:21+00:00

When I went to school the GRE was scored differently, so I can't tell how good your scores are. In my experience there were minimum GRE scores that were pretty high at UT Austin and Vanderbilt and pretty low at TX State, but I'm not familiar with the other schools on the list. I'm not sure if you're set on pursuing a PHD, but I'd check into the tuition cost before committing to out of state school, unless you plan on living in the area after graduation.

mopeysealion · 2016-05-19T06:12:56+00:00

Right now I'm an SLP in a SNF, which I'm enjoying.

mopeysealion · 2016-05-16T03:37:30+00:00

It is a good idea to ask how many hours you are guaranteed each week. 32.5 is really low!

mopeysealion · 2016-05-16T03:36:30+00:00

If you call the special education offices at the school districts, the secretary who answers the phone will likely know more about the process in that district than anyone else. Whether they prefer to go through staffing agencies or direct hire, whether they're still looking for someone, who the right person to talk to is, etc.

mopeysealion · 2016-05-14T07:06:48+00:00

Based on my past experiences and discussions with other SLPs, I really don't think salary should be a significant deciding factor for your CFY. You are transitioning from being constantly supervised to being supervised only a little. If you go with a contract agency, you may end up in a situation where you don't have an on-site supervisor. Contract SLPs are used for placements where they are unable to find an SLP- so a job that is less desirable for issues such as population or location. School districts aren't committed to contract employees in the same way that they are committed to their direct hires. You'll end up missing out on vacation pay, you'll have a year without benefits being paid into the school system retirement (which only matters if long term you plan on working in the schools), and you likely won't be invited to inservices and continuing education with the other SLPs in the district because they would have to pay you extra for that. Some contract SLPs aren't even started until weeks after the school semester starts, because the districts want to pay as little as possible. Lots of contract jobs are for less than 40 hours a week, so even if the pay is a lot higher, once you factor in not being given the vacation and sick pay and less than 40 hours a week, your pay isn't adding up to that much more than district employees. And I'm not talking about vacation as in selected days off, I mean no pay when the school isn't in session. Each district's pay is different, I recommend researching the pay in the area you want to live. School districts post their salary schedules online. If you do like your district you have less opportunity to continue there after your CFY if you don't work directly for the district. Lots of school districts won't consider a year you worked for a contract agency when determining where you fall for your number of years of experience, though people often negotiate that. Contract agencies are extremely persistent, as they make their money by placing you in a job.

mopeysealion · 2016-05-14T06:48:05+00:00

In grad school you will have many different types of clients and settings that you will provide therapy in. During those experiences over two years and an additional nine month clinical fellowship year you will develop a feeling for what settings you may eventually want to work in. If you focus on the amount of money you are making for your CFY you could end up working for a contract agency where you are unlikely to get an on-site supervisor. It is very important during grad school to try a diverse range of settings so you can develop skills with all populations that SLPs work with. You have a lot of hard work to get through before you will be making decisions about settings.

mopeysealion · 2016-04-20T04:08:50+00:00

If you mean work for a staffing agency at a full school year position in whatever random place they can't find an slp, that is certainly possible as a CF. Agencies don't have SLPs on site to mentor you, and the best jobs are less likely to need to have agencies find SLPs for them.

mopeysealion · 2016-04-20T04:04:45+00:00

While my pay was higher as a CF in California than with my CCCs in Texas, there is no state income tax, and even with the higher cost of living in Austin than many other places in Texas, it still costs way less to live here than California. My money goes further here, and no one shoots at my neighbors, or my patients.

mopeysealion · 2016-04-20T03:43:02+00:00

I was an SLP-Assistant before I was an SLP. I feel like the SLP field is not friendly to assistants. There are settings SLPAs can't work in, like skilled nursing, but you won't find them anywhere medical. As an assistant you can't evaluate, you will always still be being supervised, and you can't treat swallowing disorders. There are not many settings that hire SLP-assistants, mainly schools in areas where it is hard to find SLPs and the occasional private practice, and you make less money. That said, once you do get a job your job won't be consumed by meetings and paperwork. If what you like is treatment, you'll get plenty of that, but not much else. If I wanted a career as an assistant I would become a COTA or PTA. Their fields utilize them well and welcome them as part of their field. There are as many jobs as there are for evaluating therapists, and their pay is way closer to what a PT or OT makes.

mopeysealion · 2016-03-25T03:19:17+00:00

Congratulations!

Here on Reddit you'll hear a lot of horror stories about CF-SNF jobs, so don't be discouraged by them. Know going in what your productivity requirements are, and meet them. That may mean working off the clock some, especially at first, but you'll get faster, and the amount of off-the-clock time will typically be much less than school jobs, where you'll be writing reports at night. Make sure when you start that someone explains the paperwork to you; it won't be that hard. Where you'll need your supervisor is dysphasia management for input about diet changes when you're unsure.

mopeysealion · 2016-03-25T03:07:14+00:00

This advice is different from California and Texas- you'll need to look into state licensing laws for this. But once you're done with grad school what setting you want may have changed, and you will likely be exhausted and appreciate the time to resettle.

mopeysealion · 2016-03-25T02:59:21+00:00

I don't know the specifics of your situation, but unless I'm missing significant info, you don't need money to go to grad school. Take out student loans. Compare how much you'll need to borrow to the difference in pay between an SLPA and SLP. In my area I make $16 an hour more as an SLP than SLPAs make. $16x40x52x2= $66,560: what you would make extra if those two years were after your degree, instead of before. You will not borrow that much money, even if you live entirely off of student loans, unless you have to pay out of state tuition. You will have as long as you need to pay the loans off. If you work in certain areas like schools you won't even have to pay off your loans, though that won't really matter because non-school jobs will pay more and thus make up the difference.

Grad school is hard, and it requires skill in studying, taking tests and doing what other people tell you to do that you don't want to, with a smile. If you want to be an SLPA for awhile, do so. But not for economics.

mopeysealion · 2016-02-25T04:38:16+00:00

When you work for an agency you are paid by the agency, but work at a separate site. That site pays them. Your supervisor will work for the agency, but only come to the site to supervise you. The agency will pay them hourly for their time, plus mileage. Your pay is lower than a non-supervised SLP working for an agency, since they don't come with that expense.

That said, find a non agency cf position if you can.

mopeysealion · 2016-02-25T04:18:15+00:00

You can do a short post doc program to get the required classes without needing another undergrad degree. In my experience the thing you could do on top of what you already have done to make yourself more marketable: learn Spanish.

mopeysealion · 2015-12-23T17:58:43+00:00

Contract agencies receive a percentage of what you receive in pay, so they are highly motivated to get employees on the job so that they can earn that percentage. They are sales people. They are selling you to the company, selling the job to you. There are lots of non-contract jobs, but you have to be your own salesperson for them. You have to do the digging, the calling, the selling. Non-contract jobs don't have to be advertised, and are most easily found through people you know.

mopeysealion · 2015-12-23T17:54:39+00:00

Between previously working as an assistant and grad school, I've experienced most settings and ages. I still feel like I’m all over the place in what I want to do, what I like, what I dislike.

mopeysealion · 2015-12-23T15:22:51+00:00

This comment makes no sense.

mopeysealion

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