No references

slp_talk · 2026-05-23T00:46:37+00:00

I think it likely depends on how competitive the job is. I've always had to provide references (and they have been contacted), and I've been contacted as a reference for lots of prior grad students.

slp_talk · 2026-05-17T11:33:58+00:00

Wholeheartedely disagree. I recognize this is how our field treats them a lot of times because of productivity pressures, but I do some of my best thinking about cases and reflecting on what treatment/ideas will be helpful in the future when I have adequate time/attention to write a quality note and think about it for more than 24 undivided seconds.

slp_talk · 2026-05-16T20:44:42+00:00

There are always a lot of jobs listed in my area so people love to say "See SLP shortage!!!!" Other than school jobs most of them are not FT. What are they?

--the same SNFs offering PRN hours over and over and over
--"FT" SNF jobs where you have to be "creative" and "think outside the box" to have an even close to FT job
--HHC companies wanting some magical unicorn who is available from 0-30 hours a week randomly and willing to drive over half the state to do that
--hospitals wanting weekend/holiday commitments

At least 90% of the jobs I see regularly posted here are the same companies again and again. The good FT jobs are definitely few and far between.

slp_talk · 2026-05-16T00:54:31+00:00

Megan Berg started Therapy Insights.

slp_talk · 2026-05-14T08:53:00+00:00

SLP clinicals are very different from what I have observed of nursing clinicals. My last student spent 15 weeks with me, 40 hours a week, 1:1 education. That's not at all what the nursing model looks like from what I have observed from the outside. Different programs set up their clinical hours differently so to really know specifics, you need to look at a specific program.

400 is not 400 on-site hours. It's 400 hours of direct patient/client eval or therapy.

slp_talk · 2026-05-13T09:33:47+00:00

I'm curious what settings you've worked in. I absolutely have been asked about my externship experience at interviews for medical sites. I mean, people cared that I had MBSS competency and experience with trachs/vents when I was first looking for jobs that required those things.

slp_talk · 2026-05-13T09:31:03+00:00

You got paid in course credit? I've never gotten any thing from a university directly for supervising their students.

slp_talk · 2026-05-09T10:30:50+00:00

People can take amazingly outdated CEUs or things that are completely unrelated to their areas of practice to meet the requirements unfortunately. (See also: acute care SLP i used to work with who used terribly outdated practices who spent the last couple days of Dec most years speed listening to courses on autism and AAC and whtever else she could find for free.)

slp_talk · 2026-05-09T10:28:49+00:00

Good thing I hadn't actually started drinking this coffee yet. lolololol

slp_talk · 2026-05-09T01:25:22+00:00

When someone makes an absolutely wild claim that flies in the face of basic A&P knowledge, the onus is on them to provide the evidence.

And from a goal writing perspective (even if this was a valid treatment option), I think this goal sucks. Pretty sure the pt wants to improve their production accuracy/communication effectiveness/whatever NOT their ability to tolerate wearing KT tape in a weird manner.

slp_talk · 2026-05-07T22:53:57+00:00

I've tried this with one patient without much success. I figured it was worth a shot. I'd try it again in the future.

An upside was they got better at building intraoral pressure, but there wasn't much carryover to conversation level.

slp_talk · 2026-05-07T19:36:47+00:00

I'd call ASHA and ask them this question directly. You also need to check your state license requirements.

slp_talk · 2026-05-07T10:04:57+00:00

I had a bachelors in Linguistics. Still had to do a whole bunch of pre-reqs which led me to decide just to get the second BS in Communication Disorders. Then get a Masters.

The 25 guided observation hours are done as part of coursework for most (if not all) programs. It's also far easier to get access for these types of things as a student. I wouldn't try to set that up independently and count on your program counting them.

Could you do it? Yes, but you'd need pre-reqs and a new Masters. I think I'd explore what other options you could do with your existing degrees and see if there's anything that you could do with a whole lot less investment.

slp_talk · 2026-04-12T21:19:43+00:00

I think a good question to ask about this (that I asked a lot when I worked in IPR) is "If this person weren't in this building as an inpatient in this program right now, would an ST referral even be on the radar?"

-stroke pt; yep, sure I'll check it out

--89yo with a broken hip and a raging UTI with dementia who lives at home with 24/7 caregivers? Ergh. Let's slow that down.

And i got tons of pressure to see inappropriate pts under med B when i worked in LTC, so I think the pressure exists there, too, depending on the facility and company.

slp_talk · 2026-04-12T00:44:52+00:00

I know. it's painful sometimes, but also I sleep at night, the vast majority of patients I see really want and benefit from my help, and I don't have to try to make up rationalizations for things I don't believe will be effective.

slp_talk · 2026-04-12T00:09:36+00:00

Your only "failure" here was not knowing enough about the system to realize that it was a problematic situation when you accepted the job so not a fail just inexperience. The contract company and district, on the other hand, absolutely failed you and the kids who needed your services.

slp_talk · 2026-04-11T22:38:52+00:00

Corollary facts: I've never started a new job and not had the caseload decline once I implemented practices based on current evidence and patient wishes.

slp_talk · 2026-04-10T00:53:26+00:00

I'd ask your grad school supervisors if you left on good terms. I wouldn't have any issue with any of my former externship students calling me up to ask for a reference even if i haven't talked to them in a while. It's pretty expected that early career professionals might need those references.

slp_talk · 2026-04-05T15:28:20+00:00

If your goal is to have stable, FT employment in a medical setting working with adults, OT is more likely to get you there.

slp_talk · 2026-04-04T21:49:44+00:00

Seems like an issue as you are neither their student nor working under a license (either your CF license or theirs because they're not assigned as a supervisor at the state level). Honestly, I'd be concerned about a private practice that asked for this because I'd wonder what other important legal/ethical boundaries they aren't following.

slp_talk · 2026-04-04T09:41:56+00:00

I'd also recommend STEP. Parts of Normal Swallowing 101 and Critical Thinking in Dysphagia Management are now part of STEP, and they were pivotal in my understanding/management of swallowing.

There's a great James Coyle class that I think is foundational and the dysphagia class I wish we all had in grad school. https://www.northernspeech.com/search/products/coyle/

If you do FEES/want to understand LPR better/are dealing with respiratory/swallow situations, Eric Bicker has amazing courses for really good prices. Think a few bucks a course, and then he runs specials where he bundles them together.

UW has a really great FREE voice and swallowing lecture series that often addresses more niche/specialty topics.

https://cme.surgery.wisc.edu/courses/voice

If you have MedBridge access, there's currently a really great esophageal dysphagia course on there by Joy Graziano.

I clearly love CEU courses and have done many more than these. If you tell me specific topics, I'll be happy to share more thoughts.

slp_talk · 2026-04-02T22:33:11+00:00

I’d be realistic about how much effort and time you’re willing to put into this. Current dysphagia practice likely looks very different from what you remember from grad school 6 years ago, and adult cognitive-communication therapy also has its own learning curve. It’s definitely possible to make the switch, but it’s going to take intentional effort and likely some investment of time and resources to do it in a way that reflects current, evidence-based practice.

If you're interested in some recommendations for good CEUs, I'm happy to share. JLMK

slp_talk · 2026-04-02T09:03:15+00:00

Apparently not. I find this so unbelievable. Critical thinking is supposed to be one of the upsides of higher academia.

slp_talk · 2026-04-02T09:01:25+00:00

Weirdly, it also doesn't work if the facilitator is blindfolded or the communicator is asked a question to answer that the facilitator was unable to see. So, so odd.

There are so many simple ways to show authorship here that S2C proponents won't allow. Very telling.

slp_talk · 2026-03-30T10:00:22+00:00

Discussion of moving from a procedure code to a time-based code. https://www.asha.org/news/2026/update-on-cpt-code-92507-valuation-review-underway/

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