Looking Back: Fall '12

I survived my first semester as an speech-language pathology graduate student!!  There were a few moments around finals that I wasn't so sure I was going to make it, but I did.  :)

Looking back on my first semester in SLP grad school, I thought I would focus on all the positives and here are all the good things that have come out of going to Eastern Michigan University so far:

-My clinical methods class: I learned so much in that class.  The prof. had many relevant personal examples about working with various clients in different settings.  He really explained things well and helped us analyze our mistakes.  He also gave us many opportunities for "hands on" practice with case studies, videos, and developing goals in small groups collaboratively as well as working individually on our own.  My favorite class this semester and it has made me

On the Hunt for Online SLP Grad School Programs

You want to find speech-language pathology graduate schools that offer distance education options, but you don't know where to start.  If you type in SLP online grad school programs into google, you get over 200,000 results and most of them either relate to SLP grad schools (but not online) or online schools (but not SLP grad programs).  You can find a few links here and there, but it's a lot to go through to find what you are actually looking for.

ASHA EdFind used to have a more comprehensive search and you could look specifically for online grad programs, but for some reason when they updated the search engine they dropped that option.  EdFind is still a useful tool to get a nice overview of the requirements of a particular program, but networking with current students and SLPs is the best way to find out what schools are out there and what the programs are like. 

Gearing up for Finals...

Remember to breathe...

Breathe in... breathe out...

Deep breaths... deep breaths... 

Oh crap!  I'm hyperventilating!

source

Zoom Zoom Revisited...

I am currently in the midst of an unexpected loooooong weekend because a prof called off both of her Weds. classes due to illness and my Thurs. class was canceled since we wrapped up the final lecture last week.  This week consisted of a 1 hour class on Monday and 8 1/2 hours of work.  I was expecting this past week to be much busier and things to be a bit more spread out, but now that everything is pushed to next week it's going to be HECTIC until the end of the semester!  I better get ready for a marathon race sprint mad dash to the finish line.  

I do have to say I'm enjoying my (very) extended weekend.

                                                                              source 

No more laziness though... time to get neuro notes organized, practice my part of the presentation, work on a SOAP note, and of course STUDY.

Zoom Zoom.

Right now I feel like I am sprinting for the finish line!

This semester hasn't been too hectic overall and much less busy than I expected grad school to be... that is, until now.  Final papers, assignments, and projects are coming due, I have a big group presentation in my research class this week, and it's that time to start buckling down, get notes organized and study for final exams.  Just gotta make it to December 17th after 3pm.

It's funny, though I'm really ready for this semester to be over, I also can't wait to get into next semester and start learning (mostly) new information.

I'ma gonna keep zooming forward.  :)



   

The end is in sight!

The end of my first semester in grad school is in sight!  There's lots to do between now and my last final, but it's good to be almost finished.  A lot of this semester has felt like review, which means that Utah State got me off to a good solid start. 

   

There have been a few unexpected surprises this semester, the biggest being a much longer time in grad school than expected (7 semesters vs the typical 5 semesters of most programs).  The other unexpected surprise is a very unorganized professor (who teaches two of my classes this semester) and her very specifically-vague directions with a dash of inconsistent grading.  Yes, specifically-vague... and sometimes the inconsistent grading was in my favor and other times it was not.  I definitely have higher expectations for grad school professors... but, yeah... moving on.

Next semester should have a bit more new information and I will also one step closer to getting clinic hours.  I can't wait to get into clinic!

Travelin' continued...

Short term SLP job opportunities overseas (list from the ASHA website):
Nonprofit Groups With An International Focus

These nonprofit organizations focus on issues of global concern. Many offer professional exchange and/or volunteer opportunities abroad.

AboutFace International
“To provide information and emotional support to parents of children born with facial differences. Recognized by the Cleft Palate Foundation of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association as the leading support organization for individuals and families whose

My travelin' shoes...

It’s when I have long breaks, like this Thanksgiving break, that I really miss traveling and living overseas.  I spent a good chunk of a decade living and traveling overseas, as well as spent 3 years of my childhood living in another country.  I often dream about places I’d still like to visit and when I have time (and more importantly the money… poor grad student here!!) I am going to start exploring again.  I may never have an opportunity to live overseas again, but my travelin’ shoes will never be completely put away.  

Just ordered these...

It will feel like Christmas when I get them!

Research for Child Placement

I finally got this… can’t wait to have time to start reading it!  It’s a bit older (1999), but will get me started on getting prepared for what I hope to be my child placement for my externship.  It will definitely be a great jumping off point to finding other relevant journal articles. 

All signed up!

Just finished registering for Winter '13!!  Overall, this has been a good semester but I feel like a lot of it has been review with just a little bit of new info thrown into the mix.  This next semester has a bit more meat to it!

-Diagnostic Methods: Assessment of Speech and Language Disorders in Children

-Diagnosis and Treatment of Audiometric Disorders

-Early Intervention for Speech and Language Impaired Children 

-Aphasia

I'm really excited about Aphasia!!

Pinteresting…

I’ve become a pinterest addict!  I’m constantly pinning things to use in future classes as well as scouring pinterest for ideas to use in clinic - well, when I finally get to start clinic that is.  It’s such a great resource for so many things, but I'm really loving all the SLP related boards on there.  :) 

I survived!

It was a pretty hectic week this week, definitely the busiest this semester!  I had a mid-term in clinical methods, a project due in artic/phono impairments, a quiz in research methods, and an exam in neuro.  Not sure how I did on the clinical midterm, but I think I rocked the neuro exam which was all short answer and one essay.  I made it through the week and now I’m over halfway through my first semester in grad school… :)  

Weekend Fun

My weekend plans:

Library, library, library.  
I need to prepare for next week.  
Learning to juggle while keeping head above water.  

I can do this.

Holy crap, I'm in grad school!!

I had a moment today while studying for my artic/phono impairments mid-term in the library... it suddenly hit me that I was actually in grad school.  I am in grad school, working towards my Master's degree in SLP... how the heck did that happen?!!

If you had asked me a couple of years ago if I would ever go for a master's degree in something... anything... I would have looked at you like you were crazy.  I had a degree and it allowed me to join the Peace Corps as well as teach English in South Korea.  For a long time I didn't want to go back to school... and to be honest, for a long time I felt that there was no way I could even get into grad school with my dismal 1st undergrad gpa.  I felt kinda "stuck".  As soon as I looked into SLP at a friend's suggestion, I became unstuck and nothing was going to stop me from becoming an SLP.   

   

I'm so happy that I didn't let that first undergrad gpa stop me from pursuing a post-bacc in communicative disorders and then applying to grad school.  I'm so glad that I don't let my age hold me back.  I am grateful for every twist and turn I have taken to get here.  I'm so thankful to be in grad school and to be working on this next step towards becoming an SLP.  It's been a long crazy journey to discovering my passion for speech-language pathology and I'm indebted to that friend who once said "why not speech therapy?".  

Clinical - It's okay to suck... a 2018 UPDATE :)

Clinic is always on my mind... even though we don't start clinic until our 3rd semester at Eastern, I think about what it will be like to work with a client, in particular a child in an SLP clinic setting.  I have lots of experience working with kids: 5 years teaching English in South Korea, just over 2 years at a daycare, and now at the Children's Institute at Eastern.  I'm sure it will translate at least a little if not a lot into the clinical setting, especially behavior management, but the paperwork, goals, and actual therapy...

These next two semesters are supposed to be preparing us for clinic, we have Clinical Methods in SLP this semester (my favorite class!) and next semester we will be taking Diagnostic methods which seems pretty comprehensive: procedures and routines used in the evaluation of speech and language disorders in children. Emphasis on familiarization with available evaluative tools, interviewing procedures, case analysis, test interpretation and report writing.  I feel I should be well prepared to go into clinic, but... yeah, I think no matter prepared you feel, I'm sure the first time will be nerve-wracking.     

Came across this blog post on tumblr:

It’s okay to suck: a story of my first client.

http://popslp.tumblr.com/post/33100986731/its-okay-to-suck-a-story-of-my-first-client

I just got to remember... it's okay to suck, at least at first.

UPDATE - 01/13/2018... Wow, 2018 already! Such a long journey from this post to where I am now... so the above link to "It's okay to suck: a story of my first client" no longer works and it looks like the post no longer exists so I wanted to say a few words (or more!) about being okay to suck.

From your very first client to your 100th to your 1000th and beyond, you will have times you "suck". This will happen less often as you gain more experience, but I don't think this feeling ever completely goes away. This is not a bad thing because we always need to improve and learn and grow.

No two clients will ever be completely the same. There will be times where you will be hit, spit on, kicked, yelled at, ignored, and you feel like all you are doing is trying to manage behavior. Sometimes just getting a child to even interact with you feels like it's impossible. There will be tears and screams (the clients hopefully and not yours... at least not until you get home!) and times where you feel like you are failing because the progress is so slow or there is regression or... yeah, you will have times that you feel incompetent. It happens to all of us and it's okay.

There are many frustrations in this field (hello redundant mountains of paperwork, never ending meetings, and a few other things), but there are also so many moments of joy. The AHA! moments, the smiles and giggles, the connections you get to make with our clients and if you are lucky, their families as well, all the little and big moments.

Just gotta keep growing and learning...

My Stats...

1st undergrad (History B.S.) gpa: 2.74

Post-Bachelor’s in Communicative Disorders at Utah State University Online: 3.94

GRE Scores: V - 157

                    Q - 144

Writing Score - 3.5

Oh, and the above GRE scores are from the 2nd time I took them.

Yes, my first gpa was crap.  Eh, my GRE scores were average.  I applied to 3 schools and received rejections from two, an acceptance to one.  All it takes is one.

I still got into grad school for SLP even though my stats weren’t that great.  I really believe what saved me was my post-bacc at USU and my overseas travel/teaching experience.  I definitely recommend going through a post-bacc program like Utah State University’s online program to make your application more solid.  If I can make it into grad school with stats like above, then no one should give up if this is truly your passion.  

It can be done!  :) 

Pediatric placement

It’s still a long way away, but I already have an idea where I want to do my pediatric placement for my last semester of grad school in SLP.  I’m looking into working with children with cancer and mentioned it to my advisor yesterday as a possibility.  He has a placement in mind, which he said that this particular placement has a very rigorous interview process so I will have to start a year in advance.  If I am still leaning towards this kind of placement, I will start the application process Fall 2013 so I can be (hopefully) placed by Fall 2014.  Even if I don’t get it, it will definitely be a great learning experience just applying for it.  

Did a search online to see what would come up for pediatric cancer and SLP, and there isn’t a whole lot of information out there.  Here’s what I found so far:

Speech Pathology Services to Children With Cancer and Nonmalignant Hematological Disorders

Last Words, Last Connections

How Augmentative Communication Can Support Children Facing End of Life

Making Every Moment Count

Pediatric Cancer

Survivors are vulnerable to neurocognitive problems

And found this book, which I ordered today:

Communication Disorders in Childhood Cancer

It’s older but might be a good place to start!

Ima gonna be in grad school until...

December 2014.

Just had my meeting with my grad advisor about what my entire grad program will entail and how long it will be… 7 semesters total.  So that will be: 3 Fall semesters, 2 Winter semesters, and 2 Summer semesters (Spring/Summer). The most credits I will have in one semester is next semester when I will be taking 12 credits. Fall ‘13 will be 6 credits (but will be spending a lot of time in the campus clinic) and my least amount of credits in a semester. University clinic will be Summer ‘13 and Fall ‘13, my adult placement will be Summer ‘14 and my child placement will be in my last semester, Fall ‘14.  

I like that they don’t throw a bunch of classes at us every semester at Eastern, but man that is a lot of extra time in school I wasn’t counting on. It is nice to know what classes I am taking each semester until I graduate and with the amount of time we will have to focus on our classes, I should definitely be well prepared when I get out!

Interests Part I

During class last week, one of my professors told us that SLPs cannot just be generalists and that SLPs need to choose a specialty/specific interests in our field.  It would be almost impossible to know everything there is to know in our field AND be proficient in it all as well.  I’m at the start of my grad school program and I thought it would be interesting to put down what I am interested in at this point in time.

Right now I am definitely leaning more towards the medical side of SLP and more specifically:

-Speech and language impairments secondary to medical conditions such as TBI (traumatic brain injury), stroke, cancer (and not just oral/laryngeal/brain… other cancers such as breast cancer, etc. and the effects of chemotherapy and radiology on memory and word retrieval), etc.

-AAC (augmentative and alternative communication).  While shadowing for my 25 hours in my post-bacc I observed a few different AAC systems such as PECS, a handmade eye gaze board, and sign.  There are so many different AAC systems to learn about, from the seemingly simple to the highly technological.  

I really can’t wait to get into classes and learn more about all of the above.  It will be interesting to see how much my interests change over the course of my graduate education or if my current interests do not change at all.    

Interests Part II in a semester or two!

How long will I be in grad school?

Got a meeting with my advisor on Monday and should be getting all the the inside scoop on what exactly the Eastern Mich SLP grad program will entail.  The big question on my mind right now is whether I will be graduating in August 2014 like I thought or will it be December 2014 like some of my other classmates with an SLP bachelors.  From what I have seen, most programs across the country are 5 semesters.  Eastern is 5~8 semesters depending on whether you are coming in without a comm. dis. undergrad, you have a comm. dis. degree from Eastern or you do have an undergrad in SLP from another school, but you may be lacking in a few important classes.  Since clinic doesn’t start until the 3rd semester at Eastern and I didn’t take a fluency class nor a voice disorders class (like another classmate), it’s looking like I will be at Eastern for 7 semesters.  Will know for sure on Monday…  

Clinic

Many of my former classmates from USU are posting about their clinic requirements and are already seeing clients in their first semester.  From what I’ve read about SLP graduate programs, clinic in the first semester is the norm.  Not at Eastern Michigan.  I won’t start at the university clinic until my 3rd semester and even before I can start, I will have to take and pass the Clinical Readiness Test with a score of at least a 85%.  If I pass and after I complete my university clinic, I will have a choice of either 2 medical externship placements (1 adult, 1 child) OR an adult medical placement and a school OR an adult medical placement and a school placement while pursuing a teaching credential. I like it that we get to ease into it all, but at the same time I am kinda itching to get “my hands dirty.”  

About Me...

I'm 38 years old and I've just started graduate school for speech-language pathology.  I found out about my love for SLP in a very roundabout way.

I started off at college, way back in 1992 as a pre-med major and ended up changing my major 6 times before dropping out of school.  I dropped out with a 2.2 gpa and no idea what I wanted to do with my life.  I finally returned to (a different) school, still with no idea what I wanted to do with my life but decided that I needed to graduate from college.  I ended up graduating with a history degree and maintained over a 3.5 every semester which brought my overall gpa up to a 2.74.  Not great, but I graduated.

My degree allowed me to join the Peace Corps twice (Morocco and Tanzania) as well as allowed me to teach English in South Korea for 5 years and travel to other countries during holidays.  It was in my final year in South Korea that I decided that I needed to return to school to find a career.  A friend suggested that I look into SLP, I researched it and I was hooked.  I returned to school Feb. of 2010 and was enrolled at Utah State University's online 2nd bachelor's in communicative disorders and deaf education for that following Fall.  I. Loved. It.  I knew I had finally found the perfect fit.

I ended up kicking ass at USU and graduated with a 3.94 gpa.  I knew I had to really focus at USU because I had an undergrad gpa that would be looked down on by grad schools.  I applied to 3 schools, was rejected from 2 and was accepted to one.  All it takes is one.  :)

So here I am at Eastern Michigan University and I don't think I could have picked a better fit for me.