Clinic 1 almost finished?! How did I survive?

My Top 10 Tips for Surviving Clinic

1. Be prepared to feel like you don’t know what you are doing… because really, you don’t know what you are doing. You are going to make mistakes and that’s okay.

2. This needs to be said again: be okay with #1. Or at least know that you will be okay with #1. We’ve all been there.

And all the C.E.s (clinical educators) have tissues in their offices for emotional breakdowns. Again, we’ve all been there.

3. Research your client’s communication impairment(s) and learn all you can about the etiology, assessment and treatment of their disorder(s). A good place to start is joining speechpathology.com. It is $49 for students for a year membership and it has a wealth of information.

(It’s also a great place to brush up on information from classes you haven’t had in a while or that too briefly covered a topic area. This site can help when you are preparing for your internships or even the praxis. I will definitely be using it for both my internship interviews and praxis study).

Anxious in East Michigan...

So my semester has been off and running for almost 3 weeks now and I am feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and have had a lot of self-doubt creep in. The self-doubt has been there for a while, but has been only a small little voice whispering in my ear... now it's in full shout mode. Part of it has to do with the amount of time I have to commit to my grad assistant position and being able to manage my time effectively. The other part has to do with being in clinic this semester. Clinic is all consuming and I sometimes forget that I have 2 other classes that need my attention too.

I started off this semester feeling excited with only a slight case of nerves... and then I had my first diagnostic session with my (adorable!!) client this past week and it was a slightly chaotic blur where I attempted to take

Summer '13 and Fall '13

Signed up for classes today and I'm already excited to dive into all new stuff!! The first half of Summer I am taking Dysphagia and Motor Speech Disorders. In the Fall I'm taking Acquired Neurogenic Communication Disorders and Fluency Disorders.

I am also supposed to take Clinic I over the whole Summer semester, but now it looks like I will be taking it in the Fall instead. It's the only class I haven't signed up for yet and I will find out for sure on Monday if I am taking it this Summer or if I am taking it in the Fall. Taking it in the Fall won't affect my graduation date and though I can't wait to dive right into clinic and get a client (or two!), at the same time it would be soooo nice to have half of the summer off. Kind of a last big break before pushing through to the end. **UPDATE - I'm definitely taking Clinic I in the Fall so that means I will have the second half of the summer OFF! I will be

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!

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!!

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!

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.”