We are discussing the biggest challenges that are currently holding back the field of speech language pathology.
We present the issues with facts and invite you to be part of joining our movement to make things better one conversation at a time.
Let's fix SLP
Hey, everybody, welcome back to fix SLP. We have a really kind of different episode today. Megan, why don't you tell us about it?
Okay, so today we're going to talk to three SLPs. One is a business owner who has decided to stop paying for the CCC this year. One is an SLP with decades of experience in the field who never got her CCC as an SLP. And one is an SLP from North Carolina, who is working to change state regulations related to Medicaid billing. So we're going to watch these together and kind of discuss them as we go. And we'll start with the first one. And this is Kristen. And Kristen owns a private practice. And like I said, she has decided this year to stop paying for the CCC.
Do we know what state she's in? Is she going to talk about that? So tell
us just a little bit about let me look that up your SLP Oh, you're you're you. She does talk about it. And she is in Pennsylvania. Okay, they are the owner of the magic speech bus right, which is amazing. I was looking at your website. It's such a cool concept. Or you have this very fun bus that you park, like near an outdoor area, right? So families can spend time if they're waiting, playing outside, or you can also take the therapy session outside if you want to. But yeah, such a cool concept. So just tell us about your career as an SLP.
Yeah, you pretty much hit the nail on the head there with what I do. So yeah, I'm Kristen Park, and I own the magic speech bus currently. I've been doing that for about a year. I officially got the bus earlier in 2023. But I was still doing outdoor private practice, starting late last summer. And then before that I worked for several years in a different private practice setting, working for somebody else who owned the practice. And I spent my cf Why, as many of us do in the school setting. So I did a year in a public school setting. And then as soon as my CF was done, or CFI was done, I got out of there got right into private practice. So overall, I've been a practicing SLP for going on seven years, I think, seven or eight. So that's what I've been doing thus far. Great.
And are you dropping the CCC this year? Set the plan? That is correct. I,
as everyone does every year, I'm like, do I really need it? Yeah. Do I have to. So finally, especially with everything that you guys have been putting out there online, I was able to take the time to really look into it. And instead of just complaining and then sending the check actually said, Okay, well, what is this doing for me? What will it could it do for me in the future, you know, weighing the pros and cons of keeping it. So I finally decided this year, I'm going to drop it for a number of reasons. One of them being because I own my private practice. Now. I am my own employer. And I don't plan on that changing anytime soon. And there's really no reason for me to keep it primarily what I do. And I should also say I'm in Pennsylvania. So for me, I don't need it for billing purposes. And I'm mostly private pay anyway. And my intention is to go for the private pay. That's a whole nother conversation about insurance. So for a number of reasons. I just decided this was the year and I have already submitted their resignation. I think they call it an affidavit maybe. And then I got a response from Asha and they said message received your out.
did when you were filling that out that say on there that you can know something about like you can no longer be a practicing SLP. Like was there confusing language around that? I don't remember
if it said that. Exactly. I'd have to pull it up. But I know even on the website just to get to that form. It did the language on the website indicated that you needed to call the Action Center before sending in that form. So it said something like to go over all of your options and see if you know, there's something else that you can do. So I called the Action Center. And, you know, very nicely calmly explained that I wanted to drop the seas. And the woman on the phone said, Okay, send in the form. She didn't ask, you know why I wanted to
do it or she wasn't doing didn't go over
any other options. She just said, okay, you don't have basically like she was like, you don't have to call just send in the form. So I sent in the form. And within a couple of days, I got an email that it was received and confirmed. And basically, Asha said, Goodbye. So yeah.
So do you feel like not having your Si Si Si makes you a less competent? Sorry, we'll come back to this. But Jeanette, you are the one that told me about this document that the CCC resigned affidavit, and I have it pulled up now. And I'm reading at the bottom it says, this is all like you have to say that you want to wish wish to resign your CCC. And that you understand a bunch of things. And then at the bottom, it says individuals choosing to continue as or become a member without certification must read and agree to the following statements and continue abiding by the actual code of ethics. And you either have to agree that you are not practicing clinically or inactive PCC is required. You do not and will not mentor or supervise a clinical fellow you do not and will not provide or supervised clinical services. And you will pay annual membership fees upon receipt of the annual invoice. So just to clarify for people listening, if you fill out the CCC resigned affidavit, basically Asha is saying we don't want you like if you don't have the CCC, you don't get to be a member of Asha. And I do think that language is confusing because I think some people could read that and take it to mean that they aren't allowed to practice clinically without the CCC. Yeah,
we've gotten a couple questions on that. And I think it's good to clarify here what might happen to so if you don't want to continue your CCC, you could certainly just not pay, but then I would be prepared for them to hassle you and email you and all of the things between now and you. You have a year one full year before you would have to qualify for reinstatement. So what that means is paying the reinstatement fee retaking the practice if needed, and providing any CPUs that they've asked for that, that if you if you let your CS GO, that's what you need to do to get them back and to clarify, you do not have to repeat your your fellowship, you do not have to go back to school, make it an I have researched that we have talked to Asha, those things if they were once required are no longer required. So you have a year. So I would expect if you do not officially resign, you will continue to hear from them for payment for an entire year because they are a business and they want to make money. So if you're very firm, and you're sure you could fill out this resignation form, and several people have and have contacted us about that language at the bottom. And it is the first time I looked at it, I was like, Oh, this is really confusing and maybe a little bit scary. Remember, the license you are practicing on is your state license. The certificate of clinical competency is not a license to practice, it is a certificate that you are purchasing. So they don't have to say whether you get to practice in your state clinically or not. They do not have a say if you supervise or not. They don't have a say if you you know if you get to do the things that your job requires you to do. What you can't do anymore is sign with your CCC, you cannot supervise a student or a fellow who is pursuing the CCC because as it stands right now, you as supervisor has to have that product to supervise someone who wants to pursue the product. So I think everyone's really clear in making that choice. Everyone understands that you're not going to sign CCC anymore. But you absolutely still can practice clinically. So don't let the form scare you.
Proceed. Yeah. And for people who are worried about reinstatement like reinstatement feels like this big, massive, scary thing that requires all these different steps. Like it's literally retaking the Praxis and paying a fee and then showing evidence of your CEU that you probably Have to get for your state license anyway. So it cost $146 to take the Praxis, if you're really deeply, deeply concerned, you could just go take the Praxis, and it's valid for five years. And if you pass, then you know, you can, you can release your seeds, and then you have five years to reinstate them. And you have your practice and score that you need to do that. So there's just different ways that people could go about this and mitigate the risk. But we'll get back to what Kristin said, I Oh, did you ask me,
I just did a little math, we know I'm not a numbers, girl. But I got out a calculator with that Praxis cost if you were to take it once and fail, and then maybe brush up, you know, brush up, there's all kinds of free practice things online, I know, because I searched those to use them on exams, and my classes of my students are listening. And if you then you know, brushed up a little bit, even just for free and took it again, you are only paying $67 More than you would for one year of the lowest Asha cost of $225. If you're getting the membership and the CCC, you're only spending $67 more. So if you let your CEUs go for two years, you've still experienced a savings.
There you go. Now, do you feel like not having your cc c makes you a less competent clinician?
I think it would be a little self sabotaging. If I said yes. No, I nothing has changed in the last couple of weeks. Since I've dropped the seas, you know it? Nothing. Nothing is intended to change. You know, I'm just going to keep doing what I've been doing, which is, you know, continuing to educate myself continuing to take courses that are relevant to, you know, my specific population, I work with pediatrics. So you know, continuing to just stay educated in that I have so many resources outside of Asha that I can continue to access will continue to access. So I don't think it really is going to change anything for me.
Isn't it frustrating that we can't be members of Asha without holding the C's? like it'd be nice to have an avenue where we could have access to the journals and like some of the membership benefits without paying for the CDs. But
that would be nice to do that
in? Yes. That
is something I would kind of like to see change is just having more options. For just ways like you said ways to access ashes resources that don't have to do with whether you're certified by them or not.
And if you could be in the boardroom with the ASHA board of directors, what would you say to them, other than having more options,
right, something along the lines of that. But I also just I personally feel like Asha doesn't really hit the nail on the head with, you know, showing up for those of us who are in the field every day. I know you've said a lot to in your podcasts and things that Asha is really a lot of academia, people and I do I do just feel like overall there is just a little bit of that, that disconnect between Big Daddy Asha is you know, up here, and they're kind of on their own level. And I see attempts to listen to what these everyday clinicians are saying and kind of like make some changes here and there. But I just feel like overall, they're just not quite getting it. You know, so I don't know what that would look like if it's just getting some younger, maybe less experienced clinicians. You know, sometimes, even if we don't have a lot of experience or years under our belts, we still have things to say and that can shape the future of Asha. I see Asha as very much like kind of reactive instead of proactive if that makes sense. So that's something I'd like to see them change.
What would you say to the board members in the room? Or like how dare you not call me a practicing SLP I am. Sophie I'm in it just like you are what would you say?
That you shouldn't take it so personally, you know? Yes, we're all practicing. Well, all SLPs but, um, and this is something I was going to talk about is like the for the future of SLP. I just feel like to be an SLP It could mean a million different things. There's so many options in this field. And I almost feel like maybe too many in a way But if if you're trying to tell Asha, you're not connecting with me, you're kind of out of touch, you know, you're focusing on education and academia and you're not focusing on, you know what I do for my nine to five? Like, it's just not matching. And they said, but I am an SLP. I understand you, you just, it's this myth. It's a miscommunication between communication experts, you know, of it, but you're not listening to me. I don't know. Yeah, it's just there's I think it gets very heated very quickly, too.
Anything else you want to say to Asha, or just in general? Anything you want to say the SLP? is listening?
Hmm. There's Yeah, again, I just feel like sometimes the field of speech language pathology feels so very large. And there's so many different avenues. You have pediatrics, adults, hospitals, schools, private practice, insurance, private, it could be anything. So I like the idea of finding your niche within the field. Or niche. I never know how to pronounce it. But yeah, and really focusing on doing what you can to make that area as like, good as it can be, if that makes sense. So I was trying to think of some lofty goals for the field of SLP. And I was thinking, like grad schools that allow you to set a focus, you know, so you can do more deep training in one certain area? Or just, maybe, I don't even know if something like a name change for the profession.
I'm on board.
Yeah, because speech language pathology, the general population doesn't really know what a pathologist is or what it does. And we do more than speech language. Yeah. So those are some ideas that I have, how we get from A to B, I don't know. But that's why we all work together, right.
And I think I just want to say to like, it is a position of privilege to be able to drop the seeds, like your business owners. I'm a business owner, we both live in states that don't require the seeds for Medicaid for state licensing. But I still think it's easy for SLPs to be in that position of privilege and still pay for the CS just in case. So I just want to assess menu or, you know, thinking hard about it, thinking for yourself, making the decision that's right for you. And just taking the time to really examine if the C's are necessary or not, because I think we're just so stuck as a field and feeling like they are right, absolutely vital to the oxygen that we breathe, right.
And I yeah, that reminds me of the argument I've seen, it's just, I have to, I would have to take the Praxis again, if I ever wanted my CS. And I did think about that for a little bit. And I thought, well, if and this is all again, I'm just going on that what ifs if way down the road, I need to take the practice again, I should be able to pass the Praxis if I am a competent clinician.
And it would cost less significantly less money. Like the people that write these tests, like they make a lot of money off of test prep materials. And you can buy those directly from the company that makes the test you can buy them from a million different SLPs who make that content. Like you could spend a couple 100 bucks on test prep materials and pass it no problem versus 225 a year for 30 years, just in case. Yes, it's always
the just in case but I think I'm prepared for the future without my C's.
Yes, you are. Alright. Thank you. Awesome.
Thank you very much. Megan.
What a brilliant woman. I want it. Kristen. This is Jeanette. I want to be your friend. I was already following you. I googled it. We're five hours away. We can be in the middle drive your bus. I want to see it. She's so smart. The things that she said were so good. Like, again. I mean, I don't know. I'm lost in my thoughts.
Yeah, I mean, I think it's inspiring for anybody who is in that position of privilege where it's like I could drop them if I want to. But again, like everybody needs to make the choices It's great for them because some of us have more job security than others. Some of us live in states with regulations that are a little more tricky to navigate, everybody just has to continue to make the choice that's best for them.
I think something that she said is interesting that I've seen a lot, maybe more on Facebook than on Instagram. For those who follow us closely, I manage the Facebook content alone. And and our demographic there is a little bit different than our demographic on Instagram. So I think I'm seeing it more on Facebook. But what I'm seeing on Facebook is the words insurance, I keep mine as an insurance policy in. And really, I'm seeing that from a lot of people who comment that they've left the field, but maintain them as an insurance policy in case they ever want to go back. And, you know, if you think about insurance, it's a smart thing, right? We have car insurance, just in case we crash, because it's 1000s of dollars to get a new car, or you know, much, much more than that if someone is injured, we have homeowners insurance in case our house burns down, you know, these are multi 1000s of dollars catastrophic things. And that's why we carry insurance with SLP. The 225 A year is not the same as insurance. And I think I would I would propose people stop categorizing it in that way as well. Because if you want to go back, it is not an emergency where your house has burned down or you've been in a car accident and someone is injured, you can just go take the test for less money than the insurance that you've been paying. And maybe the same or slightly more if you need to pay for some test prep. And so ASHA has done a very good job of instilling fear into people about what if I need to go back someday I'll just keep this insurance. Man, if you've been out that long, and you go back, you're gonna need to take some continuing education and brush up anyway, because you've been out of it for so long things have changed. So something to think about. It's not actually an insurance policy, like it would be if something happened. I can't hear you, Megan, we lost you. You're not frozen, but you're quiet.
I because I needed oh my gosh, okay, I'm doing some quick math. So according to the 20 to 2022 Asha member profile, they report that there's 199,942 SLPs, who are members of Asha. But what's interesting is the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that there's 162,760 SLPs. That means there's 37,182. Theoretically, I mean, take all of this with a grain of salt. But theoretically, there's 37,182 SLPs, who are, who pay as should do than pay for the CCC that are not working like they're not being tracked by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. If we multiply that by $225 a year, that means that Asha is getting about 8.4 ish million dollars a year from theoretically, again, we can't actually prove this. We're just looking at the numbers $8.4 million from SLPs who are keeping this insurance policy. And they think is like they could You could leave the field and come back without your seeds if you've maintained your state license or reestablish your state license. So I don't understand it, but everybody gets to make their choice.
Yeah, we keep saying people, we need people to join us in this journey in this movement. In the time that you let your CS GO, if that's what you do want to do or if you're thinking about it, and in a time where you're thinking about it between now and when you decide. We have someone who is so active on our socials, both Facebook and Instagram, who is literally looking up job postings in her state and sending the template that we have it fixed slp.com and clip quicklinks written by our friend Brooke Richardson, she's sending that to those companies that have job postings that require the CCC To educate them that they're losing out on great applications or applicants. And so that's something that you could do as well. You don't even have to browse job posting sites, you could just send it to an employer in your area or your employer who currently requires it. We need people to start these conversations. So hopefully, if people have let their CCC go, and they decide later that they want to come back or they've left the field completely and want to come back, it's not a requirement anymore. It's truly an optional thing. So it's a good way to get in and a good way to spend a little, you know, 20 minutes, just helping the field move forward. So those who come after us aren't sitting in the same spot that we're sitting in right now. Okay,
so let's move on to our second conversation. This is with Courtney and Courtney is in California. And Courtney, can we start by just telling us about your SLP slash audiology career?
Fair? Definitely. Um, so I graduated with my bachelor's in the 90s. And initially, I did go into the field of audiology. I went to University of North Carolina at Greensboro got my Master's in audiology became an audiologist had my season audiology. And at that point, the field of audiology was just starting to say, Hey, you're going to need to have a clinical doctorate to practice. So I was, you know, at a at a crossroads where I was either going to have to go back to school, as an audiologist to obtain that, or, you know, I could look into going into school for another career. My desire always was to work with children, it always was to work in schools. And primarily, all my internships and audiology had been in the schools. And I was looking to move back to my hometown of California. And it educational audiology, really, the jobs just weren't there, like they were in North Carolina. So I did make the decision to go back to school to obtain my master's in speech and become a school based speech therapist, which I've been doing, probably since about, like 2001 2002 ish. A while.
And you said that you when you switched over to speech pathology, you have dropped your CS as an audiologist and you did not pursue the CCC as an SLP. Ever? Correct. Cool. And do you feel like that makes you less than Do you feel like you're missing out on like, anything, any qualifications? Or? No,
I don't. Um, personally, I know, it was something that when I was getting my bachelor's in the field, it was, you know, it was very, very important from the program based standpoint, to say, this is important, you get them, you don't ever lose them. When I was in graduate school, for Audiology, it was the same thing.
I'm just gonna pause it there, because it's that concept of like you, you want to get them and you don't ever want to lose them. And I'm just reading a comment on our Instagram account. Somebody's saying that they're dropping the C's. But saying also, I wish it was easy to pause your CCC membership during a season and more easily resume them so much fear around letting them go because getting them back is complicated. And like this, again, like we've said this so many times, I'll just say it again, that like, keeping your seeds is nothing more than paying money, and doing 10 measly hours of professional development that doesn't even technically have to be continuing education. So this concept that the PCC somehow represents competency is false and it is misleading. It is not protecting consumers, it is not guaranteeing competency for SLPs it is only ensuring that a national organization is basically coercing SLPs to join in order to be able to practice as an SLP.
And then when I was in graduate school for speech, it also really was um The same, you know, there really was a big push to get them. But ultimately, when I looked at what was required for my job as a school based SLP, really, for my county, it wasn't something that was a requirement. In the schools in California, it's required that you get your, at the time when I was going through when there was a clinical rehabilitation credential. And so that was what was required to provide speech services in the schools. And they wanted you to have either your state license or your seats for billing. But then, the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing eventually phased out the clinical rehabilitation credential, and they said, Okay, now we're going to have a credential, that's a speech language pathology credential. And the requirements for that were pretty much the same as your CS so and you're able to bill through that credential, you'd either have to be a credential therapist or a licensed therapist. And at the time when I contacted the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, and I said, Hey, you know, what, essentially, would be the requirements for upgrading my credential, right? Changing from a clinical rehabilitative credential. Because there's times when they have credentials, and that will go through changes. And I anticipated Hey, I could be in this career for 20 years. And then they could say, Hey, you're not allowed to provide services on this credential anymore, you need a speech pathology credential. So they said, Well, here's here are the requirements, you have to show proof that you, you know, went to an accredited graduate school not a problem, you have to show proof that you did the nine month, either Cfy or RPE. So at that point,
I, RPI RPE, I'm assuming just stands for their own version, oh, it's,
it's for your state license. It's required professional experience. So in California, that would be the requirement to get your state license, which is essentially the same as it's a nine month Yeah.
Reporting to this state, or in this case, the Education Commission, versus Asha, Asha. And
because I had done the required professional experience for the state license, all I had to do is just show them that I had done that for the state license. So again, they didn't in order to transfer or essentially or upgrade my credential, I didn't have to show anything that I didn't already have, from having gone through a graduate program, or doing the procedure to get the state license. And then they upgraded my credential. So so at this point, as far as the requirement to work in the schools, were in my county, it's the speech language pathology credential, which essentially the requirements mimic what what ashes requirements are. I mean, personally, there are, I recognize and value and appreciate people who have put the seeds after their name, you know, and, and I can understand why it's very important to them. And that, and that they do use that professionally. For me, I'm to the point right now, where I'm going on over 20 years in the field, that it's just something that it doesn't bother me not to use those initials after my name, I I've, you know, been doing this a long time. And it's, you know, as far as like, my day to day life, my relationships with my teachers, my relationship with my parents, my relationships with my students, you know, I, I'm, I love my job, and I love what I've done and I've never felt like because I didn't have my CS that I was somehow inadequate at providing the services that I've been providing.
Yeah, yeah, right. I And if you were in the boardroom with the ASHA board of directors, would you have anything that you'd want to share with them? You know, I
would say that after being in this field, as long as I have this field has changed significantly, our scope of practice has grown exponentially, almost, you know, when I started, caseload were smaller. I feel that the needs of our students were not as significant as they are now. I definitely, in my experience, the the students that were receiving early intervention services are nowhere near the numbers that we have. Now. I mean, I want to say when I started out, I had probably four preschool students, and that was for an entire district. And now, you know, the districts in my community are seeing near 80 to 100 preschool students. I mean, that's a significant number. I, it's my understanding when I was in grad school, you know, it was very competitive. It was, you know, very intense. I did. I do remember asking professors, you know, for in this is for both audiology and speech pathology, you know, why? Why are our programs so small? Why, you know, is it
I'm curious what you have to say about this Jeannette, that you can only
take, you know, 15 students, 20 students. And the explanation that I was given was that the programs are very expensive to run. And a lot of it is from more of that medical side, you know, the equipment for like swallowing for voice. It's, it's time intensive, and it's expensive. And I feel that just with the amount of knowledge that we have to know, to kind of cover both the medical side and the educational side, it, it would be a good idea to completely divide up the programs and make one that is more geared toward the medical setting, and one that's geared more towards the educational setting. And I would love it if you know, if a tract was developed to be an educational speech pathologist, if you could allow more people to be in that program, and, you know, really address the shortage that our, our profession is experiencing. Because, I mean, it's very, very, very real. We all are carrying very high caseload, there's school districts nationwide that just have open positions that they carry year after year after year. And, you know, it's doing a disservice to those of us that are in the profession, because we're taking on additional work, and it's doing a disservice to our students as well. So that that is what I would, I would say that I think things need to change. As far as the way the graduate programs are run to really help our, our profession overall.
And anything you want to say about what you would like to see, oh, are you talking to Nick, because
I was sorry, I was on mute. Ah, I was just gonna say I have so many things to say, how long is this podcast? Let me let me touch the person because you said you're curious about what I think let's talk about university cohort sizes. I don't, I could be wrong. But I don't think there's a hard and fast rule of like teacher to student ratios in terms of the CAA. I'd love to stand corrected. So I'm gonna say I don't think there is but I, I could be wrong. So if I'm wrong, please, respectfully correct me. But universities will sometimes have those things. So are the university where I'm at values, a smaller class size, right. And so we're looking at starting a January cohort this year, and for the most part, our first cohorts accelerated So they, they get through in four year or four semesters, it's like 15 months, and this January cohort will be a traditional five Semester Program. And at some points, there'll be overlapping, because they're not following the same sequence of courses. And so the conversation that we literally just had today was, let's just hypothetically say, dysphasia? Because that's what I teach. Are they all going to take it together? And, um, am I going to have double the class size? Or are they going to take it separate? And I'm sure you can imagine, in a world where the costs are going up for everything. What benefits the university more? Well, it's me teaching 30 plus students in one class, instead of two classes of smaller cohorts, right. And so while I would vote to classes, more than likely it will be one. And so that that is a university decision that is outside of our departments ability. You know, that's the dean, that's the board. That's the president, that's, you know, the agendas that we have to work under, are so far outside of our control. That, that, that we're we're bound to it. And it's so frustrating. Um,
and I know, I don't think that it necessarily cost more to run like a medical SLP. Program.
No, no,
my grad school did not have any medical equipment, like we were now being trained.
I mean, if we're talking about tracks, which was like the next suggestion, as sure you would want to get an IOP, you would want to have fee as equipment, you might want to have the ability to stroke because if we're actually talking about truly training medical SLPs, then we need to truly change, train them in the things that they're going to be needed, you know, should
not be happening anyway. Like, whether there's a trek or not.
Oh, but it's not great. Yeah.
Anyway, I've just that was just my mind. And part of the issue, too, is the number of supervisors available, right? Yeah, they all have to other C is limited. No error in a certain area.
I have seen this too. And then this, this does, this, this helps, but it also hurts. So in Ohio, many years ago, there used to be a consortium called Omni. And Omni was a great idea. I was already a practicing clinician by the time it started. So I'm old enough to remember when it was happening, I was getting my, my PhD while it was happening. And it was it was founded on a grant. And this grant paid for, I don't know, maybe six or seven universities, I'm not sure how many were involved. They all came together as one, almost like its own university. And they had professors from every university teaching in this program that was in the consortium, and the grant paid for the students to go through for free. And it was a school based focused program. So this program was all online. And it was specifically training students all over the state to be school SLPs because we had a shortage. That was dire. Right. So they got this grant, and they were going to train these school SLPs. And it was right at the beginning. I'm sure of it, you know, there that they they were placing students students could go interview there were there were a couple different models, I think. But by the end of this grant, the last couple cohorts that went through, had very difficult times finding jobs. And so they did such a good job at the beginning. But that by the end, while there were maybe some jobs left, students were having to find themselves in a position where maybe they would have to move four hours away or something like that, just to get a job. And that's how I ended up with super. That's how I ended up in a position where I was served supervising a clinical fellow in a skilled nursing facility. She was married, she had a child and her husband was not able to leave his job, and there was no school hiring within a commutable distance of where they lived. And even if they like moved a little closer to the job, it was still going to be too far of a commute for both of them. Though she found herself in a position where she needed to pay the grant back, because she didn't take a school position. And so she took the highest paying medical job she could find. And she had no idea what she was doing. And that's not the
theme. I eventually receive. Right.
Right. And so I am tying this back. And we are screaming about that, you know, she, she was, and I think she is in the schools now. But, you know, she was prepared for working in a school and knew nothing about dysphasia knew nothing about cognition. And it was just
without, it's not that wild, because it happens all the time.
Yeah, but it was a mess for her. And it was a disservice to everyone. So having these tracks is a great idea. But then there has to be legislation that would prevent you from working on the other side, because then it just makes the problem worse.
Yeah, I mean, we'll get into this in as we go down other topics, because again, this is our first topic of many, but I firmly believe that medical speech pathology in school based speech, speech pathology are two very, very different things. One is not harder than the other one's not better than the other ones. Not more challenging. Like none of that. They're just very, very different. Yeah, setting, different skill set, different trainings required. We separate trainings, we need separate licenses. But that's again, we'll get to that. And
you've done both. I'm curious. Megan, have you been in the schools?
I survived one year in the schools. Okay,
so we've both done schools. I had three and yeah, so we both were both agreeing with that, with the experience of being able to say that they are very different. We're coming from a place of experience. Yeah.
Okay, let's wrap up this conversation with Courtney about what you would like to see for the future of SLP.
I would love to see more. I believe there is a desire for more people to be in the field. And I believe that the opportunities aren't there for them to receive the education and become speech therapists. I think that are speech pathologist. I think that if I think that there's definitely a need for slippers. If, you know, I feel that there are a lot of graduate programs that are doing, you know, distance, distance learning, I went through for my master's in speech, I did go through a distance learning program, I went through Cal State Northridge. And I was really, really happy with the education that I received there. And that's coming from a person who went through an audiology Master's where I was on campus, you know, so I feel like I kind of had a unique perspective in that I've done grad school in person, and I've done grad school online. I feel like, the more that, you know, we kind of make the distance programs acceptable and accessible to people. You know, the, the more we can build up our our profession and really address the shortage because it's real, and I don't see it going away anytime soon.
All right, so now we're gonna welcome our friend Brooke Richardson of the modern med SLP. Was that right, Brooke? Is that That's right. Okay. Um, Brooke is not necessarily the, the lead on what we want to talk about. But this was a very last minute thing. We're adding into our recording today. And she was the only one available to join us right now. So Brooke is from North Carolina. And she has connected with other fearless fixers on Bumble in North Carolina. And, Brooke, why don't you just give us a little rundown about what's going on, on that channel? Yeah, so
more, there are a few people who are a little bit more active. And it's really exciting to see that there's some people who are connected with the state association and the folks in charge of the state association and are having these conversations about how we can get involved locally, whether it's volunteering, joining our state associates tuition and things like that to try and make a difference on a very local scale. And also some conversations about changing or actually clarifying the wording around Medicaid billing, because it's pretty vague. And just really exciting to see these open conversations happening between fellow clinicians and people who want change. And you're, you're doing a great service by offering this community and building this community. So thank you both so much for making this happen.
Sure. So if people in North Carolina specifically want to join the conversation, want to see what's going on, potentially contribute? What is the best thing for them to do right now?
I would say to download the bumble app and join using the link through your quick links on fixed SLP. That's what I did. And I will say I know that some people are a little bit hesitant to add another app to check, myself included. But I'm not somebody who usually has alerts on my phone. So I'm not going to be alerted to every email message or text message or Facebook post or whatever. But I do have alerts turned on for the fixed SLP what's it called a channel, I think on Bumble, so that I can, okay, perfect. Yeah, so I would suggest downloading the app and joining your state channel. And if you are willing, turn on the alerts. So you don't have to remember to check Bumble, and just join in the conversation because people are there for change. And it's a really good supportive collaborative community. I've connected with complete strangers, and we have the same goal. So I strongly encourage people to join.
That's awesome. And folks, she was not coached, we got on high we pressed record. So she is going to be hired to tell you how to join Bumble, because she said what I was gonna say to you, if you do have trouble joining Bumble, just message Megan and I will respond and try to help you get into your channel and onto Bumble. But yeah, Brooke, that's really exciting. So Megan, and I have started to say over and over, we cannot fix everything. We need every listener, every reader, every follower, every fearless fixer to just do something small. And, and if we can all do something small, we will move that much closer to change. And so the state level is where it's at. Because every state has a different issue. And you do not need to rely on Asha, they're not going to do it for us, your state association might help. We're big fans of state association. So you know, we've we keep saying state associations are not excluded from humble. We want them in there. We want everybody collaborating or humble then going to the state association to talk whatever. So join North Carolina, we've got stuff going on. Yes, join
North Carolina join whatever state you're in. And yeah, just dive in and see what you can do.
Any questions for her Megan? Or did we cover it? Okay, Megan said we covered it. I just had one more thought, oh, like Brooke said, I'm also not a notifications person. And I actually don't have notifications on because Megan and I are like in every state. And so I can't do that in my life. So if you have conversations going on in your state channel, and we're missing them, please notify us send us a message on Facebook, send us a message on Instagram that those are the two places we'll get them the quickest, you can send us an email at team at fix slp.com Or on Bumble. Those are a lot of things for us to check. So we're not some of those things we only check once a week. But let us know we'll get with you like we're getting with the North Carolina folks and we'll have you on the podcast or will highlight you on our socials. Because we really do want to support everyone who's making an effort so willingly might ask you
Jeanette can students and future SLPs also join these conversations and channels
salutely And they should I tell my students all the time, you are the generation that is going to make a difference for our field. I am halfway done. And this is going to be a long time. So you know i i keep joking like some of us could be dead until all of the changes that we need in this field are made and then there's going to be new problems that you know, then you'll be halfway done and you can bring up the next generation so yes, students please join this says your future career shape it to what you want it to be. Yeah, don't don't let Asha tell you what it's going to be. Make it what you want. So yes, students get in there. Absolutely. Perfect. Yeah. All right, Brooke.
Thank you, Brooke.
Thanks for really last minute hopping and we appreciate you. Yeah, no
worries. It worked out perfectly. Actually. My, my one meeting that I had at this time fell through, so.
Yeah. All right.
Thank you. Bye.
Those were three really great interviews. I think it was interesting to hear from our two different our first two, the one who is going to or who just did let her CCC go. And then really to hear from someone who has never had the CCC who has been able
to have an SLP she had an as an audiologist. But yeah,
okay. Okay, as an SLP. I'm sorry. But so as an SLP, has never really practiced with that and seems to be thriving, right? She's just as competent. She is just as confident she's just as great with her students and her parents. And I think that that's a true testament of what it can look like to practice without. So yeah,
any look, I mean, she had the exact theme. We're gonna say credentials, but that's not the right word. All the exact theme. She's writing all the same requirements. Yeah, yeah. Not just the training, like the education in the practice and the number of supervised work hours like she, it's the exact same requirements. And like, it's so frustrating that someone like her can't supervise a student, or a CF or somebody who just entering the field, like it's just, it is a problem for our field that we're so tied up into this certification. That is you radically optional,
right. So and then, you know, anytime we get to talk to Brooke is fun. So I hope we see those Bumble numbers go up. Again, fix slp.com under Quick Links it's at it's currently the very first link at the top. So you'll want to download Bumble, I would just leave it open and then go to our website and click the link and it should get you right there. That's what I did. So we'd love to see you guys starting to figure things out and and getting this movement growing this movement, I guess, growing this movement, beyond just Megan and I sitting here her calmly talking in the microphone.
All right. Thanks, Jeannette.
Sure. Talk to you next week, everybody. Thanks for fixing it.
