SLPs in Healthcare: Just another wave in the ocean
The Med SLP has quite a role. We do it all. We can provide speech services for a patient with dysarthria first thing in the morning, then dysphagia management at breakfast, language rehab for a person with aphasia before lunch, and do videofluoroscopy and endoscopy in the afternoon so our patients can eat safely by dinner. We...do…it...all. Why? Somebody’s gotta do it. But sometimes in the chaotic ocean of healthcare, our identity can feel lost at sea. It can make us ask ourselves, “Where is our value?” and “Where does that value fit?”
Where is our value?
It takes a special kind of person to 1. Want a crazy job like this and 2. Be able to do it and do it well. We need to know a lot about a lot. That’s why SLP stands for the super learned person (right?). But sometimes this fractured role can take a toll. It can be tiring. It can make us feel like we can’t get into a flow. It can make us feel like we are constantly being pulled in a dozen directions. But we have turned this adversity into strengths: Versatility and flexibility. These strengths allow us to see multiple facets of a patient and provide a unique perspective to our IDT in a way few others can. This, my friends, is our value.
Where do we fit?
The variety and diversity of our jobs do make it difficult to put us in any one department though. Depending on the setting and the patient population, the term, “pathology” can seem arbitrary, and “rehab” can feel restricting. Sometimes I think neuro would be the best umbrella for us because there are few things we do that aren’t directly related to neurology. But whether we fit or where we fit isn’t so important, right? As long as we add the most value to wherever we are in the moment.
Healthcare as an ocean
If healthcare is an ocean then we are, like all other practitioners, just a small drop in the vast sea. But it takes each and every drop to make the waves needed for effective care. And our value in that care is palpable and comes in many forms. It might be from a recommendation to reduce the risk of aspiration pneumonia, language rehab to help a patient comprehend the world around them, or providing a device to help a patient express love to their family. So whether we fit into a perfectly defined role or not is beside the point. We are just another wave. A wave with a lot of value. And you can’t separate the waves from the ocean.
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