I am a speech-language pathologist (SLP). The field of speech-language pathology is extremely broad. SLPs can work with patients across the lifespan- from infants to end-of-life. While many SLPs work in the school systems, my work history is primarily in the hospital systems. A typical day of work for an SLP working with adults in the hospital will look like the following:

• Arrive at the hospital and collect your patient assignment list
• Spend 15-30 minutes chart reviewing new admissions and prepare for your first evaluation. An evaluation may include assessing a patient’s swallow function, speech, language, communication, voice, or cognition (memory, attention, etc…)
• Speak with the nurses taking care of the patients you’re assigned to and begin your evaluations.
• Update the nurses and/or physicians on any new recommendations you’re making for the patient (you might recommend different food textures that are easier to chew, a barium swallow x-ray to further evaluate the patient’s swallow function or communication strategies)
• If a patient needs a barium swallow x-ray (known as a modified barium swallow study), you will need to schedule this test with the radiology technicians and conduct the exam with a radiologist.
• Continue seeing the patients on your list for evaluations and therapy sessions as needed.
• You might participate in patient rounds, which involve discussing each patient’s case on a particular floor with the medical team. This will allow you to update the team on important recommendations and discharge needs.
• Write all of your evaluation notes, therapy notes, and discharge notes by the end of the day. Submit billing.

Pros

Pros of this career include a variety of work settings, increasing job demand, and the intrinsic benefit of helping people improve or regain their abilities to enjoy life’s greatest gifts: speaking and eating.

Cons

Cons of this career include the paperwork, productivity requirements, and lack of resources for SLPs when compared to physicial therapists and occupational therapists.

For a detailed account of what speech-language pathologists do across a variety of settings (e.g. hospitals, home health, nursing home, teletherapy, private practice, etc…), I have written a book titled “But My Speech Is Fine!” which features true stories of SLPs across the United States sharing their work experiences.

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