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From: Charlie Osborne
Date: 22 Oct 2006
Time: 11:00:13 -0500
Remote Name: 67.142.130.34
An excellent question! I probably don’t have enough space to list all of the reasons I became an SLP. I will share some of what I have learned from students-in-training to become SLPs. Probably one of the most common reasons I have heard from students is that they would like to help people. Our field allows us to get to know individuals on a very personal level and, if we do our jobs right, to observe these individuals make positive changes in their communication abilities. Being able to be a part of helping a person make these changes is highly rewarding. Other students have indicated their attraction to the medical and scientific aspects of the field. As a SLP you have many opportunities to learn about current research, often research that has a strong medical theme, for example the brain studies that are being conducted comparing people who stutter to people who don’t. Another exciting area of current study is regarding evidence-based practice. There are diverse opinions within our narrow field of stuttering, from people who are passionate regarding their beliefs. This makes for interesting reading and interesting discussion! Another exciting aspect to being a clinical SLP is that you are able to apply much of your own creativity into your therapy. Each client is an opportunity for you to learn and to continue to craft and hone your clinical interaction skills. Personally, I have been a practicing clinician for going on a quarter of a century and can honestly state that I have never, ever been bored. With all of the advances taking place in technology and in scientific thought, I suspect that my remaining years in practice will be even more interesting than my previous ones. If you are in the process of deciding whether or not to choose the field of speech-language pathology as a career I would suggest that you contact one or more of the SLPs who work in your area and ask if you might be able to job shadow with them. Another suggestion would be that you continue to participate in event s such as this one!