I wish I'd known- Jumping the barriers

Getting onto the post-graduate SLT course is extremely competitive:

• think about what you've learnt from your experience not just how much you've done
• sell yourself!
• speak up and get noticed in a group
• be friendly and a team player
• consider your transferable skills   
• don't rule out SLT if you got onto a waiting list- chances are you'll get a call to say you're in

Placements are likely to be miles away (e.g. 90min commute each way):

• find out if you are entitled to a bursary
• organise your own block placement closer to home
• enquire about nursing accommodation etc. on site
• see if there is anyone you can lift share with
• reflect and plan sessions en route!
• suck it up and deal with it - it's likely to be a great placement!

Placement Educators expect more anatomy and physiology knowledge than you'll be taught:

• invest in a good textbook - or at least borrow one before your classmates get there
• keep lecture notes or cards with key phrases to hand
• ask questions! don't suffer in silence if you don't understand something
• use diagrams to aid understanding

The lack of direct intervention you get to give:

• keep an open mind
• consider your preferred setting to work in
• consider the evidence base for your approach
• convey your ideas to other people working with the client
• be creative and patient centred when you do make resources/ carry out therapy

It would be stressful to keep on top of work:

• print off timetables and deadline calendars in the first week!
• be organised - start work early and set earlier deadlines to motivate yourself
• consider if work is due during placement and how you will manage this
• talk to your course mates - it doesn't hurt to have a good moan every now and again!
• read the assignment title. Re-read it. Re-read it.
• Attend a CPD event to boost your motivation!
  

It would be hard to get a job at the end of it all:

• be flexible but if you really want a particular area- go for it!
• fill in an application as soon as you see it - they disappear quickly
• make the NHS jobs site your homepage
• tweak your personal statement to fit the person specification
• do your homework before an interview
• be positive, rejections don't mean you aren't a good therapist - there's just a lot of us looking for employment (including me)!

21 things I didn't realise I'd signed up for...

“Things aren't ever what they seem to be when you first look at them. What's important is that you keep your mind wide open and try to understand what's going on from a lot of different angles.”
                                                                            
                                                                             - Christopher Paul Curtis


1. The hard work didn't stop after getting a place on the MSc SLT course- in fact it hasn't stopped yet.

2. Being back at university meant I had to attend more than once a week.

3. Just because I think my essay is good doesn't mean I'll get a good mark.

4. Just because I think my essay is bad doesn't mean I'll get a bad mark.

5. Caffeine would be my new best friend.

6. On placement I spend more time in the car than doing therapy.

7. The RCSLT CQ3 would become my preferred choice of bedtime reading.

8. It becomes a huge achievement to get a library book out before the rest of my classmates get there.

9. I secretly compare every friends child to developmental milestones.

10. People ask what course I'm doing. Then ask what I want to do after. 'Be an SLT' then still prompts blank faces.

11. People will always ask what an SLT does, not listen and think I'm going to be a teacher.

12. None of my friends will understand I don't get a summer holiday.

13. The primary purpose for my Makaton training would be to communicate with my SLT friends across a busy bar.

14. In the two years I have convinced myself I have every voice disorder, social communication problem and neurological condition possible.

15. No-one else will find an SLT joke funny. I find it hilarious.

16. It would become exciting to go to a conference on a Saturday instead of shopping.

17. I panic every time I watch someone drink through a straw.

18. I start screaming 'dysphagia dysphagia' every time a crisp goes down the wrong way.

19. Meeting with classmates at lunch to discuss an essay becomes an acceptable form of 'social life'.

20. I'd turn up to an interview and find the rest of my course mates in the waiting area.

21. Twitter would provide a community who can be relied on for work distractions minus guilt.


(Still love it though)

London Voice SIG

 “I can’t reach the high notes anymore”

Last week I took an afternoon off finishing my dissertation to go to the London Voice SIG with another SLT student. I am really interested in adult acquired disorders and was really looking forward to learning from some of the most experienced SLT’s in the field.

The main thing that I took from the day was the impact of a voice disorder on someone’s identity – especially somebody who uses their voice to make a living. One of the speakers was a professional singer/ actor who had received surgery. The emotion that she showed during her talk really hit home how distressing and life changing having a voice disorder might be.

She highlighted some really important points that I believe gave every SLT in the room food for thought:

-          She was given loads of information about the risks of surgery, possible benefits and information about how much voice rest she should take afterwards

BUT

She was left in the dark about the potential physical and emotional changes that she might experience following surgery. The singer was shocked to discover that she could no longer sing in the way that she used to- even after following the advice from the professionals.

She was unprepared for the impact this would have in terms of…

-          financial burden when not being successful at auditions

-          social isolation because it is difficult spending time with friends in noisy environments

-          other people not understanding because she still sounded ‘normal’ to everyone else

-          losing sight of her identity – a feeling that it wasn’t ‘her voice’  

With an emphasis on evidence based practice and outcome measures it is easy to get caught up in the impairment based stuff that we are trained to deliver. However, I believe it is vital to keep in mind the most important thing. The person with the voice disorder.

The team were promoting a group they ran for singer’s pre and post operation, called ‘Vox Op’. It gives an opportunity for the members to gain practical and emotional support in confidence. It is a shame more support is not available for professional voice users but hopefully this is something that will change in the future with the continued success of groups like Vox Op.