Taking a Second SLP Job: Opening the Door to Possibilities

One thing I haven't written much about this year is taking on a second job.  Last year, I completed my clinical fellowship in the schools.  I had a pretty good experience, had a mentor who was very patient with me and all of my questions, and had a principal who supported special education.  However, I had 70 students on my caseload to start the year that year and was constantly writing IEPs or attending meetings.  I struggled with balance at first, but decided to work as hard as possible not to take work home so that I could have time with my husband and friends.  My district ended up getting me some help, but I still had 55 kids on my caseload.  It was still really busy.  On top of that, they asked me to become building coordinator for the next year.  I was excited to be getting more responsibility at school and gain some leadership experience.  I knew it would be a lot on my plate, but I was excited about it.

So then, I went and got a second job starting this August.  Actually, it kind of fell into my lap.  A clinic emailed me and asked if I would like some evening hours.  I accepted because it was an opportunity I couldn't turn down.  It would put me at a combined 40 hours of work a week with school and clinic hours.  It would allow me one-on-one with kids and the opportunity to co-treat with occupational therapists.  It would possibly open doors for the future for me.  It would allow me to learn more about sensory and integrating movement and sensory activities into my therapy.  It would allow me to learn more about autism.  Ultimately, it was a way to keep my skills fresh in another setting.  So, I said yes.

I know it's not for everyone, but I want to encourage you to think about it.  Maybe it's PRN-ing at a SNF or a hospital.  Maybe it's doing a few hours for your state's early intervention program.

It has turned out to be a great decision for me.  I cannot wait to share more about it with you as I learn more and more!

Lessons from My Clinical Fellowship

As of the middle of May, I completed my clinical fellowship!  I am just waiting on the official notice from ASHA!  This year flew by, but I learned a lot. 

A little background information for you:
I was in an elementary school setting where I was the only SLP.  The school had had 2 SLPs the previous year (one 5 days, one 4 days).  This year, they had decided to go down to one.  The number of students did not decrease, however.  I started the year around 70 students.  Holy moly.  I knew caseloads were higher across the nation due to budget constraints, but I did not expect that.  Needless to say, I somehow figured out a way to see all 70 students in a week.  Side note--most of those were not students with IEPs. 

One of the first things I had to learn was how to do effective group therapy.  At one point, I had to put 6-7 fifth grade students in a group.  Fortunately for me, they had similar IEP goals.  I also had 5-6 articulation students in a group at some points.  That was the hardest for me--how do you come up with an activity where each student gets 100 productions in a half hour??  I learned to speed up games, have students say things at least 10 times, if not more, per turn, and how to do centers.

Along with the large caseload came a large amount of paperwork.  I learned to start things early.  One of my biggest goals was to not take paperwork home if possible.  I learned very quickly that starting IEPs a couple weeks early and working on them slowly during plan times helped accomplish this. 

The paperwork forced me to be really good about time management.  One of my grad school supervisors told me that this was one of the hardest things to learn.  I learned pretty quickly that I could spend a long time looking at TpT during my plan time, or I could write those IEPs.  If I wanted time at home with my husband, I would need to write those IEPs at school. 

Another thing that saved me in terms of paperwork was relying on my co-workers.  We would work together to complete an IEP so that it wasn't just one person writing the whole thing.  If I had a few extra minutes to write it, then I would write more of it and visa versa. 

I learned to ask questions.  I asked a lot of questions.  I asked a lot of probably really dumb questions.  But that is how you learn, and that is what your CF is for.  I learned that assuming things wouldn't get me very far.  The state doesn't mess around with its requirements for paperwork, so

Another lesson that jumps out at me is this:  you can plan all you want, but sometimes they just don't work out.  I would spend hours prepping materials at the beginning, just to have my students complain about it and want to do something else.  OR sometimes you plan a great lesson just to have an assembly get planned.  I learned pretty quickly that having a cabinet of games and other materials (Super Duper, anyone?) is necessary.  Knowledge of what materials are in your closet and what you can whip out on the spot is necessary. 

Finally, I learned that a work-life balance is important.  Yes, work is important, but so are family and friends.  I have seen first-hand how a less than stellar work-life balance can hurt a family.  I was determined not to allow that to happen.  Having a good balance allowed my stress levels to remain in check.  Part of this balance is allowing yourself some days off. My co-worker had to sit there and convince me to take a personal day because I was feeling guilty about it.  In the end, it was a much needed day. 

So there you have it.  I have learned a lot of lessons, some of which I shared above.


What lessons did you learn during your CF?

Chicken Soup for the SLP Soul Blog Hop

Welcome to your next stop on the Chicken Soup for the SLP Soul Blog Hop!  I'm so glad you're here!  I hope you've been enjoying all of the stories so far. 

I want to tell you a story from this fall.  This is my first year as speech pathologist (I just graduated from graduate school in May).  I've been busy learning the tricks of the trade, and one of those is learning how to get students motivated.  I've also had to learn various strategies for writing, such as the Step-Up to Writing method.  One of my students has a goal for writing a 4-6 sentence paragraph with an introduction, conclusion, and at least three details. Well around Thanksgiving time, I wanted this student to write about what he did over the break.  I figured it would be a fairly easy prompt for him, especially since he loves food and Thanksgiving is all about food.  I gave him the outline, and he quickly wrote an introduction and four details.  He needed some prompting for the conclusion sentence, but he was able to create one.  When he began transferring it to a paragraph format, he began adding more details with minimum cueing from me.  In the end, he had an 11 sentence paragraph.  I had promised him some Cheese-Its, so he wrote it for me.  It was a breakthrough moment for him because he had never written anything that long before and had never written a narrative.  I immediately called his mother to brag about him a little bit.  It was in that moment that I realized how important it is to call parents to share positive stories (and not just the negative ones). 

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Scheduling in the Schools

One of the biggest tasks of a school SLP is scheduling.   My school placement in graduate school was not until the spring, so I didn't have any practice trying to schedule 40, 50, 60 kids.  When I got to my school this summer, I realized I had double the caseload I thought I would and knew scheduling could turn into a nightmare.

To make it easy for myself, I created a schedule paper for the teachers.  I asked the teachers to fill out the form and return it to me ASAP.  I also kindly let them know that I have approximately 70 students that need to be scheduled, so I would appreciate their flexibility.

Once the teachers returned these forms, I was able to make my first draft of the schedule.  Honestly, I only had a few tweaks when I went to confirm it with the teachers.  Most of them were extremely understanding and actually told me whatever I need to do will work for them.

What are your thoughts?  How do you make scheduling easier?