In terms of good surprises, I was surprised at how much I was able to recall from my undergraduate classes. I had prepared myself to have to look up a ton of things, but for the most part I was able to be pretty independent when it came to determining goals and treatment plans.
I don’t know that I had any “bad” surprises, but I did find it interesting to see the different attitudes toward speech pathologists that are out there. Last semester I traveled to several preschools in the area conducting speech and hearing screenings. Some of the teachers were very nice and thankful for us, but I came across a handful that clearly thought we were an inconvenience. I was surprised because you’d think that a teacher of all people would be happy to have their students screened for delays, but according to my supervisor that isn’t uncommon.