Questions for a Clinical Fellow

[flowerbloom]

Hello everyone! I just finished up my Master's degree in May and officially started my clinical fellowship year in July in early intervention. When applying to grad school, I felt like there were many unknowns about what came after graduation, so if you have any questions about life post-grad school, the clinical fellowship year, or even externships, feel free to ask me!

[Southwestspeechie]

If you have any experience with this, how common is it for a job to offer to pay your loans? Also, what types of things did you look for in your chosen place to complete your CFY? 

[flowerbloom]

On 9/28/2018 at 11:51 PM, Southwestspeechie said:

If you have any experience with this, how common is it for a job to offer to pay your loans? Also, what types of things did you look for in your chosen place to complete your CFY? 

Hello! I've only seen one job that outright offered that and it was a job in a rural state and area with a requirement to stay in the area for a certain amount of time. One of my classmates had gotten a scholarship that was dependent on her working in the public service sector (aka a public school) for three years in order to keep the grant. I do know there is a government program that reduces the amount of your loan if you work in certain settings, so that might be worth looking into.

Choosing a place to complete your CFY is very individualistic and you'll probably have your own specific needs, but the most important things I looked for were a positive work culture. Coming out of my degree I knew the leaning curve was going to be STEEP, so I really wanted a place where there were people around who knew what they were doing and were willing to share what they knew. I have and continue to have so many little questions that it's invaluable to have co-workers, both SLPs and other disciplines, that I can tap for resources and advice. I also looked for a place where the people seemed nice and respectful and were happy to work together for the better of the client. I interviewed for a lot of jobs where I would have been the only SLP in the building, and that didn't appeal to me at all. In that same vein, find a place with a CF mentor on site. You can do a CF with a remote mentor but again, my mentor's desk is right across from mine and if I have questions she's right there. If you are wanting to work in a school, it's a good idea then to discuss case load size and cap, as well as other responsibilities you'll have, such as case managing. Overall, just make sure that you are in a place that gives you the resources and support that you need to succeed! 

[Southwestspeechie]

45 minutes ago, flowerbloom said:

Hello! I've only seen one job that outright offered that and it was a job in a rural state and area with a requirement to stay in the area for a certain amount of time. One of my classmates had gotten a scholarship that was dependent on her working in the public service sector (aka a public school) for three years in order to keep the grant. I do know there is a government program that reduces the amount of your loan if you work in certain settings, so that might be worth looking into.

Choosing a place to complete your CFY is very individualistic and you'll probably have your own specific needs, but the most important things I looked for were a positive work culture. Coming out of my degree I knew the leaning curve was going to be STEEP, so I really wanted a place where there were people around who knew what they were doing and were willing to share what they knew. I have and continue to have so many little questions that it's invaluable to have co-workers, both SLPs and other disciplines, that I can tap for resources and advice. I also looked for a place where the people seemed nice and respectful and were happy to work together for the better of the client. I interviewed for a lot of jobs where I would have been the only SLP in the building, and that didn't appeal to me at all. In that same vein, find a place with a CF mentor on site. You can do a CF with a remote mentor but again, my mentor's desk is right across from mine and if I have questions she's right there. If you are wanting to work in a school, it's a good idea then to discuss case load size and cap, as well as other responsibilities you'll have, such as case managing. Overall, just make sure that you are in a place that gives you the resources and support that you need to succeed! 

Thank you so much for this helpful information! 

[AlwaysaFalcon]

When did you start applying to CFY positions (how many months before graduation if applicable)?

 

[flowerbloom]

On 10/7/2018 at 4:48 PM, AlwaysaFalcon said:

When did you start applying to CFY positions (how many months before graduation if applicable)?

 

I started scoping things out in the areas that I was interested in starting in March; however, most places with job openings that I applied to wanted someone to start right away so they weren't interested in a CF candidate that couldn't start till June. Most of the jobs, at least most of the school jobs start to appear in May/June so that's really the time that I was doing a lot of interviewing. I'd say you can start looking about 2 months prior to graduation. Many of the people in my class didn't have jobs until after graduation though. Hope this helps!