Observation hours

[hclem5]

Hey everyone! 

So I'm currently getting my second bachelor's online through Utah State; I have my first bachelor's in Human Development and Family Studies.  I have a decent amount of volunteer hours that are kind of all over the place, all related to children and none specific to speech.  I am thinking of shadowing a few SLP's in different settings (school, hospital, etc.)  Can anyone suggest how many hours of shadowing and volunteer I should complete (I know I will be completing 50 hours for a course but I'm just talking about icing on the cake!)?  Any suggestions would be great!

Thank you!

[Missthang]

The more hours the better in my opinion for volunteering and observations. What I've heard looks really good on resumes (again, just my opinion) is to find one specific site or population of clients and observe as much as you can in that 1 setting. It will look more impressive that you've observed SLPs at suchandsuch clinic for 50+ hrs than it would as 5 hrs here, 10 hrs there. To use myself as an example, I spent a 1 1/2 years at one specific school/clinic where I worked on a research study with an SLP, volunteered in the school with the children, volunteered at all of their fundraisers/parent programs/etc. and also worked at their summer camps where SLP grad students worked, and of course observed SLPs and audiologists. All of these things were opportunities housed at this 1 site. It shows admission committees your long-term dedication to a site and being involved in several different ways that are all directly related to this field. I still volunteered at other places through our NSSLHA chapter but I believe the more immersed you can be, the better it looks to the ad.comm., on your resume and even on your personal statement/LoI if you incorporate this experience in to your writing. Hope this helps!

[lookwhoslp]

The more hours the better, as the poster above said. There's also the minimum of 25 hours for when you apply to grad schools, but it sounds like your class will cover that. (These are different than volunteer hours.) But I'd say get as many hours as you can and that you can afford with your schedule. I'd say... maybe minimum of 10 hours in each setting? So like 2 days worth of observations... that way you can see how it is on different days and with different clients. Ask the people you are observing if there are better days/times that you can watch that maybe have clients with different disorders. Then if you find there's an area that really has your interest try to observe in that setting more.

[hclem5]

Thanks for the insight Missthang and lookwhoslp!

[queenleblanc]

It is best to get your observation hours across different settings and disorders.  I did my min. 25 hours, spent 2 days at a SNF, 1 day at a hospital and outpatient rehab, and also went to a developmental disabilities center.  I also observed an audiologist for half of a day as well.  

 

Do:

• Make sure the SLP or AuD is CCC-SLP or CCC-A if you want the hours to count for the 25 minimum required for ASHA-accredited grad schools 
• Send thank you cards to those who allow you to shadow / observe (not just an email)
• Ask a lot of questions in the various settings you see to get a better idea of where you might want to have your graduate school externships and/or CFY

Don't: 

• Don't be afraid to interact with a patient if the SLP asks you or gives you an opportunity (I played some memory games with the cognitive patients at the SNF and helped the SLP when she asked me for her dysphagia patients at meals)
• Don't forget that you need to see at least SOME diagnostic hours for your 25 hours of observation - especially if you have no idea about how a dx session works (I forgot to do this and was told by one of the SLPs to come observe a dx session the next day so I had a well-rounded experience)
• Don't forget to document -- most grad programs have a form you can use to document your hours and get signatures.  There is nothing worse than having done the time but not having the paperwork to back it up.  

 

Hope that helps! 

[GandalfTheGrey]

Rachel Wynn is an SLP specializing in ethics and eldercare. She has a great blog post about approaches to observations here: http://graymattertherapy.com/power-observation-students/

 

The rest of her blog is also an excellent source of information about our profession.

[HopefulGrad2017]

That is a great blog! I'm in my undergrad and looking at where to do observation hours, and this is extremely helpful.

[hclem5]

Thanks CatSLP716 and GandalfTheGrey!