SLP - doctorates?

[genyslp]

There's been some talk around my university - from an administrator who is head of the audiology department - saying that SLP's, in the near future, will be required to have a doctorate's degree. I'm not against getting a doctorates - but I thought I would see if you guys heard anything about it too. ASHA doesn't seem to have reported anything, but I'm still so curious!

 

Thoughts?

 

 

[OverCaffeinated]

theres already doctorate degrees. im planning to get mine

but its definitely not everyone cup of tea 

[Jolie717]

That's interesting - I hadn't heard that this was in the works for SLPs also.  I believe it's a requirement for PT and OT now (and audiology obviously).  I would imagine it will take quite a while to be put into place.  They've been trying to require a Bachelors for an RN for years now and while it hasn't happened yet, hiring practices are certainly influencing this shift.  Same for Respiratory Therapy, but it will take years for it to happen.  My MIL was an SLP back when it was a Bachelors degree only, and didn't get her Masters until she had already been practicing for around 15 years or so.  

That being said, I am guessing this proposed doctorate requirement would be relatively short in comparison to an actual PhD.  I would imagine an extra year or two, tops.  One of my professors thinks that all SLPs in medical settings should be required to have a PhD - or CScD, which is what he has.  

Edited November 4, 2015 by Jolie717

[MangoSmoothie]

There are clinical doctorate degree programs, OverCaffeniated, but there's very few. EdFind only lists four.

At this point, there's really no need to get one, and I don't believe we're even in the incipient stages of a shift. Everything I know is more or less anecdotal, but I've discussed this with a few professors regarding the AuD and PT shift to requiring a clinical doctorate (OT doesn't require a doctorate yet and also only has a handful of schools that offer one), and no one seemed to think there was an impending threat of making a clinical doctorate an entry-level requirement for clinical practice. It could happen, but it doesn't seem like it's something that will happen any time soon. There would be much more talk about it if that were the case, and it would a pretty drawn-out process so it won't happen overnight. Honestly, of all the audiologists I've talked to (and it's not that many), including ones who had master's then had to get an AuD, ones that just got an AuD, and PhD/AuD combos, no one seemed to think making it a doctorate degree was necessary. And currently, no one seems to think making a clinical doctorate the entry level degree is necessary either for SLP.  This is all anecdotal, I know, but because there's so little out there suggesting the shift is imminent, I think we can safely say it won't happen for a while, if it's going to.

Regardless, if it were to happen, you would probably have a time-frame where you were grandfathered in in the transitional period and transitional degree programs would pop up. There's still practicing audiologists who only have a master's and who still have their CCC-A. I couldn't find anything in a brief search, but I would imagine it's sometime soon that they'll require all those with only a master's to finish the AuD to continue seeking certification, and requiring the AuD went in to effect in 2012 (and 2007 is when it was formally decided to require the AuD?).

http://www.asha.org/Academic/Guidelines-for-the-Clinical-Doctorate-in-SLP/

This is what ASHA has on the matter of clinical doctorates in SLP. If you look at the clinical doctorate degree programs out there, they aren't entry-level currently anyway, so you have to have a master's and your C's more or less to pursue one. Like ASHA says, currently, the clinical doctorates are aimed at qualifying you for advanced professional positions. While I don't support making entry-level doctorates the minimum requirement, the option of clinical doctorates for advanced professional development is certainly interesting, especially in certain specializations or even certain medical settings like Jolie mentioned.

Also, one of the superficial reasons I'm against making a clinical doctorate the entry-level degree is the cost. A master's program is already prohibitive, and adding more years to that would only exacerbate it. Unlike PhDs, which are funded, clinical doctorates usually aren't. Imagine having to pay that without it really increasing your salary (like the AuDs and DPTs currently are).

[jpiccolo]

I don't have much to add to mangosmoothie above. Really interesting info. I'd just say that I would be surprised to see this anytime soon. I don't see it as a necessity especially for pediatric slps. Also, the demand for slps is so high that it would be so detrimental to require more schooling. I bet it would limit the interest of potential students and increase the already high demand for slps. Programs would need more faculty and more space and more classes laid out and that doesn't seem likely. At least not for a good number of years. But that's my own speculation. Either way I wouldn't worry much about that as it's not an issue now.