No On-Campus Clinic?

[katelynmarie]

My top choice school does not have an on-campus clinic and I was wondering if anyone could give me insight on any pros or cons and what to expect with all off-campus clinical work? I have been completing my senior clinical work at our on-campus clinic at my undergraduate institution so that's all I'm really used to.

Thanks all and congrats on all the acceptances!

[angela4]

25 minutes ago, katelynmarie said:

My top choice school does not have an on-campus clinic and I was wondering if anyone could give me insight on any pros or cons and what to expect with all off-campus clinical work? I have been completing my senior clinical work at our on-campus clinic at my undergraduate institution so that's all I'm really used to.

Thanks all and congrats on all the acceptances!

Hi katelynmarie, I just wanted to follow your post because I have also been wondering about the pros and cons of all off-campus clinical work. Thank you!

[jamielee23]

I'm going to the Q&A session at Pitt today (no on campus clinic) and can report back later!

[angela4]

21 minutes ago, jamielee23 said:

I'm going to the Q&A session at Pitt today (no on campus clinic) and can report back later!

Thank you! That will be so helpful. I wish there were more current students on here so that we could get people who have been there, but I guess once you get started in a program you have support from fellow students and don't need sites like this as much anymore.

[katelynmarie]

1 hour ago, jamielee23 said:

I'm going to the Q&A session at Pitt today (no on campus clinic) and can report back later!

Thank you so much, I appreciate it!

[katelynmarie]

On 3/27/2017 at 11:11 AM, jamielee23 said:

I'm going to the Q&A session at Pitt today (no on campus clinic) and can report back later!

I hope your Q&A session went well yesterday! Anything interesting you learned about the pros and cons of not having an on-campus clinic?

Thanks again!

[jamielee23]

5 hours ago, katelynmarie said:

I hope your Q&A session went well yesterday! Anything interesting you learned about the pros and cons of not having an on-campus clinic?

Thanks again!

Hey!  Sorry I didn't get a chance to post last night.  So I can only speak for Pitt's program -- but the way they explained it, it seems to make sense not to have an on-site clinic.  Pitt is surrounded by a TON of healthcare facilities, plus the public school district, etc etc, so instead of an onsite clinic they just have loads of partnerships with the surrounding facilities (most notably, UPMC - University of Pittsburgh Medical Center).  They also have clinical staff that works with you at these sites (so it's not like you're thrown into it without good supervision).  When I first heard that they didn't have a clinic I saw it as a con - a clinic seems like a really great place to practice while still learning - but now it seems like a pro because students get experience in way more settings.  For Pitt in particular, it seemed that students will get a lot more experience in medical settings, whereas at other schools I'm looking into, the only real opportunity for, say, being in acute care would be for your final externship, and of course that's not guaranteed.  So to sum up, if the university is in an urban location and/or has a ton of partnerships with a wide variety of sites, I don't think that not having a clinic is an issue.

I'm not sure if this is the kind of information you're looking for, if you have any other questions let me know!

[katelynmarie]

1 hour ago, jamielee23 said:

Hey!  Sorry I didn't get a chance to post last night.  So I can only speak for Pitt's program -- but the way they explained it, it seems to make sense not to have an on-site clinic.  Pitt is surrounded by a TON of healthcare facilities, plus the public school district, etc etc, so instead of an onsite clinic they just have loads of partnerships with the surrounding facilities (most notably, UPMC - University of Pittsburgh Medical Center).  They also have clinical staff that works with you at these sites (so it's not like you're thrown into it without good supervision).  When I first heard that they didn't have a clinic I saw it as a con - a clinic seems like a really great place to practice while still learning - but now it seems like a pro because students get experience in way more settings.  For Pitt in particular, it seemed that students will get a lot more experience in medical settings, whereas at other schools I'm looking into, the only real opportunity for, say, being in acute care would be for your final externship, and of course that's not guaranteed.  So to sum up, if the university is in an urban location and/or has a ton of partnerships with a wide variety of sites, I don't think that not having a clinic is an issue.

I'm not sure if this is the kind of information you're looking for, if you have any other questions let me know!

That sound exactly like the school I will be attending! It's right in the heart of Medical Mile, the largest strip of healthcare facilities in Michigan, which they take full advantage of. And it sounds the same in the sense that we have a supervisor from the program and another one that works as our supervisor in the community. I'm starting to think of it as more of a pro than a con since we can get a lot more "real life" experiences out in the community which is what we are going to be doing after school anyways. Thank for the information it really helped!

[jamielee23]

3 minutes ago, katelynmarie said:

That sound exactly like the school I will be attending! It's right in the heart of Medical Mile, the largest strip of healthcare facilities in Michigan, which they take full advantage of. And it sounds the same in the sense that we have a supervisor from the program and another one that works as our supervisor in the community. I'm starting to think of it as more of a pro than a con since we can get a lot more "real life" experiences out in the community which is what we are going to be doing after school anyways. Thank for the information it really helped!

No problem!  Best of luck making your decision

[kendralynnt]

Hey friends - 

Current master's student here, for some reason reliving the anxiety-inducing rabbit hole that is grad cafe

I currently attend a program that does not have an on-campus clinic and I LOVE it. After being here almost a year now and seeing experiences from a couple of my undergrad friends who ended up going to schools with on-campus clinics, I'm still very glad I chose this school. Feel free to ask me any questions!

[twinguy7]

@angela4 @katelynmarie

Off campus clinical sites are the best way to get REAL world clinical experience!!!  I loved it at GVSU!  We learned in the classroom and were able to practice those things in the same week at our externships in the community which included school districts, Skilled Nursing Facilities, Early Start/Head start Preschool programs, Hospitals (both in patient and outpatient).  There were also boot camps during summer time some of us got to do also.  

I cringe every time I hear about programs who do on site clinical because of all of the paperwork and lesson planning, etc they make them do.  This is not Realistic in the real SLP world.  There are no "Lesson plans" in the real SLP world and I think its such a waste of time and energy.  On site clinics also seem to only give you one patient or client per semester which is sad also.  With off-site you are seeing 10-50 patients/students/clients throughout the semester which is much more realistic! 

Hope this insight is helpful!

[slpfall14]

My grad program had an on-site clinic and it's really unrealistic and it does not mirror the real SLP world.  Honestly, it's hand-holding in a sense that you get one or two clients the first semester and you have to do all the long, drawn out reports, planning, self-reflections, etc.  It reality there are no long reports and planning.  While I understand that the program is trying to lay a foundation for the student to build and learn their clinical skills, the best learning/ training experiences I've had were off-site in the skilled nursing facility and the rehab hospital settings.  I wouldn't be too concerned if the school doesn't have a university clinic.  It's more of a pro than a con in my opinion.  

[katelynmarie]

@slpfall14 @twinguy7 @kendralynnt @jamielee23 @angela4 

Thank you all so much! You've been so helpful. I think the only reason I was worried was because my undergrad has an on-campus clinic that I am currently completing my senior practicum in and so that's the only reality I know for the "real-life SLP world".

Your posts have all been very encouraging and I think I also see not having an on-campus clinic as a pro more so than a con. It will be so beneficial to be pushed out of the nest to see if you can fly! I appreciate all the support and encouragement and reassurance!