I'm an SLP. Weird.

Hello out there (anyone still check this?).

If you do, awesome. I hope you enjoy catching up on my life through once a month(ish) blog posts.

Here's another one.

So, I started work last week. I am officially a speech-language pathologist. It's weird. I didn't feel ready to be fully responsible for other people's health outcomes, but turns out, they trust me.

On my first day seeing patients (last Tuesday), Patient A (who has dementia, among other things) confidently told her husband, who she was talking with on the phone, that "the nurse is here, why don't you talk to her?" and then promptly handed me the phone. So I had a chat with her husband and their home health nurse, and it worked out fine (even if I wasn't the nurse they were expecting).

I've also had to call in orders to hospitals to schedule swallow studies for patients based on my experience with the patient. It's so weird. I wonder if they can tell I'm a brand-spankin' new clinician?

Today was stressful - I worked 9.5 hours. Too long. I just had a surprising amount of paperwork today. I have no idea how people do it all and fit it in during a normal work day. Hopefully I learn quickly because, as much as I'd love to get paid overtime, I really don't like staying late and driving home in crazy traffic. I'm more of a "get there early so I can leave early and avoid rush hour traffic" kind of gal.

Anyway....such is life as a new SLP.

The highs of this past week (which may or may not relate to my new job) include:

• Feeling really good about my ability to establish rapport with my patients.
• One of my patients says "Oh hi, honey" when I come to see her for therapy. 
• Eric and I went car shopping and test drove a bunch of different cars. We really like the Honda Element and the Subaru Forester...stay tuned for our decision...
• We went golfing on Sunday, and it was lovely to be outside even if it was overcast (it's been rainy here in MN for like a week). Also, Eric and I tied exactly. We're a pretty good match.
• Going out with some friends last Friday - it had been a while since I'd hung out with them, so it was fabulous!

And because I don't feel like dwelling on the negative, I am deliberately not making a list of my week's lows. Take that, negativity!

One low: not seeing my niece for a long time! We were going to hang out this weekend, but it was rainy. Boo.

3 years

That's all it took to start and finish graduate school. Wait...that's all it took? It took a heck of a lot of sacrificing other fun things to stay home and study or get up early to go to practicum or write a research paper...

Yesterday, I graduated.

It feels good to write that. I'm going to write it again.

I graduated!!!

At the ceremony, the speaker shared an anecdote that I can't recall the details of really (I'm a good listener), but the point was that in order to earn a master's or professional degree, you basically have to be in school half your life. Well, let's see... 12 years of high school + 4 years of undergrad + 3 years of grad school = 19 years. I'm 29. I've spent more than half my life in school! Yikes! No wonder I like making lists and crossing things off when I'm done with them and reading books and watching documentaries. I like learning.

However, I am very much ready to be done with school. And I look forward to learning on my own time (in continuing ed classes and in the comfort of my own home while eating popcorn and drinking Cherry Coke Zeros).

You know who else is ready to be done with school? This guy - he graduates on May 22.

The only thing I have left to do before I am officially done with school is survive my oral defense on Monday morning (10 a.m. CST). Basically, I get to meet with a panel of three professors who can ask me anything. They might ask questions to clarify some of my answers from my written exam I had a month ago, or they could just ask whatever they want related to speech, language, hearing, swallowing, cognition...stuff like that.

 Thanks, Mom, for coming to my graduation and taking us
out for deeeeelicious Afghani food!

So Monday morning, I would appreciate any good vibes you could send my way!

Thanks!

And in case you're wondering, you can now call me master. :) Just kidding... But if you really want to know, my official title now will be Heidi Lastname, MA, CF-SLP (which stands for Master of Arts, Clinical Fellow-Speech-Language Pathologist). After nine months of being a clinical fellow, I'll be a CCC-SLP, which stands for Certificate of Clinical Competence-Speech-Language Pathologist.

Interview #2

I have a job interview tomorrow, and I'm super excited about it! It's with the skilled nursing facility I'm currently at for my internship/practicum, and I'm really hoping that I get the job!

The job would involve working with adults in long-term and transitional care who have (or had) any of the following:

• stroke
• brain injury
• dementia
• cognitive deficits
• swallowing disorders
• voice disorders
• any number of diseases (Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's, etc.)

Anyway....send some positive energy my way tomorrow at 10 a.m. CST, please!

Aliens

I decided today that I should start keeping track of some of the things I hear everyday at the skilled nursing facility. Sometimes, patients say the funniest things. I don't mean to make fun of vulnerable people--I just think that it's one of those situations where you either laugh about it, or you cry about it. So I choose to laugh.

Today's conversation of the day:

Me: Why are you here, Bob*?
Bob: Well, I had a brain aneurysm. That, and I complained about aliens visiting me.

Note: To my knowledge, Bob never complained of alien sightings. His brain injury causes him to make up things and have a poor short-term memory. He sometimes thinks that he is in a school, not a skilled nursing facility. In fact, he told me today that this weekend was his graduation. The good thing: despite these challenges, Bob is not angry, and he responds well to others (like me and the SLP) correcting him. Our challenge: trying to help him learn memory and reasoning strategies to sort through reality and fabrications.

What an interesting fellow, that Bob.

*Patient names changed to protect the innocent and follow HIPAA rules.

2 months and counting

Exactly 2 months from tomorrow, I will be walking across the stage at Northrop Auditorium and accepting my diploma. I might also need to throw my hands up in the air and let out a cry of joy/exhaustion/relief.

I can't wait.

Yet....there are a million and one things to do before then.

I have been so busy lately and so tired, but the thing is that I am really enjoying most of the things that are taking up my time. I really like working at the skilled nursing facility -- the old folks are great. It's sad sometimes (especially the other day when one of my former patients passed away...), but it is also great to see their successes and help improve their quality of life. Other than that, I've been studying for comps (coming up April 9) with a friend twice a week, and that hasn't been too bad. There's just a lot to know, but it's been nice to talk everything out with another person rather than just study by myself. And then there's work and two classes (both of which are about assessing and treating people who are bilingual -- super interesting and relevant here in MN, where we have really high numbers of immigrants and refugees!).

So, yeah....life has been busy lately, and I am feeling like I'm ready to graduate and be an SLP! I am leaning toward working in a school setting, so keep your fingers crossed that I get called for an interview soon!

So, let's do some highs and lows for the past couple weeks, shall we?

Highs:

• Getting called for my first interview at a pediatric clinic
• Feeling like I am getting a handle on how to treat adults with swallowing, voice and cognitive disorders, along with Dementia
• Buying our rowing machine (I need to get on that thing more frequently!)
• Seeing the sun for the past week and actually noticing that the snow is melting (so I can no see over the snowbanks at the end of our driveway when I'm backing out)
• Visiting with Miss Finn last weekend for a bit. She walked over to my chair and held her arms up, like "pick me up!" She's a doll. And I love that after taking a drink, she goes "ahhhh."

Lows:

• Finding out that a patient died on Thursday morning. So sad...
• Having wayyyy too much to do for school before Spring Break and wondering how I'm ever going to finish it all.
• Being sick last week with a stomach flu and not getting to go up north on a snowshoe/cabin adventure. 
• Having to get Indy some anti-seizure meds. We're starting them today.

Well, that's about it for now. I hope to provide more frequent updates about fun projects around the house (crafts, gardening/yard remodeling, etc.) after May! Stay tuned...

Job interview!

I have my very first SLP job interview on Wednesday!

I applied for two more jobs yesterday (both at private pediatric clinics). And I got a call today. One day later. Um, that's crazy fast. So far, I've applied for four jobs in the past three weeks -- two in schools and two in clinics. All with kiddos (I love 'em).

So wish me luck and send good vibes on Wednesday afternoon!

Look out Metro Therapy, I'm about to knock your socks off.

I'm not sure if you knew this about me, but I love job interviews. Not just because they can end with having a job. I really like the process. Yes, it's brings on some anxiety and sweaty armpits, but it also allows you to talk about yourself and point out all the great things about you. And you get to meet new people and learn about a new place.

I know. I'm kind of a freak.

Anyway...... so excited! Interview #1, here I come!

But first, tell me: What are your favorite/least favorite interview questions?

Mindful highs and lows

For my MBSR class, I was supposed to keep track of pleasant and unpleasant experiences this week and document if I was fully present for the experience, how it felt, how it feels to reflect on the experiences, etc. Ummm...well, I didn't document them, but I did try to mentally keep track. So I thought I'd try to jot them down here as my usual highs and lows of the week.

So, here goes....

Highs:

• Getting my hair cut! I got about 5-6 inches cut off, and now I'm sassier than ever. :)
• Taking a quiz on Tuesday in class. I know...taking a quiz? What is wrong with me? I felt very smart and like I knew my stuff about how bilingualism affects academic development. 
• Skyping with my dad and Beth last night and hearing my dad tell me about how he stopped in the lobby of the hospital where he works (as a director of a department) to stop and compliment the nice man playing piano. He then went on to sing All the Way by Frank Sinatra with the man. That made me happy that I have a dad who just seizes the day like that. More people (especially big shot directors and managers) should do that. 
• Meeting some neighbors while shoveling my driveway and helping this woman get unstuck from the alley. I love our neighborhood.
• Sitting in the living room and chatting with my husband for about an hour last night. Just me, him and Indy catching up on life. 
• Doing yoga before bed once this week. I know I was supposed to do it more frequently. Well, the one time I did it, I loved it! Listening to a CD that guides you through the poses is way better than trying to a) do it on your own or b) watch a DVD. Love the CD. Love it.
• Getting two books in the mail from Amazon. I love ordering books, even if they are for school. (Nerd!) The books: The Late Homecomer, which I will read for fun and for school (I have to do some cultural awareness activities for one of my classes, and this will count) and An Advanced Review of Speech-Language Pathology, which will help give me some structure for studying for comps and the Praxis Exam (which is a requirement for getting my SLP license).

Lows:

• Having to shovel twice this week due to more ridiculous amounts of snow. 
• Being worried about being towed due to Minneapolis changing their snow emergency parking rules. So to avoid any confusion and a potential towing bill, I parked in a pay lot today. Boo. I hate paying to park on campus...even if it's only $3.75...the cheapest lot around.
• Still not being able to go back to my practicum site after the Office of General Counsel at the U of M has sat on my contract for two weeks and not signed it or approved it. Frustrating. While it has been nice to not have to drive to Hopkins every day, I would like to learn some things about treating adults with dementia, dysphagia, TBI, etc. before I have to take comps in April. 
• Finding out that comps (our comprehensive exam that I have to take in order to graduate) is earlier than I thought it'd be. It's probably April 2. Less than two months to study!

I'm here, and I'm learning

Top things I'm learning about/practicing this week (in no particular order):

1. Hospice care
2. Treating patients with Alzheimer's
3. Swallowing therapy
   
4. Mindfulness
5. Being present
6. Full Catastrophe Living (starting to read this book for my MBSR class)
7. Bilingualism/cultural diversity

Day 1

The first day of a practicum placement is always interesting. I'm there and have some knowledge, but mostly feel like I have absolutely no idea what to do. Today was no different. I started my final practicum of graduate school at a skilled nursing facility with patients in transitional care and long-term care. Do I talk with the patients or just observe what my supervisor is doing? Is it okay for me to help this nice lady cut her waffles or do I watch her try to do it? When do we try to assess their level of functioning and when do we step in to just make their lives easier? How do I respond to the woman who is not our patient but clearly needs some assistance with some private bathroom needs?

I was a little intimidated at first. And I felt like I was the visitor and the old folks were there on display for me to look at while my supervisor explained their diagnosis and goals. I tried to smile at them and my supervisor tried to include them in the conversation too (she didn't treat them like they were invisible or anything). It was just a little awkward since I'd never been in a setting like that unless I was visiting a relative. It's not natural to me.

Working with old people seems sooooo different than working with young people.Yet not so different. Like when some of the ladies need help opening their butter packets or getting a glass of juice to their mouth during breakfast. Not so different from the kids eating breakfast at school. I think once I get to know the patients better, it will be more natural and easy to interact.

The range of abilities is what surprised me today. There are patients in all stages of dementia, some who had a stroke, some who had both, some feisty ones with quick wit, others who didn't talk much but who seemed genuinely happy to just have you there next to them.

I feel like I don't really know what I'm doing at all......just yet. But hey, just today I learned some new things - medical acronyms, dysphagia dietary levels, some people's names. So hopefully by the end of the semester, I will learn a lot and feel like I have a handle on how to assess and treat these lovely older folks.

Stroke survivors = inspiration

Today was the last day of the Intensive Aphasia Program - my clinical practicum placement for this semester. It was a really good experience - kind of like a summer camp, where everyone comes together everyday for three weeks and works really hard and even meets others like themselves, and then it's suddenly over. So, I just feel the need to process it and write a bit about it here.

Anyway, the program is for stroke survivors with Aphasia (a language disorder involving production and/or comprehension of language). It is one of about 5-10 in the country, so I feel pretty lucky to have been able to participate in it.

Participants (some of whom came from out of state) came to the clinic every weekday for three weeks and had one hour of individual speech therapy, one hour of therapy at a computer with language programs, 30 minutes of social time and one hour of therapy in a group or in pairs. Each student clinician (like me!) was paired with a speech-language pathologist (SLP), and we were in charge of two patients. My SLP and I would trade off patients - I'd see Patient #1 one day and then we'd switch the next day.

Patient #1 is really young (under 40) and had a stroke about 1.5 years ago. He was really good at getting his point across and even making jokes, even though he mostly communicated using one- to two-word utterances. Patient #2 is just a few years older than my dad, and he had a stroke about a year ago. At first glance/listen, he really didn't seem impaired at all. He has recovered really well and just has some word blocks here and there. We are doing post-treatment evaluations next week, so I'm really looking forward to seeing if either of them made gains at all. The average gains made for the past 7 years of the program has been about 12% improvement on a standardized test. We'll see where my patients fall next week...

So today, Patient #2 (who had kind of been grumpy about some therapy tasks, and I never really knew if he was happy to be there or not) thanked us all for the entire group of stroke survivors and told us that all the survivors had chatted that morning about how they all feel like they've improved during the past three weeks. Then they all clapped and thanked us for our help - it was nice and warm and fuzzy. Then some of the survivors shared some of their stories about the challenges of going to the grocery store or a restaurant and having to communicate with others who don't know about their stroke. It was really sad to hear about how hard it is sometimes and how rude some people can be to them. But it was also really encouraging to hear them talk about what they do to cope and how determined they are to get better. What an emotional morning - it was really touching.

I'm still undecided on what I want to do after I graduate in May. I have really enjoyed working with adults this semester, but I also kind of miss working with kids. I think ideally, I'd love to work in a hospital or clinic where I could work with both adults and kids, but I know the medical setting is hard to get into. And right now many hospitals are on a hiring freeze and may even be cutting staff. So, we'll see....

Maybe I can fit in some more observations at different sites to help me figure it out.

After doing this practicum, I am now inspired to read more about stroke survivors, especially biographies, such as:

• My Stroke of Luck by Kirk Douglas
• My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolt Taylor (Eric is currently reading this cause strokes now interest him a lot too - what a supportive husband)

Another good read (and movie) that I've already read: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

Busy summer

This summer has been quite busy. With my internship, planning the wedding, going on fun weekend and week-long trips...I have neglected my blog. Sorry, dear readers (if any of you are out there...?).

Last week, I finished my internship at Children's Hospital. I really liked the hospital setting and working with kids again. There is so much variety to the SLP's schedules -- it would be awesome to work in a setting like that, at least for a bit. When I left, my supervisors were offering to write letters of recommendation and they said they'd keep me posted on any job openings in a year. So keep your fingers crossed! I would love to do my clinical fellowship year with them. We'll see...

So now, I'm just working 20 hours/week at the U and spending the rest of my time getting wedding things ready and hopefully cleaning our house. Things like dusting and sweeping and just de-junking really get pushed aside when life is busy.

Today was my first Monday off, and I spent it babysitting Finley this morning. (See the video in the previous post.) Then I met my aunt Katie for lunch -- she is due any day now and she is really ready to pop! I really hope Madison arrives early so she can attend our wedding! Then I came home to make some wedding-related phone calls and upload photos and relax. Tonight, there is talk of dinner with Ashlee, so life is good. I love this part-time work deal!

Most recent exciting wedding news:
- We booked our train tickets from Paris to Brive.
- We booked our rental car in Brive.
- We put our ceremony together and we are both very excited about it.

We still have lots of things on the "to do" list, but we are making progress every day.

Here are some pictures from lots of our summer adventures - click on the album below.

Summer09

Bring on summer

This is me with my poster at my Adult Language & Cognitive Disorders final ready to talk to people about group therapy for TBI. This was the last final of the semester. Hard to believe that was already 1.5 weeks ago! So far, I'm definitely enjoying my summer with evenings and weekends free to do things such as:
- watch episodes of 24
- watch movies from Netflix
- take Indy for walks and to the dog park
- take care of wedding planning details
- sit in the backyard and enjoy the weather
- spend time with family and friends who I feel like I've neglected for the past semester

Research sucks

Lit searches suck. I hate researching this TBI project. I'm supposed to be finding articles about group therapy for social skills and/or cognitive rehab for adults with traumatic brain injury. I've been working on finding articles since 7 pm tonight and have really only found three articles that have group therapy, one of which is only listed as a resource on another article and is nowhere to be found in the depths of this damn OVID database, another of which is only available via interlibrary loan (so let's hope it gets here on time for my project due date) and the last one of which I actually got to save as a pdf and will get the privlege of reading tomorrow morning.

In closing, this is why I would never want to be a professor and do research for a living.

Ish.

Children's Hospital

I got the offered the position at Children's this summer! I'm excited to keep on working with kids, but this time in a medical setting! I'm also hoping that I get to do some work with infant feeding and swallowing. I haven't talked to my supervisor yet, so I don't know much about what I'll be doing, what my hours will be, etc. I just got a voicemail yesterday while I was in class telling me the good news. So I await all the fun details...

Mom voice

I was paid a very nice compliment by my supervisor in the St. Paul schools today. The compliment? I am developing a good mom voice and I don't even have kids yet!

Why is this important to a speech-language pathology student? Um...hello? I use a freakin' mom voice so much that it annoys me. Some kids just know how to push my buttons. Some of the sentences that I know I've said in the past week include the following:

• Please don't throw your trash on the floor. Use the garbage can.
• It is not okay to put down other people.
• It is not okay (or funny) to not listen to your teachers.
• We do not talk like that at speech.

Despite the need for the mom voice, I am still enjoying my practicum in the schools. The days go by really fast -- there is always something to do, and every day is different. I am learning a lot and feel like I would easily fit in a school setting, if that ends up being the path I'll take. Who knows....

The one thing that is sad sometimes is that a lot of the kids come from some pretty tough homes. There seem to be a lot of parents in jail or families living in homeless shelters. It's odd to hear kids and parents just mention things like that so nonchalantly. Like a parent at a meeting the other day mentioned that her kid goes to a tutor everyday. When we asked where, she said, "at the shelter." It's just not brought up as a big deal, and the mom didn't seem ashamed or anything. Not that she should be. It's just very different than I would think I (or one of my friends/family) would bring something like that up. I actually admire her matter-of-factness. I think sometimes I care too much about what others might think of me. Anyway, it's really interesting. And about the whole tutoring program at the shelter -- that made me super happy that really great programs seem to be alive and kicking in places that really need them. So yeah, schools can be frustrating and sad, but they are also filled with a lot of energy. And I laugh a lot at what these kids say and do.

In other SLP news, I had a phone interview with Children's Hospitals and Clinics today here in MSP. (Enough abbrevs for you?) It only lasted like 10 minutes, so I really have no idea how it went. The interview was for a summer practicum at one of their locations (either hospital or clinic). So we'll see. If I don't get it, it's okay. Then I'm thinking I'll work with adults this summer and take a break from kiddos. I'm also hoping for a lighter load of practicum this summer seeing as how I'm getting married and all. :)

Ode to Cancelled Finals

I heart cancelled tests
So much, I could hug my prof
Thank you Ben Munson!

This haiku is dedicated to my phonology professor for cancelling our final that was scheduled for Monday morning. Awesome.

A snippet of my week

Today is Wednesday, my long day of the week. I have class from 8:30-11, then I work until about 5 and then I go to class from 5:30-8. Then I hop on the bus, get to my car and drive home. Tonight, I need to stop at Target for a few little essentials (more cups, napkins, plates and balloons for the upcoming baby shower and some wax paper for a Music Week craft for preschool group on Saturday). Then it's home to finish cleaning for our weekend guests. Oh yeah, and I should probably study some more for my neuro test tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I'll get up and drive to Brooklyn Park to do some hearing screenings (you know, raise your hand when you hear the beeps), and then I'll drive close to campus to hop on a bus to get to class on time to take the neuro test. Then I'll go home and greet Alyse and Jeff, the first visitors to arrive for the weekend of baby shower fun! We will use Eric's Sam's Club membership to go to Sam's and order the shower cake and then I need to get some food to make for dinner and also just to stock the cupboards for our lovely house guests. Then dinner at our house with Stacy and Taylor, and then at about 10 pm, Dad and Beth arrive.


Friday, I will get up and try not to disturb the house guests while I get ready to leave for campus again. I have a clinic meeting at 9, class from 10-1 and then clinic clients from 1:30-3:30. The kiddos in clinic should be looking forward to such fun activities as: Making your own superhero to work on /s/! and Digging in the rice bin to find exciting toys to talk about using our good /l/ sound! There's only one more week of clinic left after this, and I'm sure they'll be so sad and miss me so much.... Well, two of them might. But one won't -- he hates speech and actually may or may not have pooped his pants last week during our session... Anyway, Friday afternoon, Kate arrives and we get to go pick up the cake and flowers and just hang out with the fam a bit.


Saturday morning, I am leading preschool group in the morning with a music theme. I'm super excited about it. I'm bringing in a guitar, drum, cowbell (!), triangle, xylophone and maracas. We're doing some pattern repeating, listening to different music genres, reading a really cool book called "Punk Farm" and then making kazoos out of toilet paper rolls, wax paper and rubber bands. After that fun, I'm heading home to get ready for Stacy's baby shower. Should be a crazy busy day but really fun! I'm really looking forward to that afternoon. After that, we're doing a faux-Thanksgiving dinner at Stacy and Taylor's.



Sunday and Monday will be days of rest hanging with the fam. I plan on sleeping in then.