Landing in the Same Location With Vastly Different Roles: Experiences of a Medical SLP Student, a Clinic Director, and an Associate Professor

In this episode we integrate the experiences of three unique individuals who all landed in the same program, but with vastly different roles: a student, director of clinical education, and an associate professor. Themes include– but aren’t limited to - transitioning from student to clinician, self-assessment, fostering synergy via dialogue & debate, guidance for grads & mentors, and sharing mistakes. This episode is a must-listen for students, mentors, recent graduates, and all who are interested in collaboration and professional development.

Due to microphone placement, setting, room acoustics, and other factors, the audio quality in this episode is somewhat different than other episodes.

Bios:

Wendy Chase, MA, CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist who joined Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions in July 2017 in the position of Director of Clinical Education/Assistant Professor. Ms. Chase earned her BS at Central Michigan University and her MA at Northwestern University. She has more than 30 years of experience in clinical positions treating clients from infancy through geriatrics. Her interests are focused on clinical education, gender affirming communication treatment, and management of swallowing and voice in clients with ventilator dependency.

Phil Sechtem, Ph.D., CCC-SLP is an associate professor in the MS MedSLP Program at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions in Provo, Utah. His academic, teaching, and scholarly interests include the neurologic underpinnings of typical and atypical communication, voice, and swallowing structures and functions. He is a clinical educator within the Center for Communication Disorders on the campus of Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions and he conducts and trains graduate-level endoscopic voice and swallowing methods and procedures for advanced interpretation and management of relevant patient populations.

Russell deJesus, MS, CCC-SLP (he/him/his) is a Filipino-American immigrant from Eagle Mountain, Utah. He graduated with his Bachelor's in Communication Disorders from Brigham Young University, with his Master's with a medical emphasis from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions, and is in his PhD program at the University of Utah. He currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with his wife and no kids, where he likes to spend time with family and be active outdoors.

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro Music
• 1:29 Perspectives From Russell: Recently a Masters Student and CFY Who is Currently Pursuing a PhD
• 5:07 The Benevolent Dictator: Clinic Director, Long-Term Acute Care (LTAC) with Trach and Vent; Chips and Sips; Oral Bacteria
• 11:07 Acute Care to Academics
• 13:55 Fostering Synergy Through Integrative Dialogue and Debate
• 20:24 Leaving the Peak of Mount Stupid: Learning to Self-Assess
• 21:52 Transitioning from Grad School into a Career; Guidance for Grads and Mentors
• 30:35 Competency and Confidence Among Challenges; Conversations, Not Confrontations
• 36:03 Ironic Boasting: We Acknowledge but Don’t Embrace Our Incompetence
• 49:01 Final Note
• 50:52 Outro