Discover the SLP you can be

Embrace your clinical curiosity! Take advantage of the expertise of your mentor. They are there to guide and support you as you take your first steps to becoming an independent SLP. Your Clinical Fellowship is the time when you take all that you have learned in your graduate program and apply it. Every question you ask is an opportunity to learn and grow.

Develop a posture of continual learning and self-reflection that you can use over the course of your career. Remember that you cannot learn everything there is to know about the field of speech-language pathology in graduate school, during your CFY, or during your career! We are lifelong learners!

You have many opportunities to meet with your supervisor to talk about cases, have your work reviewed, and your sessions supervised. Use that time! We want to share our expertise and help you make the most of this year of learning and growth.

Take time to ask questions. Write them down when your supervisor isn’t with you. Hone your writing skills. Writing with correct grammar, especially learning to write all reports in past tense, is very important to your professional credibility. “An SLP who doesn’t know grammar is like a physician who doesn’t know anatomy.” – Unknown

Be open to new experiences! Change can be scary, especially when you are starting out in the field. We are here to guide, support, and encourage you. As mentors, we have been there and understand that some of the best experiences come from trying something “new.”

Don’t be afraid to ask questions, even ones that seem silly! Connect with your community of fellow CFs, school staff, or your BTS fam. It’s powerful to decompress with those who “get it.” Don’t forget, self-care is your fuel. Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you!

Be kind to yourself! You will neither enter nor exit your Clinical Fellowship knowing all there is to know about speech-language pathology. We are here for YOU and we want you to be successful! Ask questions, take risks, and know you have a soft place to land with BTS.

Listen. Be mindful, observe, and listen to your students, their teachers, their classmates, their caregivers. Listening is our best tool as experts in communication. People open up when they feel heard, and listening can be one of the first steps in fostering those relationships with others.

Give yourself grace every day! You are learning and some days will be harder than others. Know that your work matters and you have our full support to lean on. You are not alone in your CF journey here at BTS. Take advantage of the customized support to fit your needs as you go throughout the year.

Save some “you” for YOU! Set boundaries for yourself to reset, refuel, and remember why you wanted to be an SLP in the first place. Burnout is no badge of honor, so give yourself grace and pace yourself through this intensive learning curve. Find time to enjoy the work you do with your students.