Preparing for an Adult Medical Placement

Graduate clinicians in Speech-Language Pathology must complete off-campus clinical practicums (also known as externships, internships, or clinical placements). As a clinical supervisor and member of the externship team, I can tell you that adult medical placements are both highly competitive and desired among graduate clinicians! I can also tell you that medical placements are rigorous. Below are tips for preparing for an adult medical placement in Speech-Language Pathology.

Clinician Characteristics

An adult medical experience is not just hospital-based. You can work with the adult population in other settings such as a Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) or home health. No matter the setting, medical experiences are exciting yet at times can be overwhelming or scary. In order to be successful in an adult medical placement setting, there are traits that can come in handy. Every day is different and there is little time to prepare for upcoming sessions. Clinicians who excel in these placements usually are:

• Flexible
• Adaptable
• Adept at soft skills
• Critical thinkers
• Good problem solvers
• Independent
• Quick thinkers
• Unflappable

**Of course, these are good skills to have in any setting but are a must in the medical settings. In addition to the fast pace and little time to prepare, there are machines constantly beeping and medical emergencies that pop up. This can be overwhelming, to say the least.

Before Beginning Placement

In order to succeed in any medical placement, you will need to have a strong interest in medical Speech-Language Pathology. Like, you need to want to do this as a career after graduation. Medical placements are not for the faint of heart. They are fast-paced, demanding, and emotionally draining. Prior to beginning the placement, I strongly recommend you do the following:

• Review dysphagia intervention techniques, strategies, and rationale for recommendations (including bedside swallows and the Modified Barium Swallow Impairment Profile)
• Develop soft skills (i.e., interpersonal communication, empathy, etc.)
• Practice informal assessments (i.e., conversations, Q&A, direction following)
• Familiarize yourself with other disciplines (e.g., OT, PT, Psy, Nursing, MD, PA)
• Ask the externship supervisor what materials will be available and then review them
• Review neurogenic disorders (e.g., Parkinson’s, CVA, TBI, Motor Speech Disorders, etc.)

During Placement

Once you are in the middle of the most stressful placements offered to SLP graduate clinicians, you will be glad that you did some prep work beforehand. Once on-site, there are still things that you can do to minimize your stress and keep yourself organized even though every day is different and will have little time to prepare for a session. In order to have a rewarding experience, clinicians should be:

• O.K. with not having a concrete schedule (but staying very busy)
• Flexible and adaptable
• Willing to go in early and stay late
• Able to work collaboratively with other SLPs and related professionals
• Open to various supervision styles as you may have multiple supervisors
• Creative with materials (or lack thereof)

In the comments below, let me know if you are a student or supervisor and what skills you think are necessary for excelling in an adult medical placement. 👇 Be sure to check out my other posts:

How to Have a Successful Clinical Practicum (Part 1)
How to Have a Successful Clinical Practicum (Part 2)
Get the SLP Externship You Want