Sarah Vacha and Leigh Ann discuss how the process of finding your niche can bring so much career fulfillment if you’re feeling stale in your job as an SLP.

SLPs are often met with a surprised “Wait, that's something you do?!". We lament no one understands our role or appreciates our work, and it’s easy to lose sight of our passions and the value we bring in a field that spans all ages, particularly when we feel constrained to a certain role or setting. In this episode, Sarah and Leigh Ann will discuss recognizing and finding your niche and self-value within the SLP field and embracing that value to benefit patients and the field.

topics covered:

Exploring board certifications
Self-assessment of current skill set
Discover and build passion/value into current skill set
Ways to apply skills & value in the field

Resources mentioned in the episode:

Dysphagia Outreach Project

Alzheimer's Association - Volunteer!

Dysphagia Bites Blog

Contact Sarah at: Sarah at Superiorviewfees . com

References:

APA Eva, Kevin W.; Regehr, Glenn Self-Assessment in the Health Professions: A Reformulation and Research Agenda, Academic Medicine: October 2005 - Volume 80 - Issue 10 - p S46-S54

Rao, P. R. (2015). Outcomes and quality: Key characteristics of a successful SLP value journey. Perspectives on Neurophysiology and Neurogenic Speech and Language Disorders, 25(3), 94-106.

Sarah Vacha, MA CCC-SLP earned her master's in Speech Language Pathology from the University of Toledo and has spent the past ten years gaining experience across settings including acute, outpatient, long-term care, and home health before fulfilling a career goal with her current role as a mobile FEES endoscopist.

In addition to creating and editing the Dysphagia Bites blog, Sarah co-founded the Northeast Ohio Medical SLP journal club (NEO MedSLP) to foster awareness and use of evidenced-based practices to improve inter-communication between local SLPs across the care continuum. She is the recipient of multiple ASHA ACE awards, an invited guest lecturer and speaker, and enjoys dabbling in research and manuscript writing.

Sarah enthusiastically directs her passions for dysphagia, education, and advocacy into volunteering for the Dysphagia Outreach Project and serving as a community educator for the Alzheimer's Association.

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