[Kristie] Communication as a whole is something that
can be impacted across the entire lifespan and we as speech pathologists are in the position
to support that communication however it has been altered or developed in a different way
than what's typical.
[Wesley] I came to this program really interested in
aphasia and I still am.
But also this program has inspired me to really take an interest in all populations in our
field.
[Jody] When I came in I was thinking I just wanted
to do pediatrics.
I wasn't sure if it would be in a private practice setting or a maybe a hospital.
[Kristie] That's part of the beauty of a program that
exposes you to so many different experts across the field.
[Wesley] I came to Seattle for this program and I really
love Seattle and the Northwest in general.
There's plenty of outdoor opportunities and there's also some really great culture here.
[Kristie] The high national rank that we have of being
ranked 3rd out of about 250 graduate programs has a lot to do with our outstanding faculty.
[Jody] They are amazing.
I absolutely love the faculty and staff here.
[Kristie] We have expertise across the range of cognitive
communicative disorders, aphasia, voice disorders, fluency disorders, autism, social communication.
Our first year curriculum focuses on didactic course work that provides students with foundational
knowledge across speech, language, cognitive communicative and swallowing disorders.
[Wesley] All of our clinical practica are within the
UW Speech and Hearing Clinic and it's here that we get a really good general overview
of the clinical process.
The second year we go out into the community.
[Kristie] We have access to countless hospitals and
clinics.
And not just any hospital, but these are world class, nationally ranked medical facilities.
[Jody] One of the reasons why I decided to go with
the med program is that for one year you get the opportunity to go to four different placements.
[Wesley] During the winter quarter, I was at Group
Health in an outpatient pediatrics setting, and then this quarter right now, I'm at Harbor
View Hospital in acute care on the trauma floor.
[Kristie] At the same time they're receiving course
work that is specialized and very relevant to what they would be doing in the field.
[Jody] It's such a unique and fun experience where
every day is different and you get to learn from all these great professional out there
in the community.
[Kristie] Students have access to numerous research
opportunities.
The student who is interested in a master's thesis would visit labs and try to decide
which faculty member or topic of research most resonates with them and most excites
them about our field.
Our students graduate with a Master of Science in Medical Speech Pathology and we actually
have a one hundred percent job placement rate.
[Wesley] I want to continue pursuing employment settings
where I can really get that array of opportunities across multiple settings.
[Kristie] We are truly mentoring and graduating students
who fill a gap that has existed in our field because they are now very attuned to how medical
facilities and hospitals support people with communication disorders.
[Jody] If you talked to me two years ago, I would
have been peds all the way.
Only and now just talking and hearing what they have to say has opened up and broadened
my horizons for the future.