Joining a Special Interest Group??
Special Interest Groups offered by ASHA are a great way to build skills in areas that one may not be comfortable with already. I feel that Special Interest Groups or SIG membership are easy to pick based on your interest or current occupation at the time. AFter reviewing the list, I feel that I would chose to join SIG 18: Gerontology. I have already accepted a job in home health services after graduation. After working in the school system for 5 years I am very comfortable with my skills with children but not with my adult skills. I feel that many programs in Speech language pathology mostly focus on child development and only brush lightly on gerontology.
Understanding that basic aging affects speech, language, and hearing can help a speech pathologist to offer better services that will evoke better outcomes. SIG 18 provides the latest information on factors that affect aging adults and their communication skills. Information for specialized techniques for working with geriatric patients with cognitive disorders and swallowing disorders are also provided through membership in a special interest group.
One of the biggest areas that I feel my skills lack is understanding Medicare. Many of the patients that I will be seeing are Medicare patients. Medicare is constantly changing and being knowledgeable about how the process works is important for completing paperwork and necessary procedures.
Another SIG group that I would be interested in is SIG 13: Dysphagia and Swallowing Disorders. The adult population has a wide variety of dysphagia patients. Understanding that one technique doesn't work for all patients leads SLP's to other practices. Working with geriatric patients, I will need to be up to date on the latest practices and procedures in order to provide the best practice for my patients. Collaborating with other professionals about swallowing disorders may help me to become more knowledgeable about the subject and help to understand what each patient needs.
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