The field of speech pathology is very broad and covers a wide array of subject areas. The 9 subject areas can provide treatment for most children and adults who suffer from some type of communication disorder. Being recognized as competent in all 9 areas seems almost a little unfair to our profession. While many of the topics have been introduced, elaborated, and tested on, I do not feel as though I am competent in every area. I do not feel as though I could ethically assess and treat all areas at this point in my career. Throughout my lifespan, I feel that with enough research and experience I would feel comfortable assessing and treating in all 9 areas. I feel that with experience and exposure one can gain the appropriate knowledge and skills to be competent in areas.
When it comes to confidence I have areas that I feel more confident about than others. Feeling confident about subject areas and being ethically confident are two different things. Feeling confident about performing a certain procedure without being competent can be dangerous or hazardous to patient. Confidence is an important part of this profession because it allows others to gain trust in you as a clinician.
If I had to name my strengths and weaknesses as a "new" SLP , I feel that my strengths include areas of cognition, articulation/phonology, and language. After working in the school system for 5 years this is something that I did daily. At first, I felt very uncomfortable with treating and assessing language and articulation but once I gained exposure I also gained confidence. My areas of weaknesses include fluency and voice. Because these areas are so objective it is hard to gain mastery in these areas. The areas related directly to science like voice and dysphagia are constantly changing and it is important for the SLP to stay up to date on the latest research in order to continue to provide evidence based practices. With any job I feel that a SLP should "play" on their strengths and work on improving their weaknesses.
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