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21Aug

Managing Your SLP Stress in Grad School and Beyond with Kate Van Vuren, SLP+Life Coach: SLP Stress Management Podcast

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: New SLP Stress Management
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slp stress in grad school

slp stress in grad school

SLP stress in grad school (and beyond) can be some of the toughest, and longest lasting, that you face in your career.

When I was in undergrad, as a CSD major, I was absolutely in love with the field of Speech-Language Pathology. It was like a door has been thrown open and I had stepped into this amazing world where changes were being made in people’s lives, there was so much to learn and do, and opportunities seemed endless – to learn, grow and create a life as a future SLP. I was so in love with this field, that signed up for extra observation hours beyond the 25 hour minimum, and I raised my GPA from nearly losing my scholarship (because I just didn’t care enough about my classes to go to them before) to graduating with honors, a semester early. I was hungry to learn more and wanted to learn it as quickly as I could.

Grad school – not so much.

For me, this is where my chronic stress and burnout began. The program was amazing and I am so grateful for it and all I learned there, but, it had the typical hyper-competitive culture that so many programs lean into, and was the opposite of my undergrad. It was drilled into us, as it is/was in many programs, that this was now the main focus of my life, nothing else was as important, and only the best and perfect was acceptable. It sucked the passion out of me nearly immediately and was the beginning of leading me to quit for nearly 5 years, claiming I would never be an SLP again. (Which, of course, I came back to eventually when I started using tools that healed that stress and burnout).

It is why I was so thrilled to “meet” and find Kate Van Vuren, an SLP that also felt some of that stress and pressure in grad school, took steps to manage it right away, and now helps other future SLPs, CFs and CCC-SLPs to take the pressure off and love their lives in and out of work again.

And it’s why I am so excited to share parts of her journey and wisdom in this episode of the SLP Stress Management Podcast!

slp stress in grad school

Kate Van Vuren is a licensed speech-language pathologist working to help women reduce stress and increase their energy through sustainable lifestyle change to thrive professionally and personally.

In this episode, Kate shares some of her own journey with stress as an SLP, how she made the decision to shape her job around her lifestyle, and how and why we need to change the competition culture of grad school.

You can tune in below or check out all the episodes here: SLP Stress Management Podcast

More resources from Kate:

If you are ready to finally be DONE with the constant battle of stress as an SLP, check out the SLP Stress Management Online Course, an 8-week online course designed to help you manage stress, reduce burnout and find more balance in your life, no matter what gets thrown at you (teletherapy, pandemic, paperwork x 1000, you name it).

Much Love,

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16Dec

What to Look for in a CF-SLP Job Opening

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Career Advice New SLP Reduce Stress
Comments Off on What to Look for in a CF-SLP Job Opening

CF-SLP Job Pinterest

When you are looking for your first job as a new graduate, there can be a lot to consider. Most will tell you to look for a CF-SLP job opening that pays well and that you like, or maybe has really good hours. This advice isn’t wrong, and can be a great starting point, but there is a lot more to consider if you want to have a successful year that sets you up for MANY more years to come.

If you really want to have a successful CFY, you need to also consider how you want to experience the year and feel during the process. Do you want a lot of support or  a lot of freedom? Do you want a more flexible schedule or something standard and steady? These are also things to consider when you start to look for a CF-SLP job opening.

And when you look at this things and maybe go even deeper, it can help you to have a much more enjoyable, and much less stressed first year as an SLP.

Here is what to look for in a CF-SLP job opening:

  • Pay:
    • Ok, yes, this is still important. Not only the amount you get paid, but HOW you get paid.
    • You may want to consider if you are looking for a salary position or work as an independent contractor. Working as an IC can often pay you more per hour, and if you contract into the schools you get a little less stress from before and after school duties and meetings, but you also might have to do a little more work when it comes to saving for taxes.
    • Being salary is great, because you know what you will make each paycheck, so it is easier to budget. These positions can sometimes come with a little more responsibility outside of work, much as bus duty in the schools, and you won;t get paid for the extra hours you spend at work.
    • It also is good to look at how much you need to make to live the lifestyle you want, especially if student loans are about to kick in.
  • Setting:
    • Setting is important, but not always in the way you might think.
    • Usually, the advice is to find a job in a setting that you are super interested in or that you are very passionate about. This can be very helpful, and keep you engaged in your work, but might also be a little unrealistic as a new SLP grad.
    • As a new grad, you might not know the full scope of the work or how the day to day for that particular work might be. Looking for something that fits your desired day to day schedule (time for breaks, shorter day, longer day with time in between patients, traveling, early day, 9-5, etc) might be a better way to find what will really work for you, rather than something you are passionate about, but will drain you (think if you are NOT a morning person, but the clinic for your “dream” caseload starts at 7am. It sounds exciting, but you’ll be exhausted and might start to resent it). Finding a balance with this can be key.
  • Support:
    • When you are looking for a CF-SLP job opening, another thing to consider is the amount of support that will be offered vs the amount of support you are wanting or needing. There are some CF positions where you will basically be left to your own, with a few check-ins here and there. This could terrify some new grads, or make others feel like they are finally free to do the work their way. Or you might be in a setting where there is support all around you, leading you through each step, which could be awesome if you don’t quite feel ready to be left on your own, or may leave you feeling micro-managed and not trusted.
    • When you look for your new job, ask what the support will be like and see if it matches what you are wanting and needing.
  • Turn-over:
    • If there are job openings because SLPs are leaving this position left and right, you may want to look deeper into what is really going on. Is it a caseload that is super challenging? That might be ok if it is something you are really wanting to work with and are up for a big challenge. Is it poor management or lack of support? You might want to reconsider. Knowing what it is really like to work there, or why others have left, will help you to know if it is a good fit for you in the long run, or something you would have to “survive” for a year (which just makes for a LOT of stress that can continue through your career).
  • More training:
    • One of the hardest things when you first start out is feeling like you don’t know enough. You WILL know a lot, but this feeling is bound to come up, and it can be really overwhelming. To help, look for a place that will help support you in learning more. This might be offering a stipend for CEU courses or reimbursement, supporting you in more extensive training to help you specialize or even offering their own training to help you continue to learn and grow as a clinician.
  • Work-Life Balance:
    • This is often key for finding a job that will work for your entire CFY, and fr the rest of your career – do they support or encourage work-life balance? Without this, you are bound to feel stressed, overwhelmed and burned out really quickly, which can lead to a life-long career of stress, dispassion for your work, or even leaving the field entirely. Trust me, I’ve been there (with SLP jobs and even in yoga jobs).
    • If it seems like the amount of work would be impossible to finish at work, or the hours might be incredibly long, or the mentality (as many grad school programs can be) is that “SLP is your life now”, then it might not offer much in terms of balance.
    • Look for a company or position that encourages you to grow as a professional, but also encourages you to leave work at work, keep caseloads in check, and continues to support you as needed, whether in CEUs, supervision, mentorship, or just having someone you can count on.

You CF year as an SLP can be incredible in many ways. It can inspire you to do more continue to grow in the field for years to come, and it can also be incredibly overwhelming and leave you disheartened at times. To help know what to look for in a CF-SLP job opening, make sure to consider some of the above tips and advice.

For more on managing your stress as an SLP for the long-haul, or preventing it and setting yourself up for a rewarding career for years to come, check out the FREE resources in the SLP Toolbox. You can sign up below:


And don’t miss these CEU/CMH opportunities on some of your favorite SLP Professional Development sites.

Much Love,

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