Summary
That would be the new master of science in Speech-Language Pathology program at MUSC, whose first class graduated in 2023. With the help of a $25,000 Lowcountry Graduate Center grant, the program is boosting its marketing efforts, particularly to practitioners in the field who might serve as clinical supervisors and mentors to a growing cohort of students.
There are many graduate Speech Language Pathology (SLP) programs at universities across the U.S. but only one that pairs didactic learning with clinical rotations during the first four semesters. There is only one that also starts students on the gold standard for SLP – adult acute care – and that offers a high pass/pass/no pass grading system that helps students focus on content rather than grades. And only one matches those innovations with an active learning environment in which students work in groups, role play and discuss real-world cases.
That would be the new master of science in Speech-Language Pathology program at MUSC, whose first class graduated in 2023. With the help of a $25,000 Lowcountry Graduate Center grant, the program is boosting its marketing efforts, particularly to practitioners in the field who might serve as clinical supervisors and mentors to a growing cohort of students.
SLP – The Eighth Best Profession
Patients across the lifespan with communication and swallowing disorders benefit from the services of Speech Language Pathologists.
Like most health professions, SLP is a growing and fulfilling career that offers good pay, flexibility and employment certainty. SLPs can work full-time or part-time; with children, adults or the elderly; and in hospitals, schools or other settings. SLP was rated the eighth best profession by US News and World Report, with 34,000 new positions expected over the next decade. SLPs earn an average of $84,000, according to 2023 listings on Indeed, with top earnings reaching six figures.
The MUSC program covers six semesters over two years, starting with four semesters of on-campus coursework and flexibility to pursue clinical experiences outside of the Charleston area the last two semesters. By the time they graduate, students have completed six clinical rotations including a full-time clinical externship, and have generally taken and passed the certification exam that will eventually allow them to practice.
Rare among SLP program’s is MUSC’s lockstep progression of classes and clinical training for the first four semesters. Students’ clinical experiences each semester mirror what they are learning in the classroom.
“It’s unusual in other programs that students’ academic coursework directly aligns with their clinical experiences in the same semester,” said Dr. Christina Pelatti, Associate Professor and Director, Division of Speech-Language Pathology at MUSC.
Amanda O’Bryan is a member of the first graduating class in May. She always knew she wanted to be a speech-language pathologist and chose MUSC because of its focus on adults in an acute care setting.
“I liked that it is so close to a hospital that served a larger population with lot of opportunities for clinical rotations, which I didn’t see in other programs I applied to” she said.
Lowcountry Grad Center Funding
As MUSC’s SLP program grows its reputation for innovation and gains popularity among prospective students, with 280 applying for 40 spots this year, Pelatti and her team need to recruit more clinical supervisors to oversee students in clinical rotations. The Lowcountry Graduate Center is supporting this effort with a $25,000 Opportunity Grant for a marketing effort to the SLP community in the Charleston area and beyond and to bolster student recruitment efforts. Pelatti worked with MUSC’s marketing department to create a marketing plan for print, online and social media.
“We needed that $25,000 from the Lowcountry Graduate Center to jump-start our outreach efforts,” said Pelatti.
The outreach strategy includes creation of an inaugural professional development workshop for practitioners in the field – many of whom are clinical supervisor prospects. Now in the planning stage, Pelatti is surveying practitioners to determine a curriculum for the event that would appeal to attendees.
Many Speech Language Pathology students have undergraduate degrees in communication sciences (CSD) and disorders or other sciences, but many don’t. Before applying, those who were not CSD majors must complete general and CSD pre-requisites. Every member of the first graduating class is employed in their field, with about three quarters in medical settings and the rest in education.
Setting Students Up for Success
“I tell students I went into the field,” Pelatti said, “because I get to help people across the lifespan with a communication or swallowing diagnosis and really impact their quality of life.”
The applications process to MUSC’s SLP master’s program opens July 1, 2024 and closes December 15, 2024 for the Fall 2025 class.
After a final year of independent clinical rotations – one of them at the nation’s top-rated rehab center in her preferred destination of Chicago – O’Bryan found she had developed skills that graduates of other schools lacked.
“Oh my gosh – literally everything at MUSC set me up for success,” she said. “I just had a conversation with a patient today that could have been a lot more difficult to navigate if I hadn’t had to have that same conversation six months ago in my clinicals and been able to get feedback from my supervisors.”