dilemma: how should I handle this?

[vinganca]

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I'm currently shadowing a fantastic PT at a really great hospital. Problem is, after a LOT of thought, research, etc...I've realised that I'm likely better suited to SLP (speech therapy). Completely overhauling my plans is daunting to say the least! But I really feel like it's the right choice.

I could definitely handle being a PT, and I wouldn't be unhappy as one. It's definitely challenging, interesting, creative and can make huge differences in people's lives. But all that is true of speech therapy as well as physical, and I feel that my talents, interests and strengths are a better match for SLP.

The problem is, now what can I do about my shadowing hours? It took a lot of time and effort to set them up (some on my part, but even more so on the rehab director's). I'm already 'in' at this hospital that is known for its excellent rehab department. And the speech therapy office is right there, in with the OT and PT.

I really want to talk to the rehab director, but I'm nervous and embarrassed just thinking about it. Like I said, it prob took her quite a bit of effort to set me up with shadowing hours, and here I am about to tell her I changed my mind? 😱 I'm worried everyone will think I'm flaky, that I don't know what I want and/or am unable to make desicions...ugh. And the PT I've been following; what will she think? 🙁 Probably the same thing (that I'm flaky, etc).

I don't want to waste this chance to shadow an SLP (since I'm already in doing hours here, and hospital hours are pretty hard to set up in the first place...and since they're widely known for their rehab dept). And I don't want to waste the PT's time by continuing to shadow her after I've decided to make a switch. I know I've got to talk to the rehab director, explain to her what I've just told you, and ask to shadow an SLP instead. I'm just so...well, like I said, nervous and embarrassed. I mean, people are supposed to have it together and know what they want to do by the time they start doing PT observation hours. And I did...or at least, I thought I did. I didn't expect to 'change my mind', but here it is.

(On the plus side for any of you applying to a MD, PA or DC PT program next year, there will be one less competitive applicant vying for a seat, lol. 😛 )

The PT shadowing hours have served a purpose--they've helped me come to this realisation. But now what? How would you handle this situation? What approach would you use with the rehab director? I mean, honesty, sure. But...ugh, any advice would be so very much appreciated. 😕

 

[truthseeker]

I think you are right, the shadowing HAS served its purpose. Remember, the reason applicants are required to do some shadowing/volunteer hours is not just to give people more hoops to jump through, it is to make sure you know what you are getting into.

I am positive that no one will think you are a flake because of your change of heart. In fact they will probably respect you more if you have the open-mindedness to make that change. It really isn't necessarily a lot of work for the rehab director to set up the hours. In fact, they probably just said OK and asked a PT if they would mind, they said OK and viola, you were scheduled.

I wouldn't even lose a minutes sleep over it. tell the rehab director just what you typed here and it will be fine.

 

[black]

Sounds like you have made up your mind, don't count it as time lost for you, the PT, or rehab director. Count it as time all three of you have invested in the future of a great speech therapist. As thruthseeker said don't lose a minutes sleep over it. It does not speak to you as flaky but rather the opposite. You are making a responsible decision in what you are going to spend your time doing for the rest of your life. Think of if you had not had to or chose not to shadow you may have ended up in PT school and dropped out because you changed your mind.

 

[vinganca]

thanks for the encouragement. 🙂 I talked to the rehab director today, and I'll be following the SLP and the PT, on alternate days, for the month of December. I thought that might be the way to go because I don't necessarily want to just "jump ship" and abandon the PT work on a whim; I just want to explore the possibility that SLP might be a better fit. Though from my first day of shadowing the SLP (this morning), perhaps I was wrong and should stick with PT.

 

[hopingtobePT]

perhaps I was wrong and should stick with PT.

Just curious, what didn't you like about SLP?

I've never really had much contact with them.

 

[vinganca]

Just curious, what didn't you like about SLP?

I've never really had much contact with them.

The major thing that 'hit me' whilst shadowing the SLP was how very little interaction there is with patients, especially compared to PT. Of course that's to be expected when the majority of your patients are either unable to speak coherently, without pain, or at all. But I didn't expect that that near-total lack of communication would bother me as much as it did. If I'm being honest with myself, I don't think I could last very long before that started to seriously wear on me. (Of course in PT you also get patients who are unresponsive, but it's not the majority).

Second, I feel very much at home working with the elderly. But in SLP, I found that much of what is done there is focused on attempting to correct dysphagia and other swallowing disfunctions...not on language/articulation. I know that if I went into SLP, I would want to work primarily with articulation and language...but that's largely at odds with also wanting to work with the elderly.

Third, it seems that PT gets results more consistently, and with more patients, than does SLP. (Again, yes I know there are plenty of exceptions, but by and large that is what I am noticing.) My aunt (who works as an SLP in the school system) confirmed this as her greatest frustration --that she's worked with mostly the same children, year after year after year, with little to no result. (Don't get me wrong, she likes what she does and is good at it. But I asked her to elaborate on the downsides of the job.) A lot of them have handicaps that are not possible to overcome and that prevent them from ever making considerable progress. True not everyone responds to PT either, but from what I've seen, I feel that I could help more patients to achieve more tangible progress on a more regular basis with PT.

Lastly, some of it boiled down to simple feelings. I noticed the difference in how I felt, my energy level and enthusiasm, between shadowing with PT and SLP. When I shadow in PT, it's fascinating and I can't wait to get up in the morning, go to the hospital and learn. When I shadowed the SLP, I just felt an overwhelming sense of "this isn't right for you". And past experiences have taught me not to disregard intuition, especially when one or more tangible reasons agree with it.

I spent a bit of time shadowing an SLP in a clinic doing early intervention and actually did like it quite a bit, which is what got me thinking down the SLP path. But after awhile I realised what I liked so much about it was working with children...not the speech therapy itself. Which taught me something as well -- apparently I would enjoy doing paediatric PT. 😉

Thank God I am shadowing under the most wonderfully supportive rehab director ever. Seriously, I can't tell you how grateful I am to her for being so open and helpful and going out of her way to give me as much thorough exposure to as many things as possible while I'm here. 🙂