some ideas

Date: 29 November 2009 16:32:32

So I've been doing some thinking (and reading online), and here are a few different kinds of jobs to be investigated, re: a career shift:

Work in a school (preschool, elementary, high school, segregated special education building and/or traveling to where the children are located, interdisciplinary teaming with other professionals)

Work in a medical setting (with young children to older adults, in-patient & out-patient, communication disorders & swallowing treatment/recommendations, even premie babies - helping them coordinate the suck-swallow-breathe coordination involved in nursing)

Consult with local Public Health Department (no direct therapy services)

Do research (e.g., National Institutes of Health - NIH)

Provide therapy to our armed forces (could work on a military base, provide therapeutic services to children & military personnel)

Perform speech/language screenings for agencies in daycares, treatment centers, and state schools

Private practice (adults or children...anything! Accent addition/reduction, social skills, articulation therapy, communication/language, etc.)

Clinical instructor at a college or university - provide supervision and teach clinical classes for the next generation of therapists

Outpatient health clinic service provider

Provide therapy (swallowing & communication) to clients in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, day treatment centers, or home health agencies

In the corporate world, offer assessment & training in many aspects of communication as it relates to the business world (such as articulation, fluency, voice, language and hearing education, etc.)

Over the next few months, I will begin networking with a contact in the public school system on the east coast, a therapist working in the medical setting, a special education teacher who works with older children, and I'm sure I could set up a day or two to shadow a therapist who works with adults, say, at the Veterans' hospital. It's time for a change. After 10 years, I'm ready for a new adventure. Or so I say now... let's see what the future holds.