On his path to SLP, the CSP Podcast, and graduate school with Jeff Stepen

What is Conversations in Speech Pathology?

It is a podcast, and a neat one at that! Jeff Stepen, the show host, is a practicing speech-language pathologist with over 20 years of experience. He started in acute/subacute care in the hospital and now works with children in the schools as well as his own private practice.

On the show, Jeff talks about all sorts of topics related to the field of SLP. The show is not meant to be a heavy, academic lecture. If you want that, there are podcasts for it. CSP is two SLP’s having a casual, yet professional conversation about a set topic. Sometimes they raise questions, other times they answer them, and sometimes they just connect about a topic and you get to listen in!

How I found CSP

If you’ve ever been in Mexico City for any length of time, you’ve experienced its crazy traffic. If you haven’t, it looks like this:

My commute home took anywhere from 1.5-3 hours. Being stuck in my car so long, I started listening to podcasts to keep myself from going crazy.

Conversations in Speech Pathology with Jeff Stepen was one of my many go to podcasts.

Why I Think You Should Listen to CSP

If you’re thinking about applying to graduate school for SLP, consider listening to the CSP podcast.

Why?

This show is a great way to enrich your knowledge of the field. Will all of the content be relevant to you?

No.

But during graduate school, you’re going to cover most of the topics. Think of this as a way to jump into the ongoing conversation and start learning.

To be honest, a lot of the content was over my head at first too. I did not even know what childhood apraxia of speech was (episode 012), and I’d never heard of echolalia (006 & 007) or most of the other topics Jeff discussed.

But I kept listening.

Little by little, I started making connections between things I heard across episodes. This happened even more when I started taking a few minutes to search the things Jeff was talking about. And some of the content was lining up with things I had heard mentioned in classes like language development.

When I got to grad school finally, I did not feel as behind as I thought I would as someone coming from out of the field. In fact, I felt like I had a leg-up. When we discussed non-speech oral motor exercises in my class on Phonological Disorders, it turns out I had already listened to an interview with the expert (Episode 008), and when I started my specialty courses in bilingualism and ordered my textbook by Brian Goldstein, I thought that named sounded familiar…because Jeff had interviewed him in episode 037.

I realize now that listening to Jeff’s podcast was a way for me to start learning about being an SLP before even getting to graduate school.

How to Listen to CSP

You can listen directly on Jeff’s website: http://www.conversationsinspeech.com/ or wherever you get your podcasts!

A Few Episodes I Recommend

Here are a few episodes I really enjoyed OR that I think might be really useful for you. In no particular order…

My Conversation with Jeff about his career and podcast, journey to SLP, and his thoughts on graduate school

Jeff was kind enough to speak with me on the phone. We talked for over an hour about all sorts of topics related to our field. We talked about so much I can’t include it all here. So I’ve curated our conversation to include what I think would be most relevant for you all.

Like many of you (and me!), he took an indirect route to becoming an SLP. We also talked about his podcast and how it may benefit listeners who are thinking about becoming SLP’s. Finally, we talked about graduate admissions and the tough road to get into the field.

Me: What was your path to becoming an SLP?

Jeff: I call myself an accidental SLP. I graduated with a degree in Radio/Film/TV and History. I thought I was going to Law School, but my senior year I realized I wasn’t. The LSAT deadlines came and went, and I never signed up. So I graduated without a direction. I was at a family picnic, and my cousin’s wife was asking me what my plans were now that I’d graduated. And I had no answer. And she was going on and on about her sister who was SLP. And she asked me if I was interested in a helping profession. I had thought about teaching, and she told me to look into SLP. And the rest is history as they say.

Me: Where did you complete your pre-requisites?

Jeff: I went back to Illinois State for almost a year and tried to get all the coursework done in that time. Even at the time, people were worried about getting into the field. I was worried about putting a year of effort in and then not getting into a program. I was not an honor student, but I did okay. That year I really put my nose to the grindstone and worked hard to get all A’s in my courses.

Me: And then you applied to graduate school?

Jeff: I only applied to two graduate schools. I thought the medical model was for me and only applied to 2 programs: Northwestern University and Rush University in Chicago. I got into both and Rush was a little cheaper, and so that’s where I went. When I finished, I did my CFY at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital, and then it took me a year or so, and I was getting burned out. I didn’t see a place for myself working with adults. So, I made a pact with myself to try it working with kids. And then I realized, yes, I can do this. I like this. The funny thing is, I’d always enjoyed working with kids, and I don’t know why it took me so long to realize that.

Me: When you’re getting into this field (maybe you’re coming straight from undergrad or maybe you’re making a career change) you realize pretty quickly that it is hugely diverse. I think your podcast is a great way for people to “get their feet wet”. Would you like to comment on that? Was that something you thought about when you started the show?

Jeff: I had a lot of purposes for the show when I started it. One purpose for me was to talk about things I wasn’t hearing about anywhere else. I wanted to put out questions that aren’t being talked about in other podcasts or at all. A lot of the early episodes are me being able to ask and answer my own questions.

The thing about the podcast that always ate at me was demographics. I had no idea who would want to listen to my show. When I have a guest on, I’m never sure what their background is and where they’re coming from.

I can’t produce a show that is going to satisfy everyone. So I think what I’ve come to a place where I say, “Let the show be about asking the questions I want to ask.” If they don’t understand the material, I’ll back up to maybe the level a first year SLP would understand. And I’m being okay with the fact that every episode is not going to get everything about a topic. I really just want to keep it like a conversation.

Me: When undergraduate (and even graduate students) are invited to listen to things like your podcasts or local conferences on relevant topics, one thing I often hear them say is, “The info is over my head” or “I haven’t even finished the basics; that’s too advanced” or something to that effect. What would you say in response to encourage students who are still “learning the basics” to get involved and take advantage of these learning opportunities?

Jeff: At least for this podcast, try to listen to the episodes that match your clinical interests. If you’re a student, you’re going to learn it all anyway.

One thing I’ve learned in life, it took me a long time in life to get comfortable with not understanding something the first time I hear it. For example (I wished I’d learned this undergrad) in the tough classes I would audio record the lessons and re-listen to the tough portions of them. And I would listen to them again and again and I found I learned the material more rapidly, even though it might sound a little backwards. It may have taken it a few times to stick, but I learned it.

It may be that you need to listen several times to an episode. Maybe something you hear doesn’t make sense the first time, and especially if you’re an undergrad or graduate student. Maybe I’m just mentioning AAC things like eyegaze and touch chat and you don’t know what those are. That’s okay – you have to be zen about the whole process, and eventually you will get something out of it

Me: Yea, I would follow up with my experience. I listened to several episodes on things I was interested in, and I’ve skipped episodes that I wasn’t interested in. But when I got into graduate school and I hear a certain topic discussed in class I remember a lot more from your podcast than I thought I would and it kind of gives me a leg up sometimes.

Me: Another question, what do you think of the competition to get into a graduate program for SLP?

Jeff: Ya know, I think that it is kind of sad. I think that anyone who has the grades and the desire to be an SLP should be an SLP. It pains me that qualified people can’t get into programs.

I’ve given advice on this topic . The advice I’ve always given is 2 things:

First, don’t worry. Be willing to apply more than once. And be willing to move. If you live in an area with only 2 programs and you’re only okay with those 2 programs, you need to think about broadening your horizons.

The other thing I tell people is because tuition is skyrocketing, watch your pocketbook. I’d hate to tell someone not to go to a prestigious, university if they get in. But if it costs $50,000 a year and there’s no scholarships available… I don’t want to say, “don’t go”. But I’d be very leery about telling someone to take that debt on. It really concerns me about higher education in general. If you can get into a local, state university that’s more affordable, go for it. With all that debt, you’d be hampering yourself on so many levels. I had to take on some debt, and I wouldn’t want to do it again.

Me: Last question, one thing many students try to do to boost their application is shadow SLP’s or volunteer with them when possible. As a practicing SLP, do you invite students to shadow you? Do you have any tips for students approaching practicing clinicians?

Jeff: I work in my school job and in my private practice; I’ve had students observe in both contexts. I think it should almost be a requirement to shadow someone in the profession you want to go into. And more than once! You need to do it quite a bit to get a sense of it.

I just met with my SLP-friend Megan, and she said do you know so and so? She had come to observe me once a week for six weeks last summer, and she’s doing it again this summer with my friend Megan in another context.

I’d say just google SLP’s in your area and names will pop up. Start with a professional email saying you’d like to observe and be sincere and polite.

Personally, I’ve always been very welcoming of students. I think I’ve had probably had 3 or 4 students come and observe and 9 times out of 10 the parents of the clients are okay with it. It doesn’t interrupt the therapy. Only once I had someone try to actively get involved with the session. I appreciated the attempt to help, but I told her it was just best to observe.

If you listen to Jeff’s podcast, let me know your favorite episode in the comments. Do you listen to another podcast? Let me know that too! I’m always looking for new listening material.