SLPtobeRN

I would also like to know the answer to this question. Looking forward to the feedback!

I am finishing my masters this year in SLP and to be honest, I can tell you I still don't really know what speech pathologists really do. Its a VERY easy job, very low stress, and can be very boring. RNs have such a wide scope of practice and can do SO much! I say do both. Thats what I'm doing. You'll get the respect and excellent medical foundation that comes from being a Nurse, and the advantage of the low stress, relatively slow pace work that come with being an SLP. I agree with doing SLP first. Its very long 6 to 7 years. An RN will be much quicker and easier to do later in life. Also if you work for a hospital, they may pay for it.

How does one go about trying to repeat courses at BC? When I was 16 I was admitted to BCC (as it was called then) as an early admissions student (The College Academy). Back then I took all the prerequisites, CHM1032, BSC1085/1086 etc. However this was not my choice, as a high school student we were given a list of classes and that is what you took ... period. At that time, I decided that all that science was too hard, gave up and got terrible grades. I didn't even know how to withdraw from a class at that time; I just stopped showing up. My question is; can I apply for some sort of forgiveness? I have since earned a Masters degree with excellent grades; not to mention that this was nearly 10 years ago. Is there any hope of me ever becoming a nurse ? Or should I just accept my retarded career path of "Speech-Language Pathologist" that I chose at 16, and forget all hopes of a satisfying career that actually helps people.

I too am a rehab student disappointed with my career choice. Rehab has nothing to do with medicine, in fact it's glorified teaching and should be marketed as such to prospective students. Anyway I also need information about how to make this career switch. I have one year left for my masters in speech (my externship). So I have to finish ... not so much for myself but more for the people around me to helped get my through it (parents, spouse etc.) ---- I have a few questions for you. Why did you chose ABSN over just an RN? The cost is significantly more. After finishing a doctorate in PT you can't possibly qualify for additional financial aid ... could you? Also what do you think about the pace of learning? Do you think you will benefit from such a pace or are you just trying to get it over with and hope to learn on the job? Hope these questions aren't rude. I just thought that because we are coming from such a similar place, you may have also contemplated these questions.

I'm 23 and I will be finishing my Masters in SLP next year. I have spent 7 years working on this degree, but it wasn't until my clinics last year that I realized this was the wrong career choice. It's interesting to hear you say your son made progress working with the SLP. In my experience we see the kids for therapy, tell the parents what a great job Johnny did with his /r/ sound (when no such thing occurred) and then take their money/insurance money or both. The only effective forms of therapy I have seen are for dysphagia (swallowing), adult rehab and AAC (the speech generating computers people use to talk). In my opinion, nothing else works, people who stutter will always stutter, or sound like slow lethargic robots. Children will most likely out-grow most speech impediments and kids with language problems could just as easily benefit from tutoring with a special ed teacher. Again, that just from my experience working as a speech clinician. So now I am also considering a career change, to RN/PNP. I wanted a career that blended my desires to work in health care and education; so I thought I'd teach people how to speak and do some swallowing therapy. While I love swallowing (or dysphagia as it's called); if I get one more child with a lisp or person who stutters I'm going to flip. It's the most boring thing I never imagined! I want a career with a medical focus, and less education. As I understand, PNP's have important medical responsibilities, yet still educate parents and care-takers about caring for their children .... right? I also wonder if this career would provide the balance I'm looking for? I guess overall, SLPs don't have a bad career, but if your looking for something in the medical field ... keep looking. Almost ALL SLP jobs are in schools, and while school provide great benefits (time off, etc) the pay is garbage and the current caseload is something like 100 students per SLP. At least that's what it is in the Miami area. I imagine most major cities are the same. Medical SLP careers are almost all in Nursing homes, SNFs etc. And while thats ok, I really want a career in pediatrics. Despite this, SLPs in these settings enjoy great pay $70k and up and have great opp for advancement. So its definately the better of the two setting options. I'm hoping obtaining an RN will enhance my marketability as a medical SLP, and provide a gate way to a new career as a PNP somewhere down the road. I hope my story was helpful :) All the best